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CIPHA Vol3.Iss3 English
CIPHA Vol3.Iss3 English
Vol. 3 Issue 3
This newsletter provides updates on the latest Key outcomes for the workshop include a consensus
developments within the CIPHA network, including agreement on priorities for policies, practice, services and
the activities of alumni and facilitators, brief meeting data and research and education for the integration of Climate
reports, news from the health and climate community, Risk Management into Africa’s health sector. With this as a
and opportunities for collaboration.
Vol. 3 Issue 3
first step, it was underscored that Africa will be taking the SI 10 Pascal Yaka, participated in a seminar at WHO last
lead in Climate and Health in the near future. March where he showed the results
of his study in Niger and Burkina on
The report of the workshop is available online at: outbreaks of meningitis. He said
http://iri.columbia.edu/publications/id=1090 that, using a statitical modelling
approach climate and environmental
factors (such as temperature,
rainfall, wind and humidity) could
Updates account for at least 25% of
meningitis incidence in Niger.
Alumni National meningitis incidence data
from 1966 to 2005 were analyzed to
SI 10 alumna Stephanie Kay Moore. reach theses conclusions..
Stephanie is a Research Associate at
NOAA”S West Coast Center for For more information on this project please contact Pascal at
Oceans an Human Health. Last Feb- pascal_yaka@yahoo.fr
ruary .she presented her work on
climate impacts on harmful algal
blooms at the American Association
Facilitators
for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) meeting in Washington DC.
SI 08-09-10 Pietro Ceccato was a lecturer at the international
The panel received a lot of attention
PhD course, "Remote Sensing and
and her project got some great media
Environmental Change," offered at
coverage, including a podcast and an
the University of Copenhagen. The
article in National Geographic News that will be coming out
intensive 5-day course, held March
soon. For further information please go to the following link
14 - 18, 2011, provided the practical
http://tinyurl.com/5snqlsh and theoretical foundation for
applying remote sensing techniques
to identify and monitor
environmental change. The course
SI 09 alumna Mary Hayden. Mary consisted of a mixture of lectures,
works at NCAR as a researcher and hands-on exercises and student
right now she is organizing a presentations. The hands on exercises were based on data
NCAR/CDC Workshop on Climate from the comprehensive data library at IRI, and state of the art
and Health The workshop will focus software and algorithms.
on vector-borne diseases related to
human health and the purpose of it is This activity is a capacity-building component of an IRI-
to train health professionals and University of Copenhagen collaborative effort to improve the
early career climate and health understanding of land surface processes, particularly those
researchers (public health officials, related to surface and soil moisture. The potential benefit of
graduate, students, post-docs and the research conducted is in improved methods feeding into
early career scientists and faculty) on assessments of agricultural and environmental stress and risk.
how to develop robust interdisciplinary research projects in
the complex area of climate and health. To read more on the project, see the IRI project profile.
More information about the course at SI 08-09-10 Tony Barnston with some other IRI researchers
http://ral.ucar.edu/csap/events/climatehealth/2011/ and support staff has completed an initial version of a cluster
Vol. 3 Issue 3
Vol. 3 Issue 3
etc.. During the Nino, we get a lot of rains, and normally after need to improve research. Without research, there is very little
the rains, we, there's upside of some diseases. Climate that we can improve in terms of our services that we offer.
related diseases, like malaria, Rift Valley Fever. In fact, those Now, secondly, we have not really been very keen on
are the common ones, so, you find that in like 1997-1998 El application areas. We just do prediction, we disseminate it,
Nino, just the year before the drought of aforementioned and we don't know exactly how to downscale it to different
valley. There was an outbreak of malaria and Rift Valley uses, like we have learned here now, we can downscale
Fever, and this basically occurred in the highlands, which are climate information for health, we can downscale climate
unstable areas, the areas that are not used to malaria. So information for agriculture, and at the same time for stream
you find quite a number of people with low immunity in those flow modeling. So those are the kind of things that are
areas, they died. You foresee today, the next day, all before important for professionals like us. Like if in a factory and you
the day ends. You are dead. The same with Rift Valley don't know who your consumers are, and the type of product
Fever. So those are the main ones. Apart from floods and that they consume, then your factory is as good as nothing.
drought, they are others like; the other climate related So, that is why young professionals like us we need to have
disasters I will talk about is the landslide. And this mainly this type of training so that we know application areas, we
occurs in the highlands parts of the country. build our research and at the same time you know what is
required back at home, like computing capabilities. When you
FF: Did you come here to the IRI with the hopes that are doing budgeting, like, two, three years when I come to a
some of the training seminars, discussions could help to position, I know that that computer is important, research is
better manage this kinds of issues ? important, application is important, so I know where to invest
more.
Vol. 3 Issue 3
Workshop on Environmental Risk and Extreme Events, • Impacts modelling in the three target sectors of agri-
Ascona, Switzerland, July 10-15 2011. culture, water and health including classes using
open-source models in each sector.
