The governance of climate services: Improving knowledge networks for resilient and socially just societies (GovClimServices)

GovClimServices is a multidisciplinary research project that analyses the conditions for effective governance of weather and climate information services in India and Norway aimed to reach farmers (agrometeorological services). The project is a collaboration between NIBR-OsloMet (leading the project), NIVA, University of Oslo (Geosciences), and TERI (India). The project run from 2015 to 2018. The project carried out fieldwork in the state of Maharasthra, India in three villages (about 90 respondents) and among four agromet service providers. Interviews were done at different levels. The project involved four studies. The first study compared the governance structure and operations of the Indian agro-met services, both public and private; and investigated whether they offered local farmers relevant, tailored, and participatory services. A second study compared the governance of the public Indian agromet services (operated by India Meteorological Department (IMD)) with a similar agro-met system in Norway. The third study was based on interviews and surveys among local farmers in the three villages, and analysed the conditions for access and uptake of these services, as well as the perceptions of the farmers about these services (if they were tailored, credible, and accessible). The fourth study involved climate- and crop-modelling, considering changes in crop yields for two future climate scenarios; a key finding being that yields will particularly be affected by changes in temperatures. The project has produced six scientific articles. Cf. http://www.teriin.org/projects/GOVClimServices/index.php Our findings reveal that the four agro-met service providers in Maharashtra are part of an emerging landscape of service actors. Combined, they offer a diversity of weather-, agronomy, and market information services through different channels of communication for the agricultural sector (sms, voice messages, apps, websites, bulletins and radio/TV). More than five million farmers in Maharashtra receive sms about diverse agromet conditions weekly (and about 25 million across India). But our village level studies suggest that local farmers access and use these services to very different degree in their decision making. There are many gaps in the relationships between the service providers and the farmers related to relevance, access, accuracy, and tailordness that need to be addressed in order to meet farmers' needs and capabilities. Many farmers are often not aware that such services are available, even if the information is mostly free and open access. Moreover, although most farmers perceive the content of the services as relatively easy to understand, they view the information as not tailored to specific crops or farm needs nor very accurate in terms of prediction of local weather. The farmers respond best to information that is very specific to their local needs, such as warnings about extreme weather during harvesting, changes in local marked prices and spread of specific pests and needs for pesticides. Female farmers or local women do not subscribe to such services. The comparison between the governing of the public Indian (IMD) and Norwegian agro-met services reveals many similarities. In both countries the services are based on multi-actor and multi-level systems and communication through a similar set of products and communication channels (although the Indian system is richer and of larger scale). The services are focused on providing weather forecasts and agromet services (short and medium term forecasts), and to limited degree provide long-term climate knowledge and scenarios. The teamwork of the project has involved multiple disciplines in the design and research approach to studying weather and climate services. Policy implications of the empirical findings suggest that a closer collaboration is required between public and private actors at different levels to develop more relevant and tailored services. The interaction between service providers and farmers must be improved to ensure that external knowledge/information is adopted and integrated with local practice-based knowledge and social learning. This may enable a more effective uptake and use of new knowledge. The Norwegian agromet services are found to have few bureaucratic layers and be relatively decentralized. They involve a partnership between research institutions and the agricultural extension system, and, as such engage the farmers in operations (to some degree). The Norwegian services also involve the farmers? own organisations and agribusiness companies. IMD keeps taking steps to ensure development along these same lines, and recently started

GovClimServices is a multi-disciplinary research project that analyses conditions for effective multilevel governance of climate services in developing countries. Empirically the project is situated in the Monsoon belt of India (Maharashtra). The focus of the study is on coordination and knowledge-transfer issues in climate services and related climate knowledge networks of concern to the agriculture and water resources sectors and rural livelihoods. Limited research has so far been done on these topics. India has an old and well established climate services system, and Maharashtra is a pioner in testing innovative solutions (including 'open access' systems. The project will study and compare both public and private systems, and compare interactional processes and outcomes for different types of farmers and users (provider-user Interface). Interesting research and policy lessons can be drawn for other developing and developed countries from this system. The analysis will help overcome some of the barriers identified in earlier climate research related to various disconnects in knowledge, action and policy amongst public, private and civil society actors involved in provision and use of climate services. Climate services involve the production, translation, transfer, and use of climate knowledge and information in climate-informed decision-making and climate-smart policy and planning. The project's primary objectives are to produce and disseminate high quality knowledge about these topics; build research capacity among young female researchers in India and Norway; and develop a longer term collaborative research program between the partner institutions and the local authoroties, based on existing long-standing research relationships. Policy and research implications of the theoretical and empirical findings will be clarified.