CARE Component 1: 3rd Regional Workshop
- February 24-27, 2025
- Bangkok, Thailand
The Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) for South Asia Project, a 5-year initiative from 2020 to 2025, builds institutional capacities at integrating climate and sectoral information in decision-making to contribute to an enabling environment for climate-resilient policies and investments in the region.
With support from the World Bank, CARE Component 1 is focused on promoting evidencebased climate-smart decision-making, and is implemented by the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES). Component 1’s flagship work are a) the development of digital systems that host climate and sectoral data, process these data, automate requisite analysis, and produce customized climate-informed information products for different users – from the region, to the countries, to sub-national locations; b) capacity building of stakeholders to make use of these digital systems, the tools imbedded therein, and the data and information products in these systems/tools; and c) leveraging and enhancing capacities of National Meteorological and Hydrometeorological Services (NMHSs) in the region, for improved weather/climate information services.
The 3rd Regional Workshop for CARE Component 1 is the final regional workshop for the project. This final regional workshop is targeted to showcase the achievements of CARE Component 1 thus far, advocate for sustainability of capacities developed among partner government institutions, push for mechanisms for replication of good practices, and take forward lessons learnt from the project in onward undertakings either in CARE, in government projects, or in other projects.
The 3rd Regional Workshop for CARE Component 1 is the final regional workshop for the project. This final regional workshop is targeted to showcase the achievements of CARE Component 1 thus far, advocate for sustainability of capacities developed among partner government institutions, push for mechanisms for replication of good practices, and take forward lessons learnt from the project in onward undertakings either in CARE, in government projects, or in other projects.
The following activities are convened, back-to-back, in this 3rd Regional Workshop:
- Regional Sectoral Focal Points (SFPs) Meeting: to interface with the designated SFPs from the partner government institutions in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, and other countries in SAR on CARE Component 1’s achievements thus far, and confirm way forward for sustaining and strengthening CARE Component 1-facilitated institutional capacities of partner government institutions.
- High-Level Advocacy Workshop: to build strong champions of climate-informed planning and decision-making in government systems in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, who can influence and instigate system enhancements to promote a more fertile ground for sustained capacity enhancements in climate resilience (i.e. capacities built in CARE Component 1 and other projects have to be brought forward, post-CARE, to foster a culture of sustained capacity development).
- RDAS Training cum Community of Practice (CoP) Forum: to capacitate stakeholders in SAR to use the RDAS and its different modules and to pull together expertise, knowledge, and skills in the region to further refine the modules.
- SAHF Numerical Weather Prediction Working Group (NWP WG) Meeting: to provide an opportunity for the NWP WG to turn strategic directives into actionable outcomes through regional collaboration and adaption of innovative solutions.
- SAHF Knowledge Hub (Khub) and Data Exchange (DataEx) Platform Workshop: to enhance NMHSs’ capacity to access, visualize, and analyze forecast data through these platforms, to improve their forecasting activities.
DAY 1: 24th February 2025 Regional Sectoral Focal Points (SFPs) Meeting Bangkok, Thailand | 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Welcome Remarks and Insights from CARE Component 1 Implementation | 09:00 AM – 09:10 AM | Mr. A.R. Subbiah, Director General, RIMES | |
| Message from the World Bank | 09:10 AM – 09:20 AM | Mr. Bilal Khalid, CARE Co-TTL, World Bank | |
| Introductions and Acknowledgement of Participants | 09:20 AM - 09:35 AM | Facilitation: Mr. Raihanul Haque Khan, Country Program Lead – Bangladesh, RIMES | |
| Overview of the CARE Component 1 Regional Workshop and Its Activities | 09:35 AM - 09:45 AM | Ms. Kousalya Kumar, Training Coordinator, SAHF-CARE, RIMES | |
| CARE Component 1 Progress, Achievements, and Feedback | |||
