| Project Detail |
Together with the SDC, MeteoSwiss has committed itself to improving the climate information base worldwide. High-quality, long-term climate measurement series can be used to estimate the consequences of climate change and to provide a greater understanding of the related opportunities and risks. The project has now come to an end after five years.
n order to initiate measures at an early stage in the areas of climate protection and adaptation, local decision-makers in developing countries often do not have a reliable data base. The reason for this is a lack of resources for systematic climate observation.
Following the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009, additional funding was provided for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The SDC used this funding to initiate the CATCOS project (Capacity Building and Twinning for Climate Observing Systems) within the framework of its Global Programme on Climate Change and Environment.
Spanning a period of over five years, the project provided ten partner countries in Africa, South America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia with targeted support in building their climate observation capacity. CATCOS focused on the installation of new measuring instruments, training for station operators and scientists, the promotion of regional cooperation and communication on the advantages of the climate data collected.
Several Swiss partners took part in the project: the Paul Scherrer Institute, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), the University of Fribourg and the University of Zurich. |
