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COMMISSION FOR CLIMATOLOGY XV Open Panel of CCl Experts-4 (OPACE-4) Climate Information for Adaptation and Risk Management WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION MEETING OF THE TASK TEAM ON USER INTERFACE (TT-UI) 29-31 March 2011 WMO Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland TT-UI/Doc. 7 (24.03.2011) SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SECTORS TO CLIMATE VARIATION AND CHANGE INCLUDING INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS 1 Overview of available expertise in the OPACE The Task Team was apprised that OPACE 4 members included those nominated by their Permanent Representatives, a number identified from other OPACEs for cross-over activities such as for the work on indices, and external experts that could contribute to the work of the teams on an occasional basis. At present, there are 88 such persons associated with OPACE 4, and amongst these (based on the CVs provided), there are reasonable clusters of expertise in socioeconomic sectors, including agriculture, water resources, public health, renewable energy, tourism, transportation and urban and building climatology. Outside of these thematic clusters, the OPACE also benefits from a strong core of expertise in climate change, impacts, adaptation, sustainable development, and in vulnerability and risk assessment; in hazards and Disaster Risk reduction; in environmental and ecological sciences; in operational forecasting; in policy aspects; in weather and climate research and modeling; in training; and in user liaison. As far as regional balance is concerned, the OPACE is well represented from most regions, with 17 from RA I (Africa), 14 from Asia (RA II), 4 from RA III (South America), 15 from RA IV (central and north America), 10 from RA V (Pacific) and 28 from RA VI (Europe). The membership of OPACE 4 is therefore a substantial resource to support the work of TT-UI in the priority sectors of agriculture and water resources, other important socio-economic sectors and all aspects of climate-risk management. 2 Rolling requirements review The Rolling Requirements Review (RRR) process, defined by the Manual on the Global Observing System (WMO-No. 544) (Part II, Requirements for observational data), is a process in which user requirements for observations are compared with the capabilities of present and planned observing systems to provide them. Both user requirements and observing system capabilities are collated in a comprehensive, systematic and quantitative way in the WMO database, which attempts to capture observational requirements to meet the needs of all WMO programmes. The comparison of user requirements with observing system capabilities for a given application area is called a Critical Review. The output of the Critical Review process is reviewed by experts in the relevant application and used to prepare a Statement of Guidance (SOG), the main aim of which is to draw attention to the most important gaps between user requirements and observing system capabilities, in the context of the application. This process is conducted under the auspices of WMO’s Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), specifically the Expert Team on the TT-UI/Doc. 7, p. 2 Evolution of the Global Observing System (ET-EGOS), and with the cooperation of other Technical Commissions as required for specific topics. Applications within WMO programmes that have already been addressed include, inter alia, Seasonal to Inter-annual Forecasts; Agricultural Meteorology; and Hydrology. In 2009, a first version of an SoG on Climate Applications was developed by the Commission for Climatology. All existing SoG documents are being reviewed and updated in 2011. In this light, the CCl OPACE 4 Task Team on User Interface (TT-UI) was asked to lead the review and to develop an updated version of the above-mentioned SoG to be submitted to CBS for their consideration and inclusion in their set. Further information on the RRR process and the available SoG documents can be found at the following addresses: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/OSY/GOS-redesign.html http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/RRR-and-SOG.html 3 Development of CCl OPACE 4 draft RRR SoG input for consideration by CCl-MG Prior to the meeting of the TT-UI, the then current version of the SoG on Climate Applications was distributed to the entire OPACE 4 for their review and comment. The OPACE strongly supported the exercise and provided substantial comments on the document, which were organized into one single document for the consideration of TT-UI (see Annex). During its session, the task team ……..[to be completed following discussions]. It was agreed that the final version of this draft would be provided through the OPACE 4 cochairmen, to the CCl Management Group for their oversight, prior to being submitted to CBS through Dr William Wright, the CCl expert assigned to the CBS group conducting this review. 4 Susceptibility of sectors to climate and the use of climate information by sectors The TT-UI discussed how to proceed to address this ToR and decided….. to be completed following discussions. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex STATEMENT OF GUIDANCE FOR CLIMATE (other aspects -CCl) (Point of contact: Raino Heino, Finland) (Draft version of 28 November 2009 by Raino Heino, Finland) 1. INTRODUCTION This Statement of Guidance (SoG) was developed through a process of consultation within the Commission for Climatology (CCl) community to document the observational data requirements to support various aspects of the CCl-work, especially in the applications and services (cf. Appendix 1). It is expected that the Statement will be reviewed at appropriate intervals to ensure that it remains consistent with the current state of the relevant science and technology. This report covers data requirements for various application areas, in which many present problems are connected to climate change issues, including monitoring, detection and attribution. Because attribution involves the comparison of three-dimensional fields of observations with fields from models covering the whole climate system, data types for many parts of the climate system are involved. Detection should be based on analysis of high-quality homogeneous data. GCOS baseline systems, especially the GCOS Surface Network (GSN) and the GCOS Upper-Air Network (GUAN), are essential benchmarks to ensure the homogeneity of the overall global/regional databases. Other networks need also to be consolidated and maintained, including national networks (e.g. Reference Climatological Stations) and regional networks (e.g. Regional Basic Climatological Network), with emphasis on their continuity and homogeneity. For monitoring climate change, data on variability and vulnerability, and extreme events are essential. The most common and high impact manifestations of local variability involve temperature and precipitation, which show significant variability in most regions, and have marked effects on local and regional economies and livelihoods. Multi-seasonal anomalies are less common, but have even stronger effects on society. Multi-year anomalies are still less common, but can have devastating social and economic consequences. Important phenomena to be monitored include heat waves, frost, cyclones, floods and droughts and a number of other characteristics derived from the basic climatic parameters. This requires daily and even hourly data for some variables. Data archaeology and metadata are also important. Maximum focus in the past has been on the atmosphere, but increasing emphasis needs to be placed on the terrestrial and ocean components of the climate system. Monitoring sea-level rise, for instance, is vital for climate change adaptation efforts in coastal or island communities. Increasing sea levels mean greater risk of storm surge, inundation and wave damage to coastlines, particularly in Small Island States and countries with low lying deltas. Paleoclimatic data are also used to provide a long-term perspective. Because extreme events will have effects on health and lives as well as associated environmental and economic impacts, these aspects of climate variability are crucially important to society. It cannot be overemphasized the importance of sharing the longer-term records of daily data to enable studies of high impact climate events in a uniform way. More can be learnt by sharing the data and thus better value of the data can be materialized, and at the end it is the data owner who benefits from sharing the data. Nevertheless, it has been much more difficult to create global data sets of daily data than of monthly data. The IPCC 4th Assessment Report (2007) has reviewed the state of understanding of climate change. An important development in the report was the assignment of error estimates to some climate indices and analysed fields. Data coverage needs to be sufficient to allow these developments to continue. Data quality assurance is most essential in order to separate the real climate changes from the apparent ones caused by changes in the measuring instruments and TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 2 observing methods/ locations, and errors in the data. It should also provide a means of providing feedback on climate needs to observational program managers within the NMHSs. The GCOS Second Report on the Adequacy of the Global Observing Systems for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC (2003) provides a complete assessment of the adequacy of current observing systems, particularly to meet the needs of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. An update of progress against this report is available in GCOS (2009). The GCOS Climate Monitoring Principles, which are included therein (also in Appendix 2), must be adhered to when planning, developing and operating all observing systems relevant to climate change, including both in situ and satellite-based systems. 