| CARE Component 1’s Progress, Achievements, and Challenges Ahead | 09:45 AM – 10:05 AM | Ms. Ruby Rose Policarpio, Project Director, CARE, RIMES | CARE Component 1’s Progress, Achievements, and Challenges Ahead |
| Morning Refreshments and Photo Session | 10:05 AM – 10:30 AM | ||
| Implementation Progress: Bangladesh | 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM | - Progress and Achievements Mr. Raihanul Haque Khan, Country Program Lead – Bangladesh, RIMES - Demonstration of Tools and DSSs Ms. Shahana Khatun, Deputy Chief (Policy Planning), DAE Dr. Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, Upazila Livestock Officer, DLS Mr. Sarder Udoy Raihan, Executive Engineer, FFWC Mr. Mobinur Rahman Saim, Senior System Developer, RIMES Mr. Sajib Hassan, Full Stack Developer, RIMES - Comments/Feedback Relevant Ministries/Departments - Comments/Feedback Mr. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam/Mr. Debashish Paul Shuvra, Country Leads for CARE, Bangladesh, World Bank - Discussion | Implementation Progress: Bangladesh |
| Implementation Progress: Nepal | 11:50 AM – 01:10 PM | - Progress and Achievements Ms. Puja Shakya, Country Program Lead – Nepal, RIMES - Demonstration of DSSs Mr. Bishnu Hari Devkota, Senior Agriculture Extension Officer, MoALD Mr. Vijay Kumar Mahto, Unit Chief of HMIS ICT, DoR Mr. Rajendra Sharma, Undersecretary, Technical, NDRRMA Mr. Niraj Shakya, Senior Developer, RIMES Mr. Sujal Manandhar, IT Expert, RIMES Mr. Kaylin Khanal, Full Stack Developer, RIMES - Comments/Feedback Relevant Ministries/Departments - Comments/Feedback Ms. Carina Fonseca Ferreira/Mr. Basanta Poudel, Country Leads for CARE, Nepal, World Bank - Discussion | Implementation Progress: Nepal |
| Lunch | 1:10 PM – 02:10 PM | ||
| Implementation Progress: Pakistan | 02:10 PM – 03:30 PM | - Progress and Achievements Ms. Amber Masud, Country Program Lead – Pakistan, RIMES - Demonstration of DSSs Mr. Juma Khan Tareen, Director, Balochistan Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) Mr. Sohail Iqbal, Plant Pathologist, BARI Ms. Mehvish Asghar, Assistant Chief and Agriculture Specialist, MoPDSI Dr. Muhammad Nawaz, Senior Scientist, Agronomic Research Institute - Faisalabad Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Climate Impacts – Agriculture Expert, RIMES Dr. Muhammad Sabir, Clean and Green Transport Expert, RIMES Mr. Prometheus Peter Lazo, System Development Specialist, RIMES Mr. Tayyab Jan, Full Stack Developer, RIMES - Comments/Feedback Relevant Ministries/Departments - Comments/Feedback Mr. Bilal Khalid, Country Lead for CARE, Pakistan, and Co-TTL, CARE, World Bank - Discussion | Implementation Progress: Pakistan |
| Implementation Progress: SAHF | 03:30 PM – 04:00 PM | - Dr. Anshul Agarwal Lead for SAHF, RIMES - Comments/Feedback Ms. Melanie Simone Kappes, TTL for SAHF, World Bank - Discussion | Implementation Progress: SAHF |
| Afternoon Refreshments | 04:00 PM – 04:15 PM | ||
| Way Forward | |||
| Synthesis of Discussions/Feedback from the Plenary, Handholding Support for DSSs, and other Salient Take Away Points | 04:15 PM – 04:30 PM | RIMES | |
| Remarks from World Bank | 04:30 PM – 04:40 PM | Mr. Bilal Khalid, Co-TTL, CARE, World Bank | |
| Concluding Remarks and Vote of Thanks | 04:40 PM – 05:00 PM | Mr. A.R. Subbiah, Director General, RIMES | |
DAY 2: 25th February 2025 High-Level Advocacy Workshop Bangkok, Thailand | 09:00 AM – 04:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) (Parallel with SAHF NWP WG Meeting) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Application of Climate Information and Sustainability of Development Interventions: Snapshots from South Asia and Neighboring Regions | |||
| Highlights/Take-Away Points from the SFPs Meeting | 09:00 AM – 09:15 AM | Ms. J. Elaine Layug, Data Analysis Expert and M&E Specialist, CARE, RIMES | |
| Case Studies: Benefits from the Application of Climate Information in Plans and Decisions and Sustaining Development Interventions | 09:15 AM – 10:00 AM | Mr. Raihanul Haque Khan, Country Program Lead – Bangladesh, RIMES and Ms. Ruby Rose Policarpio, Project Director, CARE, RIMES | - Application of Heat Stress Alerts by Farmers in Bangladesh - Case Studies: Climate Information Application Benifits and of Development Interventions |
| Morning Refreshments | 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM | ||