The purpose of this workshop is to bring together research- More information available online at:
ers in statistics of extremes and in applied domains for whom http://start.org/news/summer-school-climate-impacts-ictp.html
this branch of statistical science is a key tool, in order to
assess the state of the art in modelling of complex extreme MSc in Climate Change and Development . University of
events, to highlight ideas emerging from the statistical side Sussex/Institute for Development Studies. UK . October
that may be useful in applications, and to identify challenging 2011
environmental problems that need statistical innovations from
both theoretical and applied researchers. This is unique course that aims to provide state-of-the-art
training for the rapidly expanding market for development
The workshop will comprise invited talks and contributed professionals with specialisation in climate change. The pro-
talks and posters. More details, including fees and access to gramme is strongly multidisciplinary and students will acquire
the registration form, may be found at specialist knowledge of the causes of climate change, the
http://stat.epfl.ch/ascona2011 implications for developing countries, and the policy and prac-
tice of efforts to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.
Climate Change and Development Short Course. Nor- Courses are taught by leading researchers in these fields from
wich, United Kingdom August 31 – September 13 2011 the world renowned Institute for Development Studies (IDS),
the Geography Department and Science and Technology
Policy Research Unit (SPRU).
The purpose this course is to equip non-specialists with a
broad understanding of what climate change may mean for More information available online at:
low-income populations and what the scope and prospects http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/2011/taught/3331/23691
are for adapting to change and contributing to emissions
reduction in the context of development issues and poverty Course on Climate change governance: adaptation and
reduction. mitigation as institutional change processes . Wa-
geningen, Netherlands. November 21 – December 2 2011
Further information online at:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/international/campus The course builds on experiences in capacity building pro-
grammes on climate change adaptation in developing coun-
Summer School on Climate Impacts Modelling for De- tries in which Wageningen UR collaborates with research
veloping Countries: Water, Agriculture and Health. institutions and development networks world wide.
Miramare, Trieste, Italy. September 5-16 2011.
This course will enable participants to play an active role in
To aid scientists in developing countries achieve a working the governance of climate change processes. It offers concep-
knowledge of impacts modelling, this workshop proposes to tual frameworks to understand climate change, vulnerability
provide lectures and laboratory classes on: and adaptation and mitigation options. It builds skills to apply
• The use and uncertainty of the main observational tools for stakeholder engagement, policy influencing, advoca-
cy and negotiation. The course includes practical field work
datasets available from remote sensing to drive im-
and development of individual action plans.
pacts models.
• The use and uncertainty of short-range to seasonal For more information please contact go to :
forecast products and climate model data from ma- http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/agenda/Climate_chang
jor numerical weather prediction and climate centres e_governance.htm
the IPCC assessment climate integrations.
Vol. 3 Issue 3
Vol. 3 Issue 3
costs and CO2 emissions – often a major barrier for partici- Schröter, Richard J. T. Klein and Anne Cristina de la Vega-
pants from the developing world –, participation is free of Leinert
charge.
This book seeks to bridge the gap
More info available at that often exists between research
http://www.climate2011.net/en/organisation into vulnerability and decision-
making and policy on global
environmental change, providing a
framework for linking the two to
Recent Publications reduce vulnerability. It discusses
vulnerability as the central theme
Africa needs climate data to fight disease. Thomson, and brings together many different
M.C,Connor S, Zebiak S,Jancloes M, and Mihretie A. Nature, applications from disaster studies,
471, 7339, 440-442, doi: 10.1038/471440a. climate change impact studies and
several other fields and provides the
The authors send a timely call to the climate and health most comprehensive synthesis of
communities and their stakeholders towards a shared vision definitions, theories, formalization and applications to date,
and an action plan for tackling infectious disease in Africa. illustrated with examples from different disciplines, regions
and periods, and from local through to regional, national and
Available online at; international levels.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v471/n7339/full/
471440a.html More information available online at:
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=102314
Drawing up a national On the use of satellite-based estimates of rainfall
climate change adapta- temporal distribution to simulate the potential for malaria
tion policy: feedback transmission in rural Africa. Teresa K. Yamana, Elfatih A.
from five European case B. Eltahir .
Water
Resources
Research,
Vol.
47,
W02540,
12
PP.,
studies.Dumollard G. and Leseur A.Climate Report n°27 2011
- March 2011
This paper describes the use of satellite-based estimates of
The Climate Report No27 offers a comparative analysis of rainfall to force the Hydrology, Entomology and Malaria
policies and measures designed to promote adaptation to Transmission Simulator (HYDREMATS), a hydrology-based
climate change impacts in five European countries mechanistic model of malaria transmission. We first examined
(Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United the temporal resolution of rainfall input required by
Kingdom). It focuses on institutional processes and critical HYDREMATS. Simulations conducted over Banizoumbou
factors involved in the determination of these policies and village in Niger showed that for reasonably accurate
measures. simulation of mosquito populations, the model requires rainfall
data with at least 1 h resolution. We then investigated whether
HYDREMATS could be effectively forced by satellite-based
Available online at: http://www.cdcclimat.com/Climate-
estimates of rainfall instead of ground-based observations.
Report-no27-Drawing-up-a.html?lang=en
The Climate Prediction Center morphing technique
(CMORPH) precipitation estimates distributed by the National
Assessing Vulnerability to Global Environmental Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are available at a 30
Change: Making Research useful for adaptation Decision min temporal resolution and 8 km spatial resolution. We
Making and Policy. Edited By Anthony G. Patt, Dagmar compared mosquito populations simulated by HYDREMATS
when the model is forced by adjusted CMORPH estimates
Vol. 3 Issue 3
Related Links
http://portal.iri.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt
Contact Information
Please contact ciph@iri.columbia.edu to send your com-
ments or materials to be included in the next CIPHA newslet-
ter. The deadline for documents to be included in the
th
next issue is July 20 , 2011.