2. USER REQUIREMENTS This section is shortened and modified from the document “Observation needs for climate services and research” describing the needs for climate data in community sectors identified for consideration at the World Climate Conference (2009). They reflect also the work of the corresponding CCl Expert Teams (Appendix 1). Human health Climate is one of the major determinants of human health; as the temperature and humidity move outside relatively narrow bands, the well-being of humans is affected. Health effects can be direct, such as through increased heat stress in periods of sustained unusually high temperature, or indirect, such as through respiratory diseases induced by particulate pollution in the air both human-induced environmental pollution and natural disasters such as sandstorm, through changes in the distribution of insects and animals that carry human (and animal) diseases, and through changes in water quality due to chemical and radioactive pollutants. Increases in frequency of natural hazards such as flood, tsunami, avalanche, drought etc. induced by climate change in some regions will also lead to increased number of death, infectious disease (diarrhoeal diseases) and disease on mental health (long-term anxiety and depression). Increases in frequency of wildfires induced by climate change in some regions will also lead to increased morbidity from poorer air quality. As many health effects tend to be quite localised, it is important that climate observations are maintained and improved at local scales, especially in urban areas. These climate observations include not only physical variables such as temperature and humidity but also chemical variables (e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration of precipitation) and aerosols. Such observations need to be analysed in conjunction with concomitant health data. Weather has a profound effect on human health and well-being. It has been demonstrated that weather is associated with changes in birth rates, and sperm counts, with outbreaks of pneumonia, influenza and bronchitis, and is related to other morbidity effects linked to pollen concentrations and high pollution levels. Large increases in mortality have occurred during previous heat and cold waves. Hot weather extremes appear to have a more substantial impact on mortality than cold wave episodes. Most research indicates that mortality during extreme heat events varies with age, sex, and race. Factors associated with increased risk from heat exposure include alcoholism, living on higher floors of buildings, and the use of tranquilizers. Factors associated with decreased risk are use of air conditioning, frequent exercising, consumption of fluids, and living in shaded residences. Acclimatization may moderate the impact of successive heat waves over the short term. Humidity has an important impact on mortality since it contributes to the body's ability to cool itself by evaporation of perspiration. In addition, humidity affects human comfort, and the perceived temperature by humans is largely dependent upon atmospheric moisture content. It also has an important influence on morbidity in the winter because cold, dry air leads to excessive dehydration of nasal passages and the upper respiratory tract and increased chance of microbial and viral infection. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 3 Precipitation in the form of rainfall and snow is also associated with changes in mortality. In most of the city, upward trends in mortality were noted the day after snowfalls that had accumulated 2 inches or more. Weather and climate extreme events such as flood, drought, heat and cold wave, tornado, storm, avalanche, hail, fog, lightning, etc cause morbidity and mortality and reduce human well-being. If future global warming induced by increased concentrations of trace gases does occur, it has the potential to significantly affect human mortality. It is hypothesized that, if climate warming occurs, some additional deaths are likely to occur because economic conditions and the basic infrastructure of the city will prohibit full acclimatization even if behaviour changes. In addition, several atmospheric phenomena are indirectly related to weather and might have an impact on mortality. Meteorological conditions exert a large influence on pollution concentrations and disperse ion and they also affect the impact of pollution on mortality and morbidity. Also combined effect of temperature and humidity is known as apparent temperature (heat index) and combined effect of temperature and wind speed is known as wind-chill and both of them affect human comfort. Warming trend may contribute to rise of some climate-sensitive diseases such as malaria and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever. Energy Energy plays an important role in human development and its quality and use determines the standard of living of the citizens.The impacts of weather and Climate come into play mainly during the processing of capital energy, that is, harnessing, transmission and distribution including biomass fuel harvest. The degree of climatic impact is however dependent on a number of factors, which among others include energy transformation processes, concentration and the level of technology involved. Extreme climate and weather variability are capable of triggering disasters in the energy sector and the magnitude of the disaster is dependent on size of energy system and the degree of impacting climatic elements. Excessive rains for example can interfere with electrical power supply as a result of trees falling on power lines, flood waters uprooting the power poles and vehicles knocking down power lines as a result of poor visibility. Heavy rains can similarly disrupt the normal production and distribution of essential petroleum products such as cooking gas and other fuels to isolated areas that heavily rely on such commodities for their energy supply as a result of roads being impassable. Overhead power lines for the distribution of electricity are vulnerable to a number of weather hazards including strong winds which may snap the supporting poles, wind blown trees falling on the high tension lines, etc. It has also been found that high humidity also affects the efficiency of the electrical transmission and performance of the insulators although a large proportion of the power supplies interruptions are linked to lightning and thunderstorm activities. The demand for fuel and electrical power is also sensitive to weather conditions. More power is required for space heating during cold weather conditions than in warm weather conditions. In many regions the local climate has a substantial impact on the availability and use of energy. The energy required to operate electricity and residential/commercial space cooling/heating equipment is very common generated by natural gas/coal fuelled power stations. To estimate natural gas/coal consumption in relation to weather conditions it is necessary to have reliable historical climate data. Heating/cooling day degree studies can be used as a tool to reveal this relationship. Climate may affect all sectors of power economy including energy generation (both traditional and renewable energy sources), transportation and consumption. Exploration and exploitation of the oil and gas fields, designing and operation of oil and gas pipe-lines require a set of tailored climate products. The climate information on air temperature, humidity, wind speed, snow and ice loadings TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 4 as well as dangerous weather events probability is necessary for designing and safe operation of nuclear and thermal power stations and electric power lines. Information from weather forecasts is