| Sustaining Development Initiatives at Climate Resilience: A Panel Discussion | 10:15 AM – 11:30 AM | Facilitation/moderation: RIMES Panelists: Mr. Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep, Global Lead (Disruptive Technology), Lead Environmental Specialist, World Bank on World Bank’s global/regional experiences on implementing and sustaining development interventions on climate resilience. The discussion will highlight specific development interventions undertaken by the World Bank, the factors that has driven sustainability, and the World Bank’s mechanisms to provide pragmatic support to sustain relevant climate resilience interventions. Dr. Sanjay Srivastava, Chief, Disaster Risk Reduction, IDD, UNESCAP, on ESCAP’s sustained support to climate resilience programs like the Monsoon Forums and other initiatives, and key take-aways/lessons learnt from ESCAP’s engagements in AsiaPacific on implementing/sustaining climate resilience. Dr. Md. Sazzad Hossain, Superintending Engineer, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), on BWDB’s experiences in partnering with development/technical institutions in implementing projects and integrating these into BWDB’s regular operations. Local Government Unit, Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines, on the institutionalization of various climate resilience interventions that enabled Dumangas to build on, institutionalize, and maximize benefits from various projects from 2003 to date, and the way forward thereof. Mr. Raihan Haque Khan, Country Program Lead – Bangladesh, RIMES, on the practical advantages and challenges of sustained/continuous support to government partners. | - Sustaining Development Initiatives on Climate Resilience - Sustaining Development Initiatives at Climate Resilience in South Asia |
| Metrics for Sustainable Application of Climate Information and Development Interventions: How Can CARE Make a Difference in the Long Term | |||
| Workshop: Institutional Actions to Strengthen the Sustainability and Replicability of Development Interventions in CARE Component 1: Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other Counties in South Asia | 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Facilitation/moderation: RIMES | |
| Lunch | 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM | ||
| Workshop: Institutional Actions to Strengthen the Sustainability and Replicability of Development Interventions in CARE Component 1: Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other Counties in South Asia (continuation from the morning session) | 01:00 PM – 02:00 PM | Facilitation/moderation: RIMES | |
| Round Table Discussion: Sustainability Priorities and Strategies for Climate Resilience in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan | 02:00 PM – 03:00 PM | Discussants: Ministry/Department Officials from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan Facilitation: RIMES | |
| Afternoon Refreshments | 03:00 PM - 03:20 PM | ||
| Confirmation of Institutional Sustainability Priorities and Strategies for Climate Resilience | 03:20 PM – 03:50 PM | Facilitation: RIMES | |
| Closing Session | |||
| Remarks from World Bank | 03:50 PM – 04:00 PM | Mr. Bilal Khalid, Co-TTL, CARE, World Bank | |
DAY 2: 25th February 2025 SAHF Numerical Weather Prediction Working Group (NWP WG) Meeting Bangkok, Thailand | 09:00 AM – 05:15 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) (Parallel with High-Level Advocacy Workshop) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Opening Session | |||
| Welcome Remarks | 09:00 PM – 09:10 AM | Dr. K. J. Ramesh, Regional Program Advisor, RIMES | |
| Message from the World Bank and Insights from SAHF | 09:10 AM – 09:30 PM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank | |
| Introductions and Acknowledgement of Participants | 09:30 AM – 10:00 AM | Facilitation: RIMES | |
| Refreshment and Group Photo | 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM | ||
| Directions from SAHF-4 and Executive Council, and NWP WG Priorities | |||
| Directions from SAHF-4 and Executive Council | 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; and Dr. Anshul Agarwal, Lead for SAHF, RIMES | |
| Review of NWP WG Priorities | 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM | WG/NWP Co-Chairs followed by discussion | |
| Regional NWP Strategy | |||
| Overview of the Regional NWP Strategy 2025-2030 | 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank | |
| Review, Discussion, and Finalization of the Regional NWP Strategy 2025 – 2030 | 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Facilitation: Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; and Dr. K. J. Ramesh, Regional Program Advisor, RIMES | |
| Overview of the Roadmap for the Implementation of the Regional NWP Strategy 2025-2030 and its proposed activities under CREWS-South Asia | 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank | |
| Lunch | 12:30 PM – 01:30 PM | ||
| Development of the SAHF NWP Roadmap | |||
