Background information on the EUROCLIMA Programme

EUROCLIMA is a Programme (N° DCI-ALA/2009/021-126) funded by the Directorate General for Development and Cooperation (DG DEVCO) of the European Commission (EC). Its objective is to improve the knowledge of Latin American decision-makers and scientific community on the issues and consequences of climate change, particularly with a view to integrating these topics into sustainable development strategies.

The Programme is coordinated by EuropeAid (DG DEVCO) and implemented by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with the support of the Technical Assistance (TA). The focus of JRC and ECLAC research is on biophysical and socio-economic sciences respectively, particularly with respect to their relation to climate change and its impacts on the region. The main objective of the Technical Assistance is to effectively coordinate and communicate between different constituents and to promote the visibility of the Programme.

Entities involved in the EUROCLIMA implementation (LA stands for Latin America)

The JRC, through the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) and the Institute for Energy and Transport (IET), is responsible for coordinating the research on Biophysical sciences of the EUROCLIMA Programme. Supported by DG DEVCO, the JRC implements and coordinates scientific activities that aim to monitor and assess the natural resources that may be affected by climate change. These activities include data collection, database elaboration, mapping, exchange of information, organisation of technical and scientific meetings, delivery of training sessions, and knowledge dissemination. The work is organised according to five thematic issues or actions:

• Soil;
• Food Security;
• Water Resources;
• Sustainability of Bio Energy;
• Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD).

The DLDD Component of the EUROCLIMA Programme aims to increase and improve south-to-south cooperation, knowledge transfer and decision support on drought and the problem of land degradation and desertification in Latin America. Improved understanding of the different types of drought, their connection to multi-scale natural land degradation phenomena and the development of multiple indicators that are appropriate to various sectors, applications and geographical regions are crucial elements of the awareness-building process that the JRC promotes within its DLDD activities. The main goal of JRC activities on DLDD is to address many user requirements in Latin America, namely:

• Need to access consistent information;
• Need to compare and harmonise information from different sources;
• Need to connect information at different spatial and temporal scales;
• Need to provide a complete and updated overview of the current DLDD situation in near real time.

18 Latin American countries are involved in EUROCLIMA Programme: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Each of the 18 countries has appointed a Focal Point to collaborate with EUROCLIMA. The focal points represent the position of their Government with regard to the Programme, guarantee synergies and complementarities and promote the application of the products generated in the context of EUROCLIMA in decision-making at the national and regional levels. Â

Project duration: 2010 - 2013.