currently routinely employed in the energy sector (from energy producers to suppliers, and from financial analysts to national regulators) to assist in decision-making. Given the diversity of the energy sector, this information is used for several purposes, e.g. for pricing the cost of energy or that of financial instruments (e.g. derivative contracts). Other climate information, such as that from seasonal and decadal forecasts, is also starting to be included in the decision processes in the energy sector. This weather/climate information, especially when severe weather events are expected, will likely become a regular factor in climate change adaptation contingent strategies, including in the formulation of climate change adaptation regulations. In addition, weather/climate information will be a key element in the development and use of renewable energy resources such as and wind, solar energies, biofuel, heat pumps and hydropower. Hydro-electricity is a source of energy in some mountainous areas, particularly in sub Saharan Africa. As global warming is starting to influence the seasonal cycle of snow and glacier melt, and alter wind and precipitation patterns, particularly the increased frequency and severity of prolonged droughts, the operation of such power plants is being affected. Renewable energy sources wind and solar power generation and their efficiency are clearly dependent on climate information, both for selecting sites for infrastructure and for sustained operation. Decadal-scale and longer-term climate fluctuations or climate-change shifts may affect the long-term efficacy of wind and solar power sources in some regions. Climate information is also needed for the design of energy efficient buildings for all seasons as well as to decision-making on where best to locate biofuel sources. Extreme climate condition such as heat wave and cold surge could cause the supply of traditional energy unstable, even collapsed temporarily. So climate prediction information is needed for the management of traditional energy supply, too. It needs to be noted however, Hydro-electricity and solar energy systems present an opportunity for the production of clean energy, some solar energy systems may have negative effects on local climate. It needs to pay attention to local climate change in around the dam catchment and solar energy production areas esp. for increasing of temperature and decreasing of precipitation amount. In particular, parabolic trough types of CSP solar energy systems can create a heat island in production areas. For instance, to produce 50MW electricity power with parabolic trough type (CSP) systems, it needs to between 126 - 225 hectares of land and 600000 – 800000 m3 water. In these systems, operating temperature is changing between 250 - 650°C. Climate data needs for wind and solar energy (from CCl Expert Team on Climate and Energy) - at present, satellite-derived wind data are not as accurate as in situ observations, but are useful for pre-feasibility wind resource estimation. - for risk assessments, there is a requirement for measurement of natural turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer, in addition to the conventional observations which include surface and radiosonde measurements. It should be noted that operational wind farms can generate both turbulence and wind ‘shadows’ which are a hazard for small airstrips. - highly useful are the reanalysis data from the ECMWF, NCEP, JRA, the UKMO ACRE global data reconstruction project, satellite observations, and other remotely sensed data from LIDAR-and SODAR-systems. Fresh water (in a more detailed way in the SoG for Hydrology) Terrestrial-surface-water resources systems are strongly influenced by climatic factors such as rainfall and evaporation. To a smaller extend, the groundwater resources are also influenced (but with a considerable time lag) by rainfall and evaporation. Consequently, climate information and prediction products are vital in the planning and management of water resources and must be factored into the management policies for disasters related to the water resources sector. For example in the recent times availability of fresh water is becoming an important limiting factor on the development of communities. The observed increase in climate variability manifested through increased frequency and severity of both floods and droughts coupled with increased evaporation rate exacerbated by increasing temperature trends is already having disastrous impacts on the TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 5 availability of fresh water supply, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa leading to severe socioeconomic and ecological implications. Therefore effective adaptation and mitigation strategies will need to be developed and implemented now and in the future. These and other climate impacts will interact with societal decisions on water rights and water use, both within a nation's territory and among regional neighbours. Monitoring of climate variables associated with the availability and quality of fresh water requires systematic observations of the basic atmospheric variables, such as precipitation, evaporation, temperature, radiation and wind, as well as hydrological variables that characterise the storage and movement of water at the land surface. Apart from precipitation and evaporation measurements, which are vital for assessing overall water balance, the other atmospheric variables allow the flux of water across the atmosphere-land interface to be estimated accurately, while the hydrological variables such as stream-flow and soil moisture allow the water budget across catchment areas to be calculated. Given the increasing drought frequency and the increasing use of ground water resources for human consumption in many parts of the world, it is necessary to place greater effort on monitoring the quantity and quality of ground water storages and their changes, and enhancing awareness and capacity on rain water harvesting in both rural and urban areas. Management of watershed will also become a key issue under the projected change in climate particularly in arid and semi-arid regions in respect of land degradation and water scarcity. Climate observations should also include the measurements of chemical parameters of precipitation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration) to estimate the water quality and source for consumption needs of fresh water. Since the glaciers are important features in the hydrological cycle and affect fresh water supply for many regions, the systematic observations to monitor variability and changes in glaciers characteristics are vital. Remote sensing observations are needed for mapping characteristics of glaciers. Mass balance characteristics for long-term period are required to understand the influence of glaciers on runoff. Sustainable cities In many countries, there is a trend towards increasing urbanisation; thus the impacts of climate variability and change on urban areas need to be well understood. In addition, the impacts of urbanization on climate variability and change also need to be comprehended. Detailed climate observations and the associated socio-economic data need to be systematically collected and analysed to ensure that optimal strategies are developed to manage climate impacts. Issues to be understood and managed include: the impact of urbanisation on regional climate building design to mitigate and adapt to climate changes urban planning to optimise energy use, especially for transport human health impacts of air quality and physical climate changes such as increased frequency or severity of heat waves. With increasing energy consumption, the air pollution has become an important issue. There is a close relation between air pollutants (between SO2, PM10, NO, NO2, CO) and climatic factors such as temperature, wind. ) urban planning to optimise use and management of water supply, as well as drainage systems, especially for those cities with large population urban planning to mitigate and adapt to sea-level rise including aspects associated with more severe storm surge events urban planning and neighbouring forest management to provide security against fire and flood risks identify air pollution sources in the urban cities In many instances, the value of climate data relating to urban areas is greatly enhanced when combined with socio-economic information on human activities in the region. