Chapter 2 - Climate Data and Monitoring

Technology Transfer

The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre (BMRC) hosted Asia-Pacific Network (APN) Workshops on Climate Extremes in Melbourne in April 2001 and December 2002, the third and fourth workshops in this series. A major aim of these workshops is to plan the development of climate extremes indices within the region. The fourth workshop concentrated on data rescue and metadata with a research paper developed on the former. Participants from 14 countries in the region discussed issues such as the digital archiving and homogenisation of data, as well as methods of metadata preservation. Climate extremes analyses developed in previous workshops were also updated. A number of scientists from the Bureau of Meteorology and from the WA Department of Agriculture also participated in a separate APN workshop with similar goals, which took place in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2001.

Australia is continuing its active role in capacity building in the South Pacific. In 2002, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) contracted the Bureau of Meteorology to develop a seasonal prediction capacity in Pacific Island Countries. This initiative is being carried forward in response to an identified need for such a capacity by the islands’ NMHSs, which undergo major year to year climate fluctuations under the influence of ENSO phenomenon.

The project, entitled "Enhanced Application of Climate Predictions in Pacific Island Countries", which is also a key Australian contribution to the Australia-USA Climate Action Partnership discussed in more detail in Chapter 8), has two main phases:

1. to develop and install prediction software on NMHS computers, with the prediction system based on the Bureau of Meteorology’s operational Seasonal Climate Outlook system for Australia; and
2. to tailor the system and train NMHSs and also representatives from climate sensitive industries in the effective use of prediction information for decisionmaking and planning.

The second phase, which will last approximately three years, is expected to commence in the second half of 2003, following completion of the prediction software phase. To ensure relevance, acceptance, and ongoing sustainability of the prediction system, the emphases during the project are on involving and training NMHS staff and their clients, and in ensuring that the software package is tailored to meet the decision-making needs of the end users. It is expected that up to seven countries will have the necessary data and staff resources to undertake the full project. A total of $2.2M for the Project was announced by the Prime Minister in September 2002.

State agencies are also active in climaterelated technology transfer. For example, the Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit – a joint research unit of the Queensland Departments of Primary Industries and Natural Resources and Mines, and CSIRO Tropical Agriculture - has ongoing projects aimed at applying seasonal forecasts to decision making processes on cropping in both Australia and Southern Asia. The Queensland Centre for Climate Applications is developing climate education materials and has been conducting workshops in Indonesia, India and Zimbabwe as part of a research project with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research called "Capturing the benefits of seasonal climate forecasts in agricultural management".