AIACC Global Kick-off Meeting

AGENDA AND PRESENTATIONS
Day 1, Monday 11 February
9:00 -– 10:30 Small group meetings for specific concerns
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee
10:30 – 12:00: Session One: Launching of AIACC, Ravi Sharma, chair

  • Welcome (Ravi Sharma (UNEP), Mohammed Hassan (TWAS), Neil Leary (START/AIACC)
  • Meeting objectives (Neil Leary, AIACC Science Director)
  • Meeting Logistics (Amrita Jaidka, UNEP)
  • Overview of AIACC (Neil Leary)
  • National Communications and AIACC (Graham Sem, UNFCCC)
  • Administrative Issues (Sara Beresford, AIACC Project Coordinator)

12:00 – 2:00 Lunch

  • Core training teams meet during lunch
  • START Pan-Africa Committee lunch with African participants

2:00 – 6:00: Session Two: New Directions in Climate Change Research, Hassan Virji (START), chair
Session Two is devoted to consideration of new directions in climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation research and their implications for project design and choice of methodology. Four keynote talks will be followed by brief presentation by discussants and finally discussion.

3:30 – 4:00 Coffee
4:00 – 6:00 Session Two resumed

6:00 – 8:00 Poster Session and Reception: Mohammed Hassan, chair
The poster session is devoted to sharing information about the objectives, project design, and methods for each AIACC project and learning about the expertise and capabilities of each team.

Day 2, Tuesday 12 February
9:00 – 10:30 Small group meetings for specific concerns
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee
10:30 – 12:00 Session Three: Training and Technical Support, Neil Leary, chair
Session Three is devoted to discussion of training and technical support needs and how to meet them.

  • Impact, adaptation and vulnerability training course (Tom Downing, Ian Burton, Saleem Huq, Kate Lonsdale)
  • Scenarios training course (Mike Hulme, Xianfu Lu)
  • Other training and technical support needs?
  • Distribution of training questionnaire

12:00 – 2:00 Lunch

  • Side event: ICRAF presentation

2:00 – 5:00 Session Four: Designing Projects to Serve Information Needs, Tom Downing, chair
Session Four is devoted to exploring, through role-playing, the information needs of different constituencies that are affected by climate change. The group will break into three smaller groups, each lead by two facilitators, to role-play three different scenarios. The group will reconvene in plenary session to discuss the design of climate change assessment projects to serve information needs of different constituencies. The scenarios:

  • Community response to disaster
  • National council for sustainable development & NAPA
  • Private investment in coastal resort

3:30 – 4:00 Coffee
4:00 – 5:00 Session Four resumed

  • Plenary review of role playing and project design

5:00 – 6:30 Small group meetings for specific concerns

Evening Meeting of AIACC Technical Committee and Training Experts

Day 3, Wednesday 13 February
9:00 – 10:30 Parallel Thematic Sessions: A
Assessment methods for the themes listed below will be presented and project needs for related training will be discussed in Sessions A, B and C. Up to six themes will be offered in parallel during each 90 minute session. Each theme will be offered during one or more sessions, the frequency depending upon the number of persons expressing interest in each theme on Day 1.

The objectives of these parallel sessions are to encourage participants to reexamine their project design and choices of assessment methods with a view toward generating information that will be useful for decision-making; to introduce participants to a range of assessment frameworks and methods for the different thematic areas; to provide participants with an understanding of how selected methods can be applied, what information and skills are needed to apply them, and what insights or knowledge can be attained through their application; and to obtain input on what training is needed, how it should be organized, and how it should be delivered. The themes are:

1) Methods in vulnerability assessment (Tom Downing, Saleem Huq)
2) Socio-economic futures (Anand Patwardhan)
3) Climate forecasts and integrated scenarios for impact, adaptation and vulnerability assessment (Mike Hulme, Xianfu Lu)
4) Climate hazards and risk assessment (Roger Jones)
5) Issues in climate impacts detection and modeling (Cynthia Rosenzweig)
6) Methods in evaluating adaptation options (Ian Burton, Mac Callaway)
7) Stakeholder participation (Kate Lonsdale)
8) Policy communication and the use of scientific information (Saleemul Huq)
9) Integrated assessment: qualitative and quantitative; regional and global (Richard Warrick)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee
11:00 – 12:30 Parallel Thematic Sessions: B
12:30 – 1:45 Lunch
1:45 – 3:15 Parallel Thematic Sessions: C
3:15 – 3:45 Coffee
3:45 – 5:30 Session Five: Sectoral Impacts and Adaptations, Cynthia Rosenzweig, chair
Session Five is devoted to new directions in research, new findings, and continuing key concerns for selected sectors, and the implications for project designs.

  • Agriculture: Graciela Magrin
  • Biodiversity : Bob Scholes
  • Water: Max Campos
  • Health: Andrew Githeko
  • Sustainable livelihoods: Bill Dougherty

5:30 – 6:30 Small group meetings for specific concerns

  • AIACC support team will meet with project teams for AF04, AF14, and AF23
  • Core training groups: evaluation of needs and design of training courses.
  • Other project teams meet on own or in small groups as needed.

8:00 – 9:30 Technical Committee Dinner, further discussion of synthesis activities

Day 4, Thursday 14 February
9:00 – 10:30 Parallel Sectoral Sessions: A
Assessment methods for selected sectors introduced on the previous day will be presented in greater detail. Project investigators are encouraged to consider how these methods might be incorporated into their projects so as to generate and communicate information that is relevant for decision-making. Project needs for related training will be discussed. Each sector will be repeated in Session B.

1) Agriculture, rangelands and food security (Cynthia Rosenzweig, Graciela Magrin)
2) Water resources (Max Campos)
3) Livelihoods and human health (Bill Dougherty, Andrew Githeko)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee
11:00 – 12:30 Parallel Sectoral Sessions: B

  • Topics from Session A repeated

12:30 – 2:00 Lunch
2:00 – 3:30 Parallel Regional Sessions
The group will break-up and meet in regional subgroups. The objectives for the regional breakouts are to:
1) identify possible cross-project collaborations, sharing of skills and data, use of common frameworks, methods or scenarios and the steps to implement them.
2) develop plans for a regional synthesis of results from AIACC projects.

  • Africa (Paul Desanker, facilitator)
  • Asia, including islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans (Rodel Lasco, facilitator)
  • Latin America, including islands of the Caribbean (Max Campos, facilitator)

3:30 – 4:00 Coffee
4:00 – 5:00 Parallel Regional Sessions resumed
5:00 – 6:30 Small group meetings for specific concerns

  • AIACC support team will meet with project teams for AF07, AF20, AF38, AF42, AF47.
  • Other project teams meet on own or in small groups as needed.

Day 5, Friday 15 February
9:00 – 10:00 Small group meetings for specific concerns
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee
10:30 – 12:00 Session Six: Synthesis and Training, Anand Patwardhan, chair
Session Six is devoted to planning for regional and sectoral synthesis of methods and results across AIACC projects and reevaluation of training needs and plans.

  • Regional synthesis
  • Sectoral synthesis
  • Training and other project needs
  • Close of meeting

12:00 – 5:00 Small group meetings for specific concerns

  • Core training groups meet to discuss course design and content.
  • Project teams meet on own or in small groups as needed.