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 6 Food security (in a more detailed way in the SoG for Agricultural Meteorology) Certain major factors have had an impact on increasing vulnerability to food insecurity. These include: Changing Land Use Population pressure and political interests in land ownership in some African countries has led to fragmentation of land holdings into small and inadequate land for household food production. This has increased household food insecurity. Population growth has increased demand for food requirements. This has led to opening up of Arid and Semi Arid Land (ASAL) for cultivation and settlement without appropriate farming and soil and water conservation techniques and practices. Combined with cultivation on steep slopes, riverbanks and clearing of forests, these land use practices have left soils vulnerable to slightest floods and erosion. Erosion of Coping Strategies Deterioration of environment and loss of biodiversity have reduced availability of wild foods. Establishment of game parks and reserves in some countries has not only protected game that communities would fall back to but along with other developments has alienated grazing reserves from the nomadic pastoralists, leaving them vulnerable to droughts. Lack of Drought Preparedness at Household Level Climate and weather information for drought preparedness does not reach many farmers and is still received with skepticism. The information has not been well internalised and is not effectively used at household level. Forecasts are not livelihood zone specific and are not used in decision-making at farm level. As such most households are usually not prepared for droughts. Hence, challenges for agriculture are being exacerbated in some regions as climate change modifies the local temperature and rainfall regimes. Changes in temperature and precipitation associated with continued emissions of greenhouse gases will bring changes in land suitability and crop yields. Moreover, limited land availability, combined with rising human population, continually forces agriculture into more marginal land. The location of land suitable for grazing or crop production will change as climate changes, and the need for forecasting or early warning of herd collapse or crop failure due to drought, heavy rain, or hair falls, or frost or shifts in disease incidence (plant and animal) is already very real. While patterns of agricultural production will change in the future as a result of climate change, understanding the effects on food security and assessing whether food systems can adapt sufficiently to avoid increased food insecurity raise many issues. Food security depends upon more than just local agricultural production. Access to food is a function of both household income and price of food, as well as of the ability of markets and distribution networks to allocate food equitably, from the household to the international level. In some parts, progressive climate change will increase the probability of failed agricultural seasons due not only to long-term shifts in temperature and precipitation but also to the likely increased frequency of droughts and floods. Increases in transitory food insecurity episodes can thus be expected. Long-term monitoring of basic climate variables, related to the fluxes of energy at the surface, is essential if we are to plan for changes in the location, extent and productivity of agricultural and grazing lands. Also needed are improved mechanisms for delivery of short- and medium-range weather forecast information, to help farmers cope with increasing variability of climate. From the perspective of world food security, it is important to recognize that food security involves climate, not only as a natural hazard but also as a natural resource. Climate is a renewable resource, but is variable in time and space. For proper and efficient use of the other two natural TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 7 resources (soil and plant/animal genetic material) for sustainable agriculture, knowledge of the role of climate is an essential precondition. Climate can be regarded as the driving variable for sustainable production of plant, animal and soil resources. WMO Members contribute to this activity by providing accurate weather and climate observations, analyses and forecasts that are used by the agricultural community to increase crop and livestock yields, plan their planting and harvest time and reduce pests and diseases. (Source: http://www.wmo.int/pages/food_security/index_en.html) Tourism (from World Climate News, March 2008) One of the key elements in this sector is vegetation, which is often effected by an array of weather and climate factors such temperature, rainfall, soil moisture and fertility, solar insolation and, humidity .Vegetation controls the distribution of animals most rigorously in that each animal must remain within reach of the plants upon which it feeds or in the case of a carnivore within reach of its prey, which in turn is controlled in its habitat by vegetation .For example In the tropics, rainfall is a critical factor in determining plant growth. However, soil moisture and fertility also influence biomass production. On the other hand, Extreme weather and climate events, especially sea level rise associated with global warming poses a major threat to coastlines. The impacts of sea level rise may result in lowland inundation and wetlands displacement, shoreline erosion, saltwater intrusion into estuaries and freshwater aquifers, altered tidal range in rivers and bays, changes in sediment patterns and decreased light penetration to the benthic organism. These will also lead to increased beach erosion and destruction of the coral reefs. Hence generally speaking, the tourism industry and tourism destinations are sensitive to climate variability and change. Some changes in climate could therefore have significant impacts on various aspects of the tourism sector, for example: - - - - - - - Warmer temperatures would affect the seasonality and major geographic patterns of tourism demand, increase heat stress for tourists, alter destination image and competitiveness, alter heating-cooling costs, and could change the range of infectious diseases; Decrease in snow amount and extent would increase snow-making costs, and decrease the length of winter sports seasons, making some current facilities-destinations unviable; An increase in frequency or intensity of extreme weather (e.g. tropical cyclones and associated more intense storm surge impacts, hurricanes, mid-latitude winter storms) would increase risk for tourists and infrastructure, raise insurance costs, increase the costs of business interruptions including travel delays; Reduced precipitation would create or increase water stress in some destinations, could cause or increase competition between tourism and other users for water, could affect availability of locally-produced food, would exacerbate desertification and increase the threat of wildfires, with consequent threats to infrastructure, tourist safety and destination aesthetics and tourism resources; Increased frequency of heavy precipitation would increase risk of flooding, affecting safety of tourists and their hosts, hamper movement of wildlife; increasing risk to tourism infrastructure and to cultural heritage assets, a major draw for destination choices; Increase in frequency and severity of droughts associated with extreme higher temperatures and increased evaporation rate will reduce the availability of water supply, raise insurance costs and increase business running cost; Sea level rise will cause flooding and increase coastal erosion, reduce or eliminate vital beach area, put significant tourism infrastructure and heritage assets at risk, increase costs of and would reduce availability of freshwater supply through salt water intrusion; A rise in sea-surface temperatures would increase risk of coral bleaching, and affect marine resources (including availability of marine food supply); Changes in climate could also affect biological resources for tourism by reducing biodiversity or the abundance of key species. This can be either direct (e.g. change in plant TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 8 - species through changed temperature and rainfall regime) or indirect (e.g. loss of species through climate-induced environmental changes such as fire frequency or sea-ice). Decrease in river levels or even induced seasonality of some rivers would affect one of the tourist related wonders of the world such as migration of wild beasts Vulnerability to these potential impacts is of particular concern where tourism has become a significant factor in the local and national economy, as is the case in many developing countries and Small Island Developing States. The sector recognizes that climate change will also, in some regions, raise new opportunities, so all components of the sector, in all regions, need to be cognizant of both risks and opportunities associated with climate variability and change, for effective decisions and the sustainability of what is now a major component of the global economy. Ecosystem: Climate is an integral part of ecosystems and organisms have adapted to their regional climate over time. Climate change is a factor that has potential to alter ecosystems and many resources and services they provide to each other and to society. Human societies depend on ecosystems for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate climate change impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem patterns analysis. The satellite images on land degradation, such as ndvi, land cover index data over time should be collected and matched to the climatological data analysis. 