Adaptation Community Meeting - Scaling Up Climate Services: Lessons from East Africa
Effectively scaling up climate services requires solid investment in observations, usable climate data, the development of demand–driven products, and the tools to use processed data. One-off climate service pilots are important to test new ideas, but a more strategic approach is needed to reach scale.
USAID/Kenya and East Africa’s Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research and Economic Development (PREPARED) Project brought together key partners including national meteorological and hydrological services (NHMS), the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC), FEWS NET/USGS, and Tetra Tech to develop demand-driven tools to develop and improve East African climate services.
At the July 2017 Adaptation Community Meeting, John Parker highlighted the experience working with these partners, which has included the development of improved climate data sets and products with national meteorological services while also establishing user interface processes in multiple sectors and with multiple applications to maximize uptake and use.
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John Parker is a water resources management specialist, currently serving as Deputy Director of USAID’s Sustainable Water Partnership. Previous roles have included Senior Technical Advisor of USAID/East Africa’s PREPARED Program, Team Leader for a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in Honduras, and Deputy Director for a regional USAID watershed management program in Central America. He has led research on water resources management, climate change adaptation and food security, and has published in leading journals, including World Development, Food Security, and Water International. He is a graduate of Tufts University’s interdisciplinary Water Program and holds dual graduate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
This event was organized by the USAID Climate Change Adaptation, Thought Leadership, and Assessments (ATLAS) project. All Adaptation Community Meeting webinars can be found here.
