KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica says it will use the outcome of the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the first National Climate Forum (NCF-1) to help formulate the government’s climate change plan.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to advise us better,” said Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Matthew Samuda, adding that is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
Samuda told the meeting on Monday that while the Water Resources Authority (WRA) has the tools to digitize its monitoring network “and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools…we need to know what we are facing, and your expertise guides us”.
Samuda told delegates that investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritized given the climate change and continuing change.
“Ultimately, we need to assess our current climatic realities to better plan and ensure that our infrastructure meets our needs. I’m thrilled that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he added.
Principal Director of Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, said that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand the risks and opportunities of past, present, and future climate developments and improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans, and programs.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica is hosting the forum in partnership with the Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building.
It seeks to create a road map for developing and implementing climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations to generate and deliver co-produced and co-designed products and services.
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