3. OBSERVING CAPABILITIES This section is based mainly on the World Climate Conference document “Capability of existing and future observing systems” as well as the deliverables of CCl Expert Team on Observing Requirements and Standards for Climate and Expert Teams on various application areas (cf. Appendix 1). The adequacy of observational networks varies largely from region to region and observations for some of the variables described below are inadequate in terms of spatial and temporal coverage. It needs to be noted however, that observational requirements over the oceans are not reflected in this Statement of Guidance and terrestrial observations are handled in a limited way. Weather and climate data are necessarily needed to enable the development of climatological applications and services necessary to manage sectoral challenges such as those outlined above. The data are used by the NMHSs and their partner agencies in a variety of projects and other studies aimed at mitigating climate-related risk and losses. The collection and management of climatological data, including ensuring its accessibility in electronic forms, is also critical for running different models for the assessment of the climatic characteristics used in the climate applications and services, and for tuning, verifying and downscaling climate change models. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are very easy tools and present an opportunity for data collection, quality control, database, data monitoring, downscaling methods and interactive services to endusers as a whole. As weather plays a critical role in influencing agricultural production, climate database becomes a pre-requisite for efficient agricultural planning. Long-term climate databases play a vital role by providing a clear insight into the climatic vagaries at micro and macro levels. Such information will help developing appropriate response farming strategies for efficient crop management on shortterm basis and agroclimatic regional planning on long-term basis. Though, climate data is recorded vigorously across the country in most parts of the world, its utility has been marginalized due to scattered location of the databases and impediments in the free flow of data. Thus, compiling climate data of various regions at one location will be of immense use. Climatological parameters are variable in time and space. Ground observations do not always provide end–users with required spatial and temporal resolution. Information about large areas can only be obtained by remote sensing. The flow of data from new generation satellites has the potential to greatly boost the monitoring of climate beyond that possible from conventional TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 9 observations alone, but poses challenges to ensure such data are effectively integrated with traditional observations. In addition to the standard weather elements (air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed/direction, solar radiation, soil moisture, etc.), it is also important to collect other data e.g. information on disasters (tropical systems and associated storm surges, severe weather, floods, fires, freezes, blizzards, ice storms, volcanoes activity, tsunami’s morbidity and mortality data for heat waves, etc.) and their associated impacts on communities, and chemical parameters of precipitation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration) at strategically located stations. In order to adapt successfully to climate change it is also important to assess how responsive current climate-sensitive systems (natural and man-made) are to climate and its variations; for instance, how much rainfall is required to ensure an adequate water supply. The longest climate records are available for surface variables, primarily temperature and precipitation. All studies of climate change require that the basic measurements be homogeneous i.e. not affected by changes in instrument type and location or observation practices, or by undocumented data adjustments. NMHSs pay attention to keep in operation their observation stations which have long periods data with environmental and observational systems metadata. Improvements to instrumentation require overlapping observations of the old and the new system for a period sufficient to identify and eliminate time-dependent biases (cf. GCOS Climate Monitoring Principles, Appendix 2). Where no overlap exists, a consistent method for adjusting data series based on data from neighbouring sites is required. Metadata must be acquired and kept up-to-date, both for ensuring the reliability and fitness for purpose of the records and for assessing the effects of local land-use changes. Current and historical metadata should be, to the extent possible, stored in electronic form and made readily accessible. All surface variables need to be monitored to the required accuracy and recorded using consistent statistical methods (for example wind speed averaging periods) (see CEOS/WMO database for a list of all required variables and monitoring accuracy). Major efforts must be made to ensure the long-term viability of observational networks, and that data losses are kept to a minimum. This poses particular challenges in developing countries, while the implementation of automated observing systems, which are increasing rapidly as a proportion of the overall observing network, must be done with the needs of the climate program firmly in mind. In developing countries, Data Rescue needs to be carried out to ensure that data stored on forms that deteriorate under certain climate conditions such as high humidity are rescued and put in electronic forms. Data Rescue should also entail migration of data from storage media that are being phased out to the ones coming into the market to take care of technological changes. The GSN provides a baseline set of observations against which more detailed national and regional measurements can be assessed. Coverage over land is generally good, but performance is poor in some regions. High-quality national and regional networks of Reference Climatological Stations (RCSs) must be maintained. NHMS’s must be established a RCSs network from at least 10% of national observational network which have got long period climate data. NHMS’s operate both conventional observation systems and automatic observation systems in other words old and new systems together in RCSs. At present, many data that are thought to be collected do not make their way to the global data centres for a variety of reasons that include poor communications and lack of capability in generating the required messages. Much could be gained, if all data were shared with the data centres. It would also be highly desirable to have more accurate observations of near-surface humidity everywhere, of precipitation over high-latitude and mountainous areas and oceans, and of winds over the land. Changes in storm tracks over time, changes in natural large-scale oscillations and changes in observing equipment can influence trends in the observed wind data. It is important to consider the need for regular calibration and maintenance of meteorological instruments by standardizing, comparing and training. