Bridging the gap between climate data and resilience planning

BHOPAL:  The World Resources Institute (WRI) India in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh State Knowledge Management Centre on Climate Change, Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (SKMCCC, EPCO) hosted a workshop on improving planning for climate adaptation and resilience using a data-driven approach. At the workshop, WRI India presented the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP) platform, prepdata.org, a map-based, open-data online platform that allows users to access and visualize climatic, physical, and socioeconomic data for climate adaptation and resilience planning that has been developed and piloted in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“Madhya Pradesh is fully committed to doing what it takes to mitigate the risks of climate change,” said Anupam Rajan (IAS), Principal Secretary, Environment, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and DG, EPCO, speaking at the event. “We are grateful that WRI India has chosen us as one of the pilot states for this initiative,” he added.

The results of WRI India’s engagement with Madhya Pradesh was presented, along with an overview of the portal and how to effectively use the datasets and dashboards. The goal in launching PREPdata is to encourage adaptation practitioners, data developers and innovators, private and public decision-makers as well as resilience policy experts to use the platform to analyse vulnerability and better plan for climate change.

“India is our first real application of the PREPdata platform,” said Lauretta Burke from WRI’s Climate Resilience Practice. “In the two pilot states, we aim to build data content, to help mainstream state climate action plans, and to give sectoral agencies better access to data and vulnerability assessment reports”.

Namrata Ginoya from WRI India demonstrated the use of dashboards using the example of wheat production in Madhya Pradesh. The dashboard pulled together various related datasets to show cultivation area, yield, and production overlaid with annual rainfall data which would help practitioners in the agricultural sector look at water as an input in wheat production.

Laura Satkowski from Future Earth and Pooja Pandey from WRI India guided the participants in a hands-on, step-by-step process on how to use the platform to visualise data and create dashboards.

“The dashboard will help us not only in disseminating climate information but also in developing quality projects. We coordinate with various other departments like agriculture, water resources and others and this platform will be an important addition to our work at EPCO”, concluded Lokendra Thakkar, Coordinator, SKMCCC, EPCO.