The United Nations Environment Programme - International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) organized a consultation workshop on enhancing climate information services and early warning for resilience on October 22^nd - 23^rd, 2019, at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and National Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, with more than 40 representatives from Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology and relevant research institutes attending the workshop. Director Jochem Zoetelief of the Climate Services and Capacity Building Unit, Science Division of the UNEP, and Director Zhang Linxiu of the IEMP also attended the workshop.

During the workshop, Director Jochem Zoetelief introduced UNEP’s work on climate information services and early warning for resilience. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) introduced the application procedure and specific requirements of GCF program via online video. Representatives from Central Asian countries made reports on their country’s development planning and priority areas in dealing with climate change, and representatives from China shared the successful experience in disaster management, desertification and sandstorm control, meteorological observation and early warning,  agricultural water and intelligent irrigation in arid areas, ecosystem monitoring and assessment, remote sensing technology and big data application, etc. Liu Wenjiang, Executive Deputy Director of the Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (RCEECA) made a detailed introduction of RCEECA’s building history, organizational structure, operation and management, talent training as well as the layout and work progress of the cooperation projects in research. During the workshop, representatives also had a lively discussion around the priorities for climate finance in Central Asian countries, the complementary and mutual learning advantages between China and Central Asian countries, the opportunities and mechanisms for building regional South-South cooperation, next-step cooperation plans, etc., with the purpose of forming clear concept papers to lay the foundation for jointly applying for the GCF program’s support.

Workshop scene

Introduction to RCEECA