Webinars facts
Europe/Copenhagen
The webinar brought together 71 participants from 33 countries, out of a total of 155 registrants representing over 60 countries. Of those who attended, 54% were female and 38% male, reflecting a strong gender balance. 38% were CTCN Network members, 13% National Designated Entities (NDEs), 6% Consortium Partners, with the remainder comprising potential partners and other stakeholders interested in future collaboration.
In this webinar, the CTCN Network member and implementing partner, UNEP-DHI, presented two cases of completed technical assistances (TAs):
- Improving resiliency of crops to drought through strengthened early warning within Ghana, that led to the GCF submission through readiness
- Strengthening the community-based flood and drought preparedness and early warning system in Sudan using operational and innovative models in addition to Satellite-based transmission technology for real-time automatic water level telemetry system which leveraged regional initiatives
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Moderated by: Christian Lohberger of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Vice Chair of the CTCN Advisory Board
Presentations include:
- Ariesta Ningrum, Director of the CTCN
- Maia Tskhvaradze, Programme Officer, Technology sub-division, UNFCCC Secretariat, Realising EW4All: Innovation and Technology in Support of Risk-Informed Climate Resilience Policy and Action
- Maija Bertule, Senior Technical Advisor of UNEP-DHI, TA experience in Ghana
- Mekuria Beyene, Water Resources System Engineer, DHI, TA experience in Sudan
Panelists include:
- James Aggrey, Water Resources Commission, Ghana
- Huyam Ahmed Abdalla, Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Physical Development of Sudan
- Bapon Fakhruddin, Water Sector Lead of the Green Climate Fund
-
Nadege Trocellier, Climate Technology Specialist (AFCIA,EC Programme coordinator) of the CTCN
Summary
The session began with opening remarks from the CTCN Director, Ariesta Ningrum. Ariesta welcomed participants and outlined the CTCN's role as the implementation arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism and shared examples of CTCN's support in countries like Saint Kitts and Nevis (AI-driven draft risk modelling), Malawi (improving water-level data collection), and Jordan (machine learning for extreme weather events), followed by a scene-setting presentation by Maia Tskhvaradze. Maia presented an overview of the Early Warnings for All initiative, stressing the importance of innovation and technology in risk-informed, climate resilient policy actions. She introduced a recently published policy brief developed with TEC and GEO, which outlined 10 essential technologies for Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MEWS), such as citizen science with mobilize and digital technologies, global navigation satelite systems (GNSS), data cubes, and APIs etc. as well as six critical actions for scaling up MEWS.
Maija Bertule from UNEP-DHI presented the technical components and implementation approaches of both projects. Maija shared that the project orginiated from a request by the Water Resources Commission in Ghana and focused in improving resilience to drought through strengthened early warning systems. The key objectives of the project was to enhance the capacity of local agencies, and provide science-based technology and information. She highlighted the development of a web-based drought management early warning and forecasting portal with easy access for end-users in Ghana, the use of Earth observation (EO) data to complement ground-based observation stations, and the importance of continuous stakeholder consultations, including gap assessments following the GCF Readiness support, as critical steps in the journey toward a full GCF proposal.
Mekuria Beyene from DHI also shared experiences from Sudan. He outlined objectives of the technical assistance, which included strengthening capacity, enhancing flood preparedness, and linking information to those who need it as a last mile delivery. The project built on existing systems like the Eastern Nile flood forecast system and involved key partners from Sudanese institutions, regional organizations, and academia. It aimed to identify gaps, enhance the flood early warning system, and strengthen technical capacity. The system now covers six sub-basins, using weather forecasts, hydrological modeling, and a user-friendly interface with daily forecast bulletins. The technical assistance has made the system operational in Sudan since September and emphasized the value of regional collaboration and transboundary synergies.
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion featuring country representatives from Ghana, Sudan, Climate Technology Specialist of the CTCN, and the Water Sector Lead of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The panel explored key challenges, success factors, and essential considerations for stakeholders aiming to replicate or build upon these TA outcomes.
James Aggrey of the Water Resources Commission in Ghana highlighted how the combined use of CTCN technical assistance and GCF Readiness support helped lay the groundwork for a broader climate resilience initiative. He emphasized that cultivating strong relationships with key national stakeholders - particularly the National Designated Authority (NDA) - is essential to securing the support needed for successful scale-up.
Huyam Ahmed Abdalla, the National Designated Entity (NDE) of Sudan, reflected on her country’s experience in establishing early warning systems. She stressed the need to enhance forecasting capabilities and build institutional capacity to ensure these systems remain effective over time. Without ongoing technical support, she noted, even well-designed systems can lose momentum.
On the financing front, Bapon Fakrudin of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) shared strategic insights into what makes projects scalable. He encouraged countries to view water as an asset class and explore blended finance mechanisms - including water bonds, catastrophe bonds, insurance solutions, and debt-for-climate swaps - to mobilize capital. He also highlighted the importance of incorporating water circularity into solutions and building strong climate narratives based on risk, hazard, and vulnerability assessments. These elements, he explained, help unlock investment and policy support. The GCF has already mobilized $1.3 billion for early warning systems in 89 countries, with total co-financing reaching $3.5 billion.
Nadege Trocellier from the CTCN Secretariat concluded the session by outlining four key pillars for transforming technical assistance into long-term programmes: robust governance structures, continuous capacity building, impact monitoring and evaluation, and well-defined exit strategies to ensure sustainability beyond project completion.
Together, these insights offered a compelling reminder that scaling a climate project is not only about expanding its size - but about aligning the right partnerships, financing, and vision.
The intended learning outcomes for webinar attendee were:
- Understand the current status, gaps, and opportunities related to Early Warning Systems (EWS) in flood and drought management
- Learn from the practical experiences of the CTCN implementing partners, national project proponents and the NDEs, reflecting on successful strategies for national engagement, and processes of refining proposals for GCF submission
The recordings and presentations are available in the top left section of this page.
About the Climate Technology Centre and Network (UN CTCN)
The CTCN is the implementation arm of the Technology Mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Centre promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low-carbon, climate-resilient development at the request of developing countries.