The Regional Climate Consortium for Asia and the Pacific (RCCAP) was developed under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Technical Assistance for Regional Climate Projections Consortium and Data Facility in Asia and the Pacific.
To this end, the established Consortium involved three pilot countries from South East Asia (Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines) and Australia.
Current consortium members include:
- Asian Development Bank
- Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), Indonesia
- Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the Philippines
- Thai Meteorological Department (TMD), Thailand
- Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Indonesia
- Chiang Mai University, Thailand
- Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia
- Griffith University, Australia
The RCCAP provides climate information and guidelines to the developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region in order to improve regional capacity for developing climate-resilient programs and projects in a cost-effective fashion.
The objectives of the RCCAP Consortium alignment with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Framework for Climate Services, which ensures that climate services are credible and defensible, include details descriptions of uncertainty, are fit for purpose and well documented.
The aims of the RCCAP are to:
1. Provide guidance on accessing appropriate regional climate projections information
To help navigate the patchwork of climate model data based on different sets of climate models or different downscaling techniques, end users will benefit from knowledge of officially-endorsed local climate models.
2. Provide guidance on incorporating local climate data into decision-making and adaptation planning processes
The basic guidance on this website can be augmented by other workshops and/ or training to end users on how to use climate data.
3. Aid in translation and communication of climate information
Much of the currently available climate information is raw scientific data, which is not user-friendly. It needs to be translated into lay terminology and delivered in a way that end users can understand and apply. Some climate services organizations make use of historical data and anecdotes to engage end users.
4. Facilitate regional collaboration and resource pooling
Downscaling global and regional climate models to a finer scale is very costly and unaffordable for most individual end users. Pooling resources to obtain and share downscaled climate data is desirable.