Analysis of climate impacts to be facilitated in Cuba

Cuban experts are working on a national information system on the manifestations of climate change in agriculture, forestry and other sectors related to land use, FAO said today.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced today that decision-makers and stakeholders linked to agri-food systems will be able to access up-to-date and accurate data and increase their knowledge on the subject.

Through a technological platform, the Climate Change Information System for Agriculture (Sicca) will facilitate the collection, monitoring and reporting of climate change actions implemented in the agri-food sector.

According to the announcement, the initiative is part of the Project for Building Technical and Institutional Capacities to Address Climate Change (CBIT-Afolu), implemented by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture with technical assistance from FAO and funding from the Global Environment Facility.

Aimed at users in the agricultural, forestry and other land use sectors, the system will enable institutions to record and share relevant information on their climate change adaptation and mitigation activities, the UN agency said.

It will also ensure access to the agri-food sector's Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System, a tool designed to provide more accurate figures on emissions into the atmosphere.

In FAO's view, this is a crucial step towards strengthening transparency, producing more timely and accurate reports and promoting accountability for the agricultural sector's climate actions, in line with the requirements of the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement.

For these reasons, the CBIT-Afolu initiative provides Cuba with technological inputs and IT tools to facilitate the collection, monitoring and recording of data for the Climate Change Information System platform, the source said.

The Paris Agreement, adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, pledged to strengthen the collective response to the phenomenon and established the commitment of States Parties to limit the trend of global temperature increase.

To this end, the Enhanced Transparency Framework allows countries to establish robust information, measurement, reporting and verification systems to monitor the implementation of their climate actions, FAO said.

Cuba has signed and ratified the main international instruments in force in this area, as part of its commitment to implement the Framework.