**Climate and health observatory: Innovations in data sharing, communications and partnership building in Brazil,** by Christovam Barcellos, FIOCRUZ Brazil:

Given the complexity of processes that drive climate change impacts on human health, it is necessary to gather data from different institutions in order to understand monitor and project these outcomes. These data include not only climatic and human health variables but also trends in socio-demographic and environmental factors and institutional capacity. The experience of the Brazilian Climate and Health Observatory demonstrates how to bring multiple institutions and stakeholders together to support actions to decrease human health vulnerability to climate change. The observatory has the following functions: gathering available data on climate, environment, society and health; conducting situation analyses and identifying trends and patterns related to climate change impacts on health (e.g. semiqualitative graphs and maps); providing information to national alert systems and for monitoring health emergencies associated with extreme weather events; supporting research and development on climate and environmental changes and associated health impacts; promoting the active participation of civil society and citizens on issues related to climate change, environmental degradation and health impacts (e.g. news reports, commentaries, photographs).

The observatory project is supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and PAHO and is coordinated by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Through workshops, participants developed institutional agreements for sharing data and identified specific data formats, timescales and spatial resolution to be used at the observatory.

Climate change and health impacts to be addressed first include direct impacts from heatwaves, floods and droughts; the expansion of vector-borne diseases; the vulnerability of water supply and sanitation systems, and the increasing risk of water-related diseases; and the interaction between climate change and impacts on air pollutants that increase the risks of respiratory diseases.

#### **City of Quito, Ecuador Climate change mitigation and adaptation plan:**

In 2012, the Municipal Council of the city of Quito, Ecuador developed a climate change mitigation and adaptation plan. It aims at reducing GHG emissions by 15 per cent relative to projected growth, and social environmental and economic climate vulnerability by 20 per cent. The plan will create innovative mechanisms for reducing the carbon footprint of the private sector. The municipal plan strengthens the generation and management of climate information and knowledge in close collaboration with the national climate institution, National Institute of Meteorology e Hydrology (INAHMI). Source: http://www. quitoambiente.gob.ec/home/noticia.php?idNoticia=108

#### **Capacity building: Climate Information for Public Health:**

522 Risk Management – Current Issues and Challenges

commentaries, photographs).

of respiratory diseases.

spatial resolution to be used at the observatory.

quitoambiente.gob.ec/home/noticia.php?idNoticia=108

storylines, suggesting that climate change is likely to have a limited impact. For the other diseases, the risk level varied across the storylines. For example, the risk of leishmaniasis varied from medium under current climate to high under both climate change storylines. The risk of schistosomiasis varied from very low (current climate and current vector

**Climate and health observatory: Innovations in data sharing, communications and partnership building in Brazil,** by Christovam Barcellos, FIOCRUZ Brazil:

Given the complexity of processes that drive climate change impacts on human health, it is necessary to gather data from different institutions in order to understand monitor and project these outcomes. These data include not only climatic and human health variables but also trends in socio-demographic and environmental factors and institutional capacity. The experience of the Brazilian Climate and Health Observatory demonstrates how to bring multiple institutions and stakeholders together to support actions to decrease human health vulnerability to climate change. The observatory has the following functions: gathering available data on climate, environment, society and health; conducting situation analyses and identifying trends and patterns related to climate change impacts on health (e.g. semiqualitative graphs and maps); providing information to national alert systems and for monitoring health emergencies associated with extreme weather events; supporting research and development on climate and environmental changes and associated health impacts; promoting the active participation of civil society and citizens on issues related to climate change, environmental degradation and health impacts (e.g. news reports,

The observatory project is supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and PAHO and is coordinated by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Through workshops, participants developed institutional agreements for sharing data and identified specific data formats, timescales and

Climate change and health impacts to be addressed first include direct impacts from heatwaves, floods and droughts; the expansion of vector-borne diseases; the vulnerability of water supply and sanitation systems, and the increasing risk of water-related diseases; and the interaction between climate change and impacts on air pollutants that increase the risks

In 2012, the Municipal Council of the city of Quito, Ecuador developed a climate change mitigation and adaptation plan. It aims at reducing GHG emissions by 15 per cent relative to projected growth, and social environmental and economic climate vulnerability by 20 per cent. The plan will create innovative mechanisms for reducing the carbon footprint of the private sector. The municipal plan strengthens the generation and management of climate information and knowledge in close collaboration with the national climate institution, National Institute of Meteorology e Hydrology (INAHMI). Source: http://www.

**City of Quito, Ecuador Climate change mitigation and adaptation plan:** 

distributions) to medium (climate change and focal introduction).68

In collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, in partnership with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the Mailman School of Public Health initiated a two-week course on Climate information for Public Health in 200869. It is held annually and "*provides a balance of concepts and methods from the health and climate communities using an approach deeply oriented toward methodology, gathering and using evidence for decisionmaking in order for the participants to get in-depth knowledge and skills in decision-making for health-care planning of climate sensitive diseases*"70.

The course helps participants to recognize the role climate plays in driving the infectious disease burden and public health outcomes, understand management and data integration as an opportunity to improve the decision making process in Public Health and realize the benefits and limitations of different climate and environmental data sources including remotely sensed data, meteorological data and climate predictions.

### *4.4.6. Lessons learned and the way forward*

As pointed out by the United Nations Task Team on Social Dimensions of Climate Change,

*"Global and regional one-size-fits-all climate analysis may not reflect the reality of a particular community or country and can under- or over-emphasize risks relevant to certain communities. The outcomes of downscaling should be incorporated where relevant and feasible, and combined with complementary mappings that may include social impact assessments and vulnerability maps, in order to identify social climate-induced hotspots (places where particularly severe problems may need to be addressed) and their intersection with other kinds of vulnerabilities such as lack of access to preventive and curative health services, that can reduce health vulnerability to climate change"71.* 

Health sectors in countries need to possess tools to conduct climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessments. "*The goal remains to better understand how climate variability and climate change can and do affect health risks today and in the future, in order to better inform policies and programmes that can protect public health"*70. However, once there is motivation for action*, "decision makers need to know the magnitude of potential risks and identify a range of options (including their feasibility, benefits, acceptability, effectiveness and costs); the availability of resources and their distribution across the population; and the structure of critical institutions, including the allocation of* decision-making authority"72.

The call for the production, availability, delivery and application of locally specific, sciencebased climate and meteorological information is a fundamental requirement for improving the application of CRM to address health risks. Integration of this information with appropriate health information and data will provide an opportunity, but also a challenge, to health authorities to demonstrate leadership within and outside the sector on mitigation and adaptation to climate change in order to protect health.
