Considering the escalating climate change challenges in the Caribbean region, marked by an urgent need for robust data-driven climate policies, the project is designed to enhance capacities in SIDS by delivering training in fundamental data science skills, along with providing technical assistance in making effective use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data (for tracking vessels) and related national data (in two beneficiary countries, namely Barbados and Belize) as well as the application of Artificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability (ARIES), which can be used for the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) (in two countries, namely Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago). Through integration of geospatial information and new data sources, this initiative seeks to empower four SIDS in the Caribbean with the necessary capabilities to accurately monitor maritime transport and trade, fisheries and ecosystem services (including tourism), analyze related CO2 emissions and foster the development of SEEA accounts. The project will also provide analytical diagnostic studies on sources and levels of CO2 and other GHG emissions, and feed the main findings into a cross-country roadmap listing most relevant policy options and recommendations for the decarbonisation of the maritime transport sector and fisheries value chains, and for the conservation, management, and restoring of the marine ecosystems (with support from UNEP). Throughout the project CARICOM and ECLAC will provide regional coordination and guidance on policy implementation.
Evidence-based Climate Action through Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation for Caribbean SIDS
Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) are key drivers of economic growth and sustainable development in LDCs and SIDS. However, many of these countries face challenges in harnessing the power of STI to drive economic growth and sustainable development in part due to cost constraints, infrastructure deficiencies, geographical insularity, fragmentation and limited knowledge transfer. Addressing these gaps requires efforts at all levels to assist countries to, inter alia, i) Prioritize investments in resilience and research and development; ii) Promote regional cooperation and coordination and strengthen regional research institutions’ technical and institutional capacity through inter alia joint research initiatives, and knowledge sharing; and iii) Effectively mobilize national science and engineering capacity for mission-oriented research to solve specific national/regional problems. This project will support three Lusophone SIDS (Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe) to strengthen their capacity to develop, deploy, and expand their use of STI in the context of the SDGs and particularly for building ocean knowledge and coastal resilience. Recommendations from the project will be piloted on UNESCO designated sites and through relevant multistakeholder networks to amplify project impact at all levels. The Project’s objectives are to strengthen the capacity of government officials and other stakeholders in targeted Small Island Developing States to utilize science, technology and innovation effectively for advancing climate resilience and nature-based solutions in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. The project will be jointly implemented by UNDESA, UNECA and UNESCO.
Sixty per cent of the world’s poor live in sub-Saharan Africa and are overwhelmingly concentrated in the rural agricultural sector. Because their livelihoods are inextricably linked to natural resources, environmental hazards and climate stresses disproportionally expose them to greater risks of deprivation, asset depletion, indebtedness, and further poverty. This project aims at supporting the design and implementation of legislation, policies or other measures, that promote the growth of climate resilient agricultural cooperatives in rural communities and the uptake of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices. Agricultural cooperatives can play an important role in building resilience against disruptive climate-induced weather events, pooling risks, and teaching ecologically friendly and safe agricultural techniques that can increase crop yields and advance conservation and carbon sequestration, as well as the use of bioenergy to reduce emission of polluting gases. Increasing women’s participation in cooperatives holds significant potential to foster women’s empowerment, participation and access to resources. Women’s and men’s abilities to respond, adapt and recover from climate shocks differ, as do their CSA needs and priorities. This project will include gender-responsive CSA approaches, as the latter have the potential to encourage gender equality and transformation for climate resilience. Indeed, when given adequate information, training and resources, women have been found to be as likely or even more likely than men to implement CSA practices. When women are empowered to some degree in their households, they are more likely to adopt CSA practices. CSA in turn can contribute to gender equality by addressing the following gender-equal dimensions: (i) involvement in decision-making; (ii) access to resources and agroclimatic information; (iii) reduced workload/drudgery; and (iv) collective action for agency. Pathways to gender-responsive CSA development that this project will take include supporting women farmers to form agricultural cooperatives (to strengthen their capacity to participate in and move upward in sustainable value chains) and building women’s capacity in CSA practices and technologies.
When good-quality administrative systems are in place and their information is regularly updated, they can reliably provide a full picture of key aspects of a country’s population or economy on a continuous basis. Data collected for administrative purposes can be a rich and cost-efficient source for the production of timely and high-quality official statistics, especially to address the urgent need for disaggregated data on SDG indicators to ensure no one is left behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. However, many countries still lack the infrastructure and technical and institutional arrangements needed for the efficient exchange and processing of administrative data and metadata for the production of official statistics. Moving in a direction of increased use of administrative data for statistics production will also make the statistical system more agile and resilient in times of crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The project supports 9 countries in addressing legal and technical challenges to administrative data sharing and processing administrative data. For each country one or two thematic areas are chosen. The results of the work will provide practical level experiences that also others can benefit from and will lead to a number of examples along the overall process of using administrative data for statistical purposes; from accessing data to processing them and publishing statistics based on them. Key stakeholders of this work will be the National Statistical Offices and the owners of the administrative data, along with the wider statistical system. Policy and decision makers will benefit from the results of the work.