| Development of the Roadmap | 01:30 PM – 03:15 PM | Facilitation: Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; Dr. K. J. Ramesh, Regional Program Advisor, RIMES; and Dr. Anshul Agarwal, Lead for SAHF, RIMES | |
| Afternoon Refreshments | 03:15 PM – 03:30 PM | ||
| Development of Costed Action Plan Associated with the SAHF NWP Roadmap | |||
| Development of Costed Action Plan Associated with the Roadmap | 03:30 PM – 05:00 PM | Facilitation: Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; and Dr. Anshul Agarwal, Lead for SAHF, RIMES | |
| Summary of the Day | 05:00 PM – 05:15 PM | NWP Co-Chairs | |
DAY 3: 26th February 2025 SAHF Numerical Weather Prediction Working Group (NWP WG) Meeting Bangkok, Thailand | 08:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Development of Costed Action Plan Associated with the SAHF NWP Roadmap | |||
| Development of Costed Action Plan Associated with the Roadmap (continued from Day 1) | 08:00 AM – 09:00 AM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; and Dr. Anshul Agarwal, Lead for SAHF, RIMES | |
| Final Review and Adoption of the Regional NWP Strategy, Roadmap, and Costed Action Plan | 09:00 AM – 09:45 AM | Facilitation: Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank; and Dr. K. J. Ramesh, Regional Program Advisor, RIMES | |
| Closing Session | |||
| Remarks from World Bank | 09:45 AM – 10:00 AM | Dr. Alice Soares, Senior Hydromet Advisor, World Bank Remarks from SAHF Co-Chairs, NWP WG | |
DAY 3: 26th February 2025 RDAS Training cum Community of Practice (CoP) Forum Bangkok, Thailand | 10:00 AM – 04:25 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Opening Session | |||
| Introductions and Acknowledgement of Participants | 10:00 AM – 10:10 AM | RIMES | |
| RDAS: Uniqueness, Capabilities, Highlights, and Way Forward; Overview of the Training; and Recap of System Development Progress and User Engagement | 10:10 AM – 10:30 AM | Ms. Ruby Rose Policarpio, Project Director, CARE, RIMES | RDAS: Uniqueness, Capabilities, Highlights, and Way Forward |
| Morning Refreshments | 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM | ||
| RDAS Modules Utilization and Refinement | |||
| Walkthrough of the complete RDAS modules and Hands-on Exercise of the Tools - Data Modules - Analytics Modules - Predictive Tools Modules | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | RIMES RDAS Team | RDAS Training Manual |
| Feedback and Salient Points on Digital Systems Development | 12:00 PM – 12:20 PM | Mr. Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep, Global Lead (Disruptive Technology), Lead Environmental Specialist, World Bank | |
| Lunch | 12:20 PM – 01:20 PM | ||
| Feedback and Recommendation Sharing | 01:20 AM – 01:40 PM | Participants | Feedbacks |
| Expert Working Group Session: RDAS Modules Refinement and Utilization | 01:40 PM – 03:30 PM | Facilitation: RIMES | |
| Presentation of Refinements Completed, Targets, and Strategies to Maximize System Utilization | 03:30 PM – 04:00 PM | ||
| Closing Session | |||
| Synthesis and Way Forward | 04:00 PM – 04:15 PM | RIMES | |
| Vote of Thanks | 04:15 PM – 04:25 PM | RIMES | |
| Afternoon Refreshments | 04:25 PM – onwards | ||
DAY 4: 27th February 2025 SAHF Knowledge Hub (SKHub) and Data Exchange (DataEx) Platform Training Workshop Bangkok, Thailand | 09:30 AM – 04:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda Item | Timing | Moderator/Speaker/Presenter(s) | Content |
| Opening Session | |||
| Acknowledgement of Participants | 09:30 AM – 09:40 AM | ||
| Introduction to SKHub: Features and Salience | 09:40 AM – 10:30 AM | Mr. Surajan Shrestha, Web Developer-SKHub, RIMES | Introduction to SAHF Knowledge Hub (SkHub) |
| Morning Refreshment | 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM | ||
| Introduction to the DataEx Platform | 10:50 AM – 12:00 NN | Mr. Nazmul Ahasan, Country IT Lead, RIMES | |
| Interactive Tools Demonstration | |||
| Interactive Demonstration: Tools for Forecasting and Visualization | 12:00 PM – 01:00 PM | Mr. Nazmul Ahasan, Country IT Lead, RIMES | |
| Lunch | 01:00 PM – 02:00 PM | ||
| Monsoon 2023 Verification | 02:00 PM – 02:30 PM | RIMES Team/NWP WG Members | |
| Interactive Demonstration: Accessing and Analysing Data for Regional Applications | 02:30 PM – 03:30 PM | Mr. Nazmul Ahasan, RIMES | |
| Afternoon Refreshments | 03:30 PM – 03:45 PM | ||
| Hands-on Session on DataEx and SKHub and Feedback/Recommendations for Enhancing Systems Utility | 03:45 PM – 04:30 PM | Facilitation: RIMES SAHF Team | |
| Addressing Challenges in Data Sharing and Regional Collaboration, Data Utilization, and Capacity Building | 04:30 PM – 04:45 PM | Facilitation: RIMES SAHF Team | |
| Closing Session | |||
| Closing Remarks | 04:45 PM - 05:00 PM | RIMES | |