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 10 The monitoring of surface variables can be accomplished by remote sensing under clear sky conditions. Geostationary satellites are optimum regarding frequency of observations. Research polar satellites have adequate horizontal resolution, but lack necessary observing frequency. Microwave imagers and sounders offer information on precipitation of marginal horizontal and temporal resolution. Satellite-borne rain radars offer the potential for improved observations. There is much ongoing work on a lot of applications for precipitation estimation on the basis of certain characteristics of remotely sensed clouds. However, validation of the rainfall estimates through ground truthing is important to ensure development of representative data. Satellite meteorology has allowed us to obtain accurate measurements of basic meteorological and agro-meteorological parameters (e.g. surface albedo, surface temperature, evapotranspiration, solar radiation, rainfall etc.). The satellite estimated agro-meteorological parameters have several advantages compared to conventional measurements of agrometeorological data in ground meteorological network resources spent on agromet lead to concrete improvement in sustainable agriculture The most important upper-air variable for monitoring climate change is temperature. Humidity is next important because of its strong contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect. As all the data need to be accurate and unbiased, care must be taken to ensure that metadata are available to allow radiosonde and satellite-based temperature and humidity profiles to be determined to known quality with established error bars. Some events of shorter duration need attention as being of climate significance. Major volcanic events and major fires fall in this category. These events affect climate through the introduction of aerosols into the atmosphere and through land-surface changes, which can have major air-quality and albedo consequences. Climate change might affect the frequency of large fires in a region which then leads to longer term land-surface changes and changes to other climate parameters, besides climate induced health issues. A combination of satellite and in situ data will be needed to permit characterization of the anomalies in the atmosphere introduced by larger-scale fires and major volcanoes. The combination of recurrent climate variability patterns and short-term chaotic atmospheric variability leads to extreme weather events, which can have severe human and economic impacts. Accordingly, to monitor climate variability, data on extreme events are essential. Important phenomena to be monitored include tropical and mid-latitude cyclones, storm surges, heat waves, frost, floods and droughts. Therefore daily data are needed and, ideally, hourly precipitation data. In fact, for urban flooding, minute-by-minute data are needed. In addition, the social, economic and environmental impacts of extreme events, and of longer-term anomalies, need to be recorded as systematically and objectively as possible. Even the longest of instrumental records are not long enough to address issues of representativeness over long time scales. Paleoclimate data (indirect information from tree rings, ice cores, corals, historical documents, etc.) allow the instrumental record to be placed in a much longer context. Isotopic concentration of precipitation data (2H, 16O, 18O) is very important in paleoclimatological studies to assess ice cores and historical water. IAEA’s networks; GNIP, GNIR and MIBA are s good supporter for Paleoclimate and they needs to be improved. They are particularly important for assessing the uniqueness of recent trends, together with climate model results and estimates of past forcing. The consistency of paleoclimate data, and their interpretation in terms of instrumental measurements, requires ongoing research. Data rescue which is ongoing process of preserving all data at risk of being lost due to deterioration of the medium, and the digitization of current and past data into computer compatible form for easy access is also very important activities in order to provide longest climate record. There are some ongoing project such as MEDARE and ACRE which CCl XV. Session appreciated these efforts. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 11 4. CONCLUDING REMARKS Established networks largely meet traditional needs; however substantial vulnerabilities exist, particularly in developing and least-developed countries. These vulnerabilities revolve around resources (including funding), communications and training issues, and attention is needed to ensure that these vulnerabilities are addressed, including resource mobilization to support key climate monitoring stations. Since the 1990s, some observing network degradation has been halted. New observing systems have been established, but a number of past concerns remain (e.g. filling gaps in coverage). The introduction of automated surface networks has resulted in improved temporal frequency of observations at the expense of manually observed parameters such as cloud cover. Improved communications and some training are required to ensure that CLIMAT messages are properly and routinely sent and received. GSN and GUAN observations provide the backbone for analyses of larger-scale work with climate applications and services, but need to be augmented by denser national and regional networks to truly reflect climate variability and change over areas representing different climate zones, vulnerable areas (as glaciers), and socio-economically important areas. However, the consumables for GUAN stations are quite expensive for developing and least developed countries. This will still hamper improvement in the spatial coverage of upper air data. Quality assurance is a vital component of ensuring climate data is fit for purpose. Efforts should be made to ensure that climate data – at least the Essential Climate Variables – are subject to suitable quality control processes. Programs on data rescue should continue to find, secure and where resources permit, digitise all available historical records, with priority going to those stations identified as climatically significant in the previous point. Manual and automated observing stations have complementary strengths and weaknesses for climate. Efforts should continue to ensure network planners take account of these synergies, and address issues that may impact on the homogeneity and completeness of the climate record. Homogeneity and completeness of records are vital for all climatic studies. Long-term, high-quality, calibrated, and as far as possible un-interrupted observations are the foundation for most climaterelated applications and services. Satellite data are the only means for providing high-resolution data in areas where in situ observations are sparse or absent. The climate program should collaborate with projects and initiatives focussing on the integration of different observing systems, and to explore the potential of remote-sensing techniques for representing climatically-significant variables. However, there is a need to undertake ground-truth studies to ensure remotely-sensed data are compatible with conventional observations. Many established observing systems have yet to implement the GCOS Climate Monitoring Principles (Appendix 2). There is a need to ensure that observation program managers and network planners consult closely with climate programs to ensure their actions do not adversely affect the climate record. This should be done at the international level through appropriate consultation between WMO Program areas, and at the individual NMHS level. ______________ TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 1 Applications and services in the present CCl and WCP organization The Commission for Climatology (CCl) is one of eight Technical Commissions of the World Meteorological Organization. It is supported by the World Climate Programme (WCP) and its subprogrammes. With respect to applications of climate, the World Climate Applications and Services Programme (WCASP) and its Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS) project are core elements of WMO’s approach to climate services. The WCASP fosters the effective application of climate knowledge and information for the benefit of society and the provision of climate services, including the prediction of significant climate variations both natural and as a result of human activity. The CLIPS project deals with the implementation of climate services around the globe. It strives to take advantage of current data bases, increasing climate knowledge and improving prediction capabilities to limit the negative impacts of climate variability and to enhance planning activities based on the developing capacity of climate science. In anticipation of adoption and implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services, the World Climate Programme is likely to evolve and restructure to better support the GFCS. It is envisaged that CLIPS will cease as a project by 2015, knowing that its achievements are at the root of the GFCS, and that progress achieved because of CLIPS will be furthered within the Climate Services Information System (CSIS) and the Climate User Interface Platform (CUIP) components of the GFCS. At the time the first version of this Statement of Guidance related to applications and services was drafted in 2009, the CCl was organized into four Open Programme Area Groups (OPAGs): OPAG 1 was on Climate Data and Data Management; OPAG 2 was on the Monitoring and Analysis of Climate Variability and Change; OPAG 3 was on Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS); and OPAG 4 was on Climate Applications and Services. OPAG 4 had expert teams specifically focused on key sectors (for health, energy, tourism, and urban and building climatology). In addition there were Rapporteurs on climate and water and climate and agriculture, linking the CCl with the Commission for Hydrology and the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology. At the Fifteenth