Early Warnings for All intiative (EW4All): July 2023 updates

July Highlight: Maldives hosts first national workshop

The Maldives held a national workshop (July 4, 2023), as part of its commitment to the Early Warnings for All Initiative. Led by H.E. Ms. Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology (MoECCT), and chaired by Ms. Khadeeja Naseem, State Minister of MoECCT, the workshop brought together participants form government, local councils, civil society, the private sector, the UN Country Team and EW4All pillar leads. The event reviewed the current state of early warning systems in the Maldives, identified priority areas for action, and strengthened multi-stakeholder early warning coordination. Participants agreed to formulate a common agenda to guide the scale-up on national early warning systems, which will be implemented with the support of the partners of the EW4All initiative. This event was a first national workshop using the tools provided by the Inter-Pillar Technical Coordination Toolkit, including the Minimum Core Capability Checklist. Participants also engaged in the further elaboration of an UNEP-led planning exercise for a GCF early warning proposal.

Workshop report attached and available here.

Mark your calendar

Tajikistan National Workshop

29-30 August, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

EW4All Session at the WMO South Pacific and South-East Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Committee (TCC) meeting

25-28 July, Nuku'Alofa, Tonga

EW4All Pillar 1 Workshop on the development of Handbook on Use of Risk Knowledge for EWS

09 August, Geneva, Switzerland

EW4ALL country implementation

Africa

Africa EW4All Roadmap draft has been finalised and second review workshop organised for 14-15 August in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Madagascar workshop currently in planning for 12-13 September Ethiopia (and eventually Uganda and South Sudan) planning underway to hold back-to-back EW4All national workshop and W@H programme Kick-off workshop for early September Mauritius RC Office technical briefing on EW4All rollout phase took place and planning is underway for a national workshop

Arab States

Somalia national workshop set to take place in October 2023 Development of CREWS-funded early warning plan for Djibouti

Asia & Pacific

EW4All Initiative presented during the Eighth session of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and at the launch of the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2023 EW4All Initiative presented and discussed at the WMO Tropical Cyclone Committee for Southwest Pacific and South East Indian Ocean. Recommendations will be brought to the attention of the Pacific Meteorological Councill and Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM) , 14-18 August in Suva, Fiji. Preparations under way for national workshops in Cambodia, Nepal & Bangladesh.

Europe & Central Asia

Preparations underway for Tajikistan national workshop, with financial support from UNDRR and WMO ITU is supporting Moldova and Georgia on implementation of cell broadcast

Latin America & the Caribbean

Preparations for national workshops underway in all countries, dates to be confirmed shortly Planning for regional Caribbean CREWS grant underway.

Global interpillar technical coordination & activities

• WMO Congress, held 22 May to 2 June in Geneva, Switzerland, Accorded EW4All the highest priority in the WMO Strategic Plan 2024-2027.
• WMO conducted a Rapid Assessment of the Early-Warning System (EWS) capacity for the initial 30 EW4All roll-out countries. Analysis of the data is ongoing to showcase Pillar II country capacity. The main priority hazards identified by respondent NMHSs are: flash-floods (76%), droughts (72%), riverine floods (62%), tropical cyclones (55%) and thunderstorms (41%). Assessment work is now going beyond the initial 30 countries and the country capacity diagnostics are being used to help tailor the work under Pillar 2 to country needs.
• WMO has constituted teams under the technical commissions to support NMHSs in delivering on their contribution to the EW4All. SERCOM under the Standing Committee for Disaster Risk Reduction has the Expert Team on Early Warning Services and INFCOM has the Task Team on Early Warning for All. The teams will provide support through standards and technical guidance.
• Second EW4All M&E workshop held on 25 July and draft Theory of Change developed.
• Pillar 2 rapid assessment conducted with the 30 countries based on their specific priority hazards to inform the national workshop discussions.
• Three webinars on EW4All planned for 4th, 5th and 6th September (tbc); the webinars will demonstrate and discuss what makes effective early warning along the four pillars using the minimum core capability checklist as well as inter-pillar linkages.
• Interpillar Technical Coordination Group is developing a COP 28 strategy with focus on country implementation.
• EW4All sessions held during Anticipatory Action Regional Dialogue Platforms for Asia-Pacific in Kathmandu in June and for Africa in Johannesburg in July. Upcoming Global & Regional Dialogue Platforms on Anticipatory Action provide a key opportunity to engage the anticipatory action community in discussions on EW4All implementation. The 11th Global Dialogue Platform is taking place on 10-12 October in Berlin & online.
• Water at the Heart of Climate Action (W@H) grant agreement of $55 million has been signed and planning is now beginning in Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan. Sudan is currently on hold. Partners are IFRC, Netherlands Red Cross and Red Cross Climate Centre; WMO, UNDRR and SOFF.
• GSMA is engaging with mobile operators in several of the first 30 countries of the initiative, carrying out research on inclusive risk communications and cell broadcast for early warnings, and highlighting the initiative at GSMA global events.
• EW4All is also a focus of the ITU-led Green Digital Action track, rallying partners across the digital tech industry in the lead up to COP28 to leverage digital connectivity and technologies in support of EW4All and fast track digital-technology-driven climate action.

In case you missed it

Interpillar toolkit translations available in FR, ES & RU, available here Pillar 1 toolkit under development: Handbook on Use of Risk Knowledge for EWS in development by CIMA foundation