Enhancing Adaptive Capacity of Andean Communities through Climate Services (ENANDES) (Chile, Colombia, Peru)

The ENANDES countries share distinctive climatic, environmental and cultural characteristics that have led the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to recognize these countries as particularly vulnerable to climate change. ENANDES countries share the influence on their climate of the Andes, the most important mountain range in the Southern Hemisphere. The impressive length, continuity and height of the Andes create a wide variety of environmental conditions, including fragile mountainous ecosystems, arid, semiarid and forested areas. All three countries have long, low-lying coasts with important fishery resources. Moreover, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO), the major single source of interannual climate fluctuations in many parts of the world, strongly affects ENANDES countries.

Despite considerable advances in climate science, potentially useful climate information often goes unused and thus stakeholders are not fully benefiting from effective climate information and services in support of decision-making, risk management and adaptation. To improve this situation, there is growing interest in enhancing the operational provision and uptake of climate services – defined as the timely provision of climate-related knowledge and information to support decisions in climate-sensitive sectors.

The proposed project “Enhancing Adaptive Capacity of Andean Communities through Climate Services” – hereafter “ENANDES” – seeks to enhance the capacity of society and communities to adapt to a varying and changing climate by producing, communicating and assessing the use of credible, authoritative, and useful information as the scientific evidence for decision- and policy-making on preparedness for, and reduction of damages from climatic hazards in Chile, Colombia and Peru. Because increasing societal resilience to climate is not just about enhancing information, ENANDES will help build human and infrastructure capacity, and will seek to overcome institutional, technological and cultural barriers through increased coordination among climate and non-climate actors of society.

The project has four components.

• Enhanced design, production and communication of climate/water information and services
• Strengthened institutional coordination and value-adding tools and processes allow climate/weather information to be tailored and translated into user-centric and sector-specific adaptation actions
• Engaged and empowered stakeholders have participated in the co-development and implementation of local plans and activities for adaptation to climate variability and change that rely on climate/water information
• Regional and global coordination and cooperation mechanisms are strengthened; lessons, tools and approaches from ENANDES help others to provide climate services and replicate adaptation actions elsewhere

Project Documents