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ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 23 SEPTEMBER, 2009 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 23 SEPTEMBER, 2009 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND. Cosmas L. Zavazava, PhD HEAD, LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES AND EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Natural Disasters – Reported 1900-2008. TRENDS IN DISASTERS.

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ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 23 SEPTEMBER, 2009 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

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  1. ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATIONVIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM23 SEPTEMBER, 2009GENEVA, SWITZERLAND Cosmas L. Zavazava, PhD HEAD, LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES AND EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS

  2. Natural Disasters – Reported 1900-2008 TRENDS IN DISASTERS Much of the Increase in the number of hazardous events reported is probably due to significant improvement in information access and also population growth but the number of floods and cyclone being reported is still rising. What we must ask, is Global warming affecting the frequency of natural hazards?

  3. Mean 1961-1990 3 Source : Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia and the Hadley Centre of the UK Meteorological Office.

  4. CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS • Mean temperature increases by the end of this century of up to 4% centigrade and sea levels rising by up to 60 centimeters • The 10 warmest years on record have all been since 1990 • Over the last century, average global temperatures have risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius being the most drastic temperature rises over 1000 years in the northern hemisphere. • Glaciers are melting and Sea levels are rising and forecast to rise another 88 cm by 2100 • Globally sea level rise threatens 100 million people living below this level • Number of people affected by floods worldwide has risen from 7 million in the 1960s to 150 million today • Overall, ICT could save 15% of the total greenhouse gas emissions expected in 2020 or 7.8 billion tons of CO2 equivalent out of an assumed total of 51.9 billion tonnes.

  5. ICT and Climate Change Adaptation • A tool for dissemination of information on climate change • A medium for increasing awareness and facilitating dialogue about the effects of climate change • A tool for monitoring and measuring climate change, assessing its effects, and controlling interactions with the environment 5 5

  6. ITU WORK ON ADAPTATION DELIVERING LAST MILE SOLUTIONS • Environmental scanning to identify, assess, monitor, detect and predict risks. • Develop ICT infrastructure for accessibility and early warning systems taking into account climate change impacts • Design and develop new, creative and innovative practices to reduce vulnerability and incorporate resilience through ICT • Regeneration of ICT projects incorporating climate change measures • Design National Emergency Telecommunication Plans to enhance preparedness through institutional building. • Develop standard operating procedures • Develop guidelines on regulation and legal frameworks in the use of ICT for disaster management and capacity building • Design and develop ICT tools to support early warning systems • Deploy remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems for disaster preparedness • Forge partnerships with communities, public – private sectors

  7. ITU Work on e-Environment • ITU mandate on ICT applications and strategies: • Co-facilitator of WSIS Action Line C7 on e‑Environment • Develop guidelines, training materials and toolkits on technology & policy aspects of e-Environment applications • Assist developing countries in implementing relevant ICT applications for environment and sustainable development Mandate: Resolution 35, ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994) & Resolution 54, ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (Doha, 2006) 7 7

  8. ICTs for e-Environment Report Objective: Provide guidelines for developing countries on the use of ICTs for better management and protection of the environment as a key part of their development process, with particular focus on climate change Examines six areas of ICT use: Environmental Observation Analysis Planning Management and Protection ICT Mitigation and Capacity Building http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb 8 8

  9. The Toolkit will include: A list of first tier and secondary indicators The e-Environment Readiness Index (EERI): Methodology and calculations for assessing e-environment readiness Guidance for developing an e-sustainability strategy Online and other resources regarding e-environment indicators Components of the e-Environment Toolkit 9

  10. ADAPTATION AND PRIORITIES OF THE HYOGO FRAMEWORK • Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation: • Locally: To focus on severely impacted communities • Nationally: Strengthen existing policies to enhance a country’s ability to respond to it’s vulnerabilities to climate change • Regional and sub- regional: Plan, harmonize and coordinate measures to be taken. • Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning • Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels • Reduce the underlying risk factors • Strengthen disasters preparedness for effective response at all levels

  11. KEY ADAPTATION ISSUES: DEFINITIONS Adaptation:Study, evaluation and change of current policies and practices to respond to climate change and it’s associative impacts. Adaptation capacity:Ability of a system to adjust itself in order to cope with climate change variability. Flexibility:The ability to adapt to climate change through appropriate judgment and strategies. Mainstreaming:Taking on board climate change issues when designing national policies, programmes and priorities (to include climate related risk, vulnerability and options for adaptation in the ICT sector) Vulnerability:Degree to which an area is susceptible to harm due to exposure to such as climate change

  12. EFFECTIVE APPROACHES TO ADAPTATION • Engage stakeholders • Identify and set priorities for action • Assign responsibility for action and monitor implementation • Keep adaptation strategies under regular review IMPORTANT • Under – adaptation: Climate change factors are given insufficient weight • Over – adaptation: Climate change factors are given too much weight • Mal – adaptation: Decisions are taken resulting in more vulnerability to climate change • Adaptation = Flexibility

  13. VISION EMPHASIS ON RESILIENCE Prevent Protect Prepare Detect Respond Review GUIDING PRINCIPLE: RESILIENCE

  14. RESILIENCE REINFORCES PRERAREDNESS Advanced Preparedness Incident Response Capability Resilience Standard Advanced Standard Degree of Functionality ADAPTATION RESILIENCE STRATEGY

  15. Information Systems Observing Systems Socio-economic data EO satellites Remote sensing Hazard, vulnerabily, crisis maps UAV Common spatial data infrastructure In-situ sensors HALE SensorWeb Web services Semantic web Smart dust Interoperable Command Control Communication systems CAP , TSO IPv6 UMTS TETRA/TETRAPOL Cell Broadcasting Wimax UWB Positioning systems Telecommunications Systems ICT ELEMENTS:CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

  16. TIME Pre-Disaster: High Resolution Satellite Imagery Post-Disaster: High Resolution Satellite Imagery Geographical information systems: For capturing, storing, analyzing, management and presentation of data that refers to or is linked to location (important for analyzing spatial information, edit data, maps). GIS: CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION Pre/post disaster satellite imagery

  17. CONCLUSION Impacts transverses across many sectors: forest, energy (power and transport), agriculture, landfills and industry Strategies to address Climate Change Adaptation Mitigation Policy study on climate change will consolidate national policy, which provides the direction and the strategy to address climate change 17

  18. RECOMMENDATIONS • Identify and set priorities for action • Forge multi-disciplinary partnerships • Assign responsibility for action and monitor implementation • Keep adaptation strategies under regular review

  19. RECOMMENDATIONS • Enhance Cooperation and Coordination among scientific agencies and institutions to maximize resource use • Embark on institution building and strengthening in this area • Develop, deploy, and integrate low-cost, affordable and innovative ICT systems into early warning systems to facilitate universal dissemination, and access to information at local, national and regional levels • Design and implement Emergency Telecommunications Plans and Climate Change Adaptation Plans

  20. Helping The World Communicate Managing Climate Change THANK YOU Cosmas.zavazava@itu.int www.itu.int/itu-d/emergencytelecoms Tel: +41 22 730 5447

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