The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) introduced new tools to Sri Lankan decision makers in need of information and data on the local impacts of climate change. Under the CGIAR Research Initiative on Climate Resilience, or ClimBeR, IWMI launched the Climate Smart Governance (CSG) dashboard at a national event that took place in Colombo in early April 2024.
The CSG dashboard, launched in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Department of National Planning and the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment, is an online platform designed to support countries in preparing for and adapting to climate hazards. The tool provides a one-stop shop for vital data and tools to navigate the complex challenges of climate change.
Mark Smith, Director General, IWMI, said, “We are very proud to officially launch the Climate Smart Governance Dashboard, the first of its kind to integrate climate smart governance into national climate adaptation, planning and development.”
Smith said the dashboard would allow decision makers to better understand the costs and benefits of various adaptation solutions under different climate change scenarios. They would also have access to information on best practices, be able to track and monitor projects at the national and local scale, and coordinate interventions across ministries and development partners.
The dashboard will address the issues of the lack of timely, context specific actionable information needed for local communities and planners to make informed decisions on climate adaptation interventions. It will foster better climate smart integrated decision-making processes at all levels. Most importantly, the dashboard will help effectively mobilize and manage climate finance from national and international funding sources, as well as ensure that funding mechanisms are accessible to those who need them.
Giriraj Amarnath, Principal Researcher – Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience, IWMI, speaking at the event said, “The Climate Smart Governance Dashboard is a game-changer. It empowers national and development partners to invest strategically in climate-vulnerable regions. By fostering collaboration and providing crucial climate data, the dashboard equips diverse stakeholders to effectively prepare, monitor, and evaluate climate action projects, accelerating progress towards our shared climate goals.”
The CSG dashboard provides users access to multiple tools that accomplish this including a country profile, climate outlook, risk analysis, project tracker with robust data analytics, geospatial tools, adaptation catalogue, a Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) tracker tool, an investment planning tool and tools for monitoring and evaluation.
Moving beyond just data
Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment in Sri Lanka, said the absence of data and lack of accessible localized modelling tools for decision-making were the two major challenges affecting climate adaptation measures in the country.
“The CSG dashboard is one way of bringing together multi-scale data from projects on environmental, economic and social perspectives to identify needs at the community level and provide policymakers informed adaptation options.”
Chandrakeerthi said the dashboard bridged a critical gap for researchers, policy makers and planners providing them with timely, locally relevant and actionable data about climate action. He added that this would allow the development of evidence-based policies.
The dashboard goes beyond data providing critical insights to act and respond to climate change challenges. It combines historical and future climate projections as well as climate initiatives implemented around the world.
Ana Maria Loboguerrero, CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative Lead and Director, Climate Action, Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT, said that by showcasing successful climate-related projects from around the world, the dashboard is able to foster cross-regional learning and collaboration. She explained that a community facing a drought in Africa could learn from water management technologies used in Asia in a similar situation.
“We believe that there’s huge potential for further scaling through collaboration with multilateral donors in order to learn more and more from projects that are implementing in different countries, in different localities around the world,” said Loboguerrero.
The ClimBeR initiative is already fostering this exchange between Zambia and India. The CSG dashboard is presently active in Zambia and will be launched in Senegal shortly.
CultivateX – GeoGoviya
IWMI, meanwhile, handed over a new module, CultivateX, for the GeoGoviya platform administrated by the Department of Agrarian Development (DAD). CultivateX, an agroclimate advisory tool, is the first branded product to be released by IWMI. GeoGoviya is an online smart farming monitoring and feedback system developed by the DAD in collaboration with IWMI and other technical partners.
1.9 million paddy farmers in Sri Lanka are presently using the GeoGoviya platform. Armed with a crop specific calendar and weather forecast, DAD officials release advisories via SMS to farmers on information such as best dates to begin planting and when to apply fertilizer.