“There is a crucial need for data and this meeting comes at the right time. Climate change statistics are alarming, and we need to implement urgent measures.”
- Mr. Libasse BA, President of the National Committee for Climate Change of Senegal (COMNACC) and Technical Counsellor to the Director of Enda Energie
Senegal is leading the way in developing a climate change data ecosystem
Senegal is implementing an action plan to make use of data for effective climate response. Data on climate change comes from multiple sources and addresses the many ways in which climate change affects countries. It also provides insights for potential policy responses adapted to the most impacted countries in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, bringing together multiple sources of data and making these accessible for decisionmakers requires a coordinated approach. With support from PARIS21 and its partners, the Centre for Open Data Enterprise (CODE) and Open Data Watch (ODW), Senegal’s national statistics organisation has chosen to follow a “climate change data ecosystem approach”.
Climate change is data problem unlike any other
To tackle the diverse and widespread causes of climate change and mitigate its impacts is a complex issue that governments, the international community. Citizens need access to accurate and timely information. However, data and statistics that can inform climate action are highly fragmented, spread across national statistical offices, a host of ministries, governments, meteorological offices, academia and the private sector. Mapping data producers and users will give countries and the international community a clearer picture of what data is available and what data gaps still exist.
Senegal is feeling the impacts of climate change
Senegal is already experiencing impacts of climate change across the country. Nearly two-thirds of its population live near the country’s vast coastline. Significant developments in tourism and shoreline infrastructure have rendered this part of the country vulnerable to rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion. Annual rainfall patterns are also changing in the country, posing severe challenges to agricultural production and food security, as well as employment: the agricultural sector is a source of livelihood for 70% of the country’s work force and represents 17% of the GDP.
Senegal is leading the way in developing a climate change data ecosystem
The National Agency for Statistics and Demography of Senegal (ANSD), alongside other key stakeholders from the national statistical system in Senegal such as The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development and the National Committee on Climate Change (COMNAC), is leading the way with a new project that will see it become one of the first countries to develop a Climate Change Data Ecosystem over the next year.
The project was officially launched on 22 June 2023 and is supported by PARIS21 and its partners the Centre for Open Data Enterprise, Open Data Watch together with the support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Putting together the pieces – an ecosystem approach
The Senegalese data and statistics community has embraced the concept of (CCDE), recognising the multiple actors contributing to the data ecosystem, the need for regulatory and policy framework in which they can operate, and the infrastructure and technologies required to create, transform and use climate change-related statistics and data.