session of the Commission (CCl-XV) that met in Antalya, Turkey in February 2010, experts discussed the future of the Commission and of climatology. The vision of the Commission for Climatology is to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in climatology. More specifically, its mission is to stimulate, lead, implement, assess and coordinate international technical activities within WMO under the World Climate Programme (WCP) and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) to obtain and apply climate information and knowledge in support of sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection. To better accomplish this, CCl has adopted a new approach to undertake its work based on four thematic groups, now called Open Panels of CCl Experts, or OPACEs: OPACE I (Climate Data Management); OPACE II (Climate Monitoring and Assessment); OPACE III (Climate Products and Services and their Delivery Mechanisms); and OPACE IV (Climate Information for Adaptation and Risk Management). The objective of OPACE IV is to improve decision-making for planning, operations, risk management and for adaptation to both climate change and variability (covering time scales from seasonal to centennial) and will be achieved through a higher level of climate knowledge, as well as by access to and use of actionable information and products, tailored to meet their needs. The activities undertaken under OPACE IV are intended to primarily focus on the approach to development of tailored climate information, products and services for user application in adaptation and risk management, and on interface with user groups. These activities will provide key contributions to the Climate User Interface Programme (CUIP) component of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). The work of OPACE IV is multidisciplinary, and its core priority sectors for consideration are agriculture/food security and water, requiring close collaboration with the WMO Technical Commissions for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) and for Hydrology (CHy). These priorities will TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 1, p. 2 expand and grow to include others such as health, energy, urban matters, tourism, and coastal climate change. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2 GCOS Climate Monitoring Principles Effective monitoring systems for climate should adhere to the following principles: (The ten basic principles were adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through decision 5/CP.5 at COP-5 in November 1999. This complete set of principles was adopted by the Congress of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) through Resolution 9 (Cg-XIV) in May 2003; agreed by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) at its 17th Plenary in November 2003; and adopted by COP through decision 11/CP.9 at COP-9 in December 2003.) 1. The impact of new systems or changes to existing systems should be assessed prior to implementation. 2. A suitable period of overlap for new and old observing systems is required. 3. The details and history of local conditions, instruments, operating procedures, data processing algorithms and other factors pertinent to interpreting data (i.e., metadata) should be documented and treated with the same care as the data themselves. 4. The quality and homogeneity of data should be regularly assessed as a part of routine operations. 5. Consideration of the needs for environmental and climate-monitoring products and assessments, such as IPCC assessments, should be integrated into national, regional and global observing priorities. 6. Operation of historically-uninterrupted stations and observing systems should be maintained. 7. High priority for additional observations should be focused on data-poor regions, poorly observed parameters, regions sensitive to change, and key measurements with inadequate temporal resolution. 8. Long-term requirements, including appropriate sampling frequencies, should be specified to network designers, operators and instrument engineers at the outset of system design and implementation. 9. The conversion of research observing systems to long-term operations in a carefullyplanned manner should be promoted. 10. Data management systems that facilitate access, use and interpretation of data and products should be included as essential elements of climate monitoring systems. Furthermore, operators of satellite systems for monitoring climate need to: (a) Take steps to make radiance calibration, calibration-monitoring and satellite-to-satellite cross-calibration of the full operational constellation a part of the operational satellite system; and (b) Take steps to sample the Earth system in such a way that climate-relevant (diurnal, seasonal, and long-term inter-annual) changes can be resolved. Thus satellite systems for climate monitoring should adhere to the following specific principles: 11. Constant sampling within the diurnal cycle (minimizing the effects of orbital decay and orbit drift) should be maintained. 12. A suitable period of overlap for new and old satellite systems should be ensured for a period adequate to determine inter-satellite biases and maintain the homogeneity and consistency of time-series observations. 13. Continuity of satellite measurements (i.e. elimination of gaps in the long-term record) through appropriate launch and orbital strategies should be ensured. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 2 14. Rigorous pre-launch instrument characterization and calibration, including radiance confirmation against an international radiance scale provided by a national metrology institute, should be ensured. 15. On-board calibration adequate for climate system observations should be ensured and associated instrument characteristics monitored. 16. Operational production of priority climate products should be sustained and peer-reviewed new products should be introduced as appropriate. 17. Data systems needed to facilitate user access to climate products, metadata and raw data, including key data for delayed-mode analysis, should be established and maintained. 18. Use of functioning baseline instruments that meet the calibration and stability requirements stated above should be maintained for as long as possible, even when these exist on decommissioned satellites. 19. Complementary in situ baseline observations for satellite measurements should be maintained through appropriate activities and cooperation. 20. Random errors and time-dependent biases in satellite observations and derived products should be identified. _____________ General Comments and additional text suggestions - There is need to bring out what the contribution(s) of the following will be: Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) The WMO Severe Weather Demonstration Projects The ongoing Regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs) Much of the document reads well, but there are notable changes in style from place to place. It’s always useful to have a definition of all acronyms, especially for enfranchising a wider audience across WMO and elsewhere. It is not entirely clear who is the intended audience for the document – who does it need to influence? The level seems rather general, which may be absolutely fine – or it could be enhanced by reference to some more detailed papers/articles etc. There are certainly hydrological ones that could be suggested - for example a recent report ‘Climate and meteorological information requirements for water management’ which was produced as part of the CHy work programme in 2010, and there is the 2008 sixth edition of the ‘Guide to Hydrological Practices’ WMO-No. 168. An obvious gap seemed to be that of coastal erosion and flooding – presumably this is not included as it is in part a question of observations over oceans which (section 3) are not reflected here? Should the point about not considering observations over oceans be made upfront in the introduction, especially as surface data are highlighted (Introduction, paragraph 5) as needing new emphasis? I wonder whether some comment on the extent to which modelled data can to some degree act as a substitute for aspects of direct data gathering would be useful: implications for network design seem important. I wonder also whether it is worth commenting on feedbacks from, say, the hydrological domain which enhance atmospheric prediction – I am thinking particularly about (near-) surface water regimes improving boundary condition representation. Introduction: It might be good to briefly refer to data rescue (mentioned later) and, as well as errors, to the estimation of uncertainty from a range of causes. