The Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) is one of several Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs), promoted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and active in various parts of the world. These RCOFs are critical for the development and effectiveness of early warning systems in that they provide real-time seasonal climate forecasts and interpretation across relevant time and spatial scales. Training and interfacing between meteorologists and climate information users are two key activities toward realizing effective early warning systems that ultimately support adaptation and disaster risk reduction

This funding from the US State Department through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which will support the CariCOF process, aims to:

1. Facilitate in-region leadership,
2. Support standards of practice for climate services development, assessment and application,
3. Develop use cases in the collaborative development of decision support tools, information products and capacity with the public, private and NGO sectors necessary to enhance resilience in the region by enhancing national and regional capacity to develop operational National Frameworks for Climate Services (NFCS).

CariCOF training will have two components. First, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) will be trained at pre-forum workshops. These NMHS staff will then join stakeholders at the forum where the seasonal forecasts and other related climate information will be delivered and discussed, and recommended actions made. On the other hand, climate information user groups, including advisers, and policy and decision makers, will be trained in the interpretation and application of information products while at the same time supporting the establishment and/or enhancement of relevant products through feedback and sector-specific recommendations. One goal of these activities will be to engage multiple sectors and actors to fund their own participation in future CariCOFs as the value of reduced risks and better use of information is demonstrated.

The following activities will be implemented under this Action:

• Caribbean- led innovative approaches to Regional Climate Outlook Forums,
• An evaluation of the impacts of the products and processes in regional and national community-based planning and implementation for climate risk reduction;
• One region-wide engagement workshop, and necessary follow up, to develop the regional coordination, data leveraging, and implementation strategy needed to support the development of NFCSs to inform planning in key climate services areas of water, health, disaster risk reduction, agriculture and food security, energy and tourism.
• One community focused research activity resulting in the delivery of relevant seasonal and sub-seasonal outlook information to a chosen community (for example, indigenous, rural).

This effort promises significant success by aligning existing activities under the Caribbean’s Sectoral EWISACTS Regional Roadmap and Plan of Action 2020-2030 – a new regionally-led climate services framework. Such an approach ensures that the US State Department support builds on existing projects, capacity, contributing to the development of future interventions.