Events | Webinar/Presentation

USAID Adaptation Community Meeting: Enhancing Global Climate Change Adaptation Capacity in the Pacific Small Island Developing States - Efforts by NOAA, USAID and the State Department

Thu,  May
19

Event Format

Virtual

Event Date

- (8:00 - 9:30 pm UTC)

Event Location

DC

Participation Eligibility

USAID Staff

View a recording of the event here. 

Pacific leaders continue to call for assistance as they strive to understand, predict, and adapt to a changing climate. Pacific island states are some of the most vulnerable in the world to climate change; recognizing this, several Pacific island states were key members of the High Ambition Coalition at the Conference of Parties 21 in Paris. The development and delivery of actionable information about climate patterns and trends - and their impacts on communities, businesses and ecosystems - is essential to many aspects of policy, planning, and decision-making. Consultation between technical assistance providers, communities and decision makers is critical to ensuring such information is useful, usable and used.  Please join May’s speakers, Britt Parker and Dr. John Marra of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as they share approaches and outcomes from a two year program to support climate change adaptation in the Pacific Islands, including the development of a climate services storybook that provides case studies for decision-makers.

NOAA, working through the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), undertook a two-year, $2.0 million program from 2012-2014 to support climate change adaptation in the Pacific Small Island Developing States by conducting a series of activities to enhance scientific and technical capacity.  These activities were designed to strengthen end-to-end climate services and adaptation capabilities working with the Pacific Island Meteorological Services and other regional organizations to support robust and sustained capacity development consistent with the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).  With an emphasis on engagement and consultation between service providers and users, activities carried out over the life of the project included the Pacific Islands Climate Services Forum, a series of in-country climate service dialogues, updated products and services, the advancement of core capabilities of the countries to deliver products and services focused on regional issues, and culminated in the release of the climate services storybook electronically and via web presence (http://pacificislandsclimate.org/csstories/).

Speakers

Britt Parker, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Climate and International Coordinator

Britt serves as the Climate and International Coordinator for the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. She works with the Federal, State/Territorial, Local and International partners to coordinate planning, policies and activities to address the impacts of climate change to coral reef ecosystems and dependent communities.  She also coordinates international program activities and engages with key international partners to improve management of coral reefs globally in the face of climate change, unsustainable fishing, and land-based sources of pollution. She has provided technical expertise to multiple USAID related programs and projects including the US Coral Triangle Support Program, the NOAA-USAID Marine Support Partnership, and the NOAA-USAID Enhancing Global Climate Change Adaptation Capacity in Pacific Small Island Developing States project. 
 

John J. Marra, PhD, NOAA NCEI Regional Climate Service Director, Pacific Region

John is the NOAA Climate Services Director for the Pacific Region, based in Honolulu, HI. For over 20 years he has been working to bridge science, policy, and information technology to address issues related to natural hazards risk reduction and climate adaptation planning.  His particular area of expertise is the development and dissemination of data and products associated with coastal inundation and erosion.  John served as the lead on the NOAA-USAID Enhancing Global Climate Change Adaptation Capacity in Pacific Small Island Developing States project.


This event is organized by the USAID Climate Change Adaptation, Thought Leadership, and Assessments (ATLAS) project. All Adaptation Community Meeting webinars can be found here
 

Sponsored by

USAID ATLAS project

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