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 3 Human health: Text suggestion: Human settlement, health and public safety are closely interrelated. Human settlement patterns are greatly influenced by climate especially in rural areas. Similarly, vector and water borne diseases are influenced by climate, as are some physiological conditions. Because of economic circumstances, population increase and resulting demand for land, human settlements are sometimes established in disaster prone areas with far reaching implications for health and public safety. Most types of disaster situations are weather and climate related. Driving conditions on highways are sometimes influenced by meteorological conditions. Events of heavy rainfall, floods and droughts have been witnessed in recent years. These events have resulted in serious disruption of human settlements endangering life and sometimes accompanied by outbreaks of vector and water borne diseases, famine and malnutrition. It is therefore crucial to factor weather and climate information into the country’s disaster management strategies Food security: 1. References to climate change should read as possible or even likely but not as facts, particularly in the case of rainfall and local conditions: for example, among a number of occurrences, ‘ ...as climate change modifies the local temperature and rainfall regimes ...’ (in the ‘Food security’ section) is perhaps too strongly stated. 2. Is it worth mentioning the question of climate data appropriate to opportunities for crop substitution and timescales over which this can be meaningfully established? 3. Substitute suggestion for initial paragraph: The increasing frequency of climate extremes around the world associated with climate change poses great threats to agriculture and food security. The increasing demand for food by an ever-increasing world population compounded by the increasing demand for biofuels has forced agriculture to expand into more marginal producing areas in many countries. Thus, natural hazards, such as droughts, floods, heat waves and freezes have and will continue to cause extensive damage to agricultural productivity that are highly vulnerable during critical growth stages of crop development including animal husbandry and inland fishery with disease incidence, and especially susceptible in marginal cultivation areas. When climate extremes and climate variability have a significant impact on numerous or widespread cultivation areas, and additional socio-economic pressures add to the commodity trading market, significant impacts on global food supplies and global food security issues result. A technologically vigilant regional and global monitoring network is required to ensure early alerts of droughts, floods, heat waves, freezes, tropical cyclones and other climate events for agriculture. Soil moisture, crop phenology, and other agricultural phenomena need to be incorporated into regional and global agricultural forecasting and long-range prediction models. Furthermore, better communication and dissemination systems need to be developed to deliver readily usable weather and climate information to the agricultural decision makers in a timely format. A service delivery service needs to bridge the gap between climate service providers and the user communities. The providers have useful technical products; the users need relevant concise decision-making information. 4. Suggestion for additional paragraph: Climate change affects agriculture and food production in complex ways. It affects food production directly through changes in agro-ecological conditions and indirectly by affecting growth and distribution of incomes, and thus demand for agricultural produce. By bringing greater fluctuations in crop yields and local food supplies and higher risks of landslides and erosion damage, they can adversely affect the stability of food supplies and thus food security. The importance of the various dimensions and the overall impact of climate change on food security will differ across regions and over time and most importantly, will depend on the overall socio-economic status that a country has accomplished as the effects of climate change set in. The recent IPCC report also emphasizes that increases in daily temperature will increase the frequency of food TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 4 poisoning, particularly in temperate regions. Extreme rainfall events can increase the risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases particularly where traditional water management systems are insufficient to handle the new extremes namely food availability (i.e., production and trade), access to food, stability of food supplies, and food utilization. 5. The text covers food production, but not any of the multitude of access and safety issues that are important for food security. How about changing the title? 6. Text suggestion: In order to be able to contribute to food security, it is necessary to evaluate the thermal and hydric requirements for food-security crops and those for exportation. 7. Text suggestion: We also need to better handle tradeoffs between achieving water, energy and food security and climate change. Ideally, mitigation and adaptation strategies should complement each other in order to manage climate change risks. However, the relationship within the water sector is a reciprocal one. Mitigation measures can influence water resources and on the other hand, water management plans & policies can have an influence on energy use (and GHG) emissions. As a result, interventions in the water system might be counter-productive when evaluated in terms of climate change mitigation. For example: Farm level: Farm level energy-intensive adaption responses to scarcity in the water sector may be counter-productive climate change mitigation. Furthermore, farmers could be worse-off if they have to pay the price of increase emission as a result of energy-intensive adaption. National level: The tradeoffs could be evident at national policies. For example in Australia, national water reforms for increasing long term water supplies through infrastructure investment may increase energy use which could be against the mandates of emission reduction policies and programs. Global level: Similarly, at global level interaction between climate change governance and other global challenges. International institutions for climate change governance contribute to and detract from efforts to better manage freshwater resources and biodiversity. It is expected that climate change policies may result in increasing water consumption, including through greater use of water to sequester carbon and generate low-carbon energy by deploying technologies such as afforestation, carbon capture and storage, and biofuels. There has been little interplay of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change with other, water-related environmental agreements – the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands - and many climate response policies are destructive for freshwater ecosystems and resources Therefore, there is greater need to understand interdependencies and interplays and need to offers some directions for governance reform to maximize integration of climate change responses with sustainable water management. Tourism: 1. Section appears disproportionately large – but this may be counteracted by comments coming in from others proposing additions to other sections. 2. The use of the words “will” and “would” should be noted. They carry different meanings but are seemingly used interchangeably in this section Fresh Water: 1. The wording of the section depends somewhat on the content of ‘the SOG for Hydrology’ referred to following the title of the section. But, strangely, even as a CHy AWG member, I don’t know of this document and have not yet been able to track it down. TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 5 2. The section currently has an emphasis on water resources for human use. Associated water quality issues – chemical and biological – should perhaps be noted. Whilst ‘Food security’ is the subject of another section, it might be worth under ‘Fresh water’ briefly indicating the issues of irrigated/non-irrigated/drained agriculture. Beyond water resources in these senses, one might want to mention flood risk and management (surface and groundwater), industrial water supply, ecological habitat issues, sedimentation, fisheries and navigation. 3. Regarding characteristics of data under the ‘Fresh water’ section, the need for a range of space and time scale information across the components of the water cycle appropriate to different concerns should be emphasized. The importance of data to enhance methods/models for extrapolation to hydrologically information-sparse areas, the importance of extremes both high and low, and the importance of knowledge of uncertainties associated with data and their interpretation, could briefly be mentioned. 4. Effects of land use and land cover as related to siltation and pollution of surface and ground water sources should be added.