CREWS Board approves new funding to accelerate Early Warnings for All

The Climate Risk and Early Warnings Initiative (CREWS Initiative) has approved funding to boost progress towards providing life-saving early warning systems in vulnerable Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States by the end of 2027.

The 18-month Early Warnings for All Accelerator for LDCs and SIDS Project targets seven countries: Comoros, Kiribati, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nepal, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, with the primary objective of strengthening their Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS).

CREWS aims to bridge the early warning capacity gap in LDCs and SIDS with US$ 77 million in technical assistance over the coming two years to cover immediate demand.

The project will be jointly implemented by the four Early Warnings for All pillar leads: the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). They will work alongside National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHHSs) in each country.

“This CREWS Board decision will accelerate positive impact by working with seven countries most at risk of climate change impacts and with our new partners ITU and IFRC in order to reach over 61 million people. A people-centred and multi-stakeholder approach to building accurate and timely multi-hazard early warning systems is core to the value of CREWS and the effectiveness of our financing,” said CREWS Chair, Gerard Howe, who is also the Head of the Adaptation, Nature & Resilience department of the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) commented,

The project will address gaps along the MHEWS value chain and identify existing capacities and needs and how to leverage ongoing initiatives. It will span all four Early Warnings for All pillars. It will take an inclusive, people-centered approach, embrace specific at-risk communities, such as persons with disabilities and children and harness local and indigenous knowledge. The project seeks to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and to help build partnerships in a spirit of accountability, and transparency.

Diagram depicting a people-centered approach to disaster risk management, highlighting four areas: disaster risk knowledge, observations/monitoring, dissemination/communication, preparedness/response.

The project has four main expected outcomes: strengthen the availability, access and use of accurate, timely and disaggregated climate and risk information for MHEWS; enhance the accuracy and timeliness of weather and climate-related forecasts and warnings;  improve the quality and coverage of multi-hazard early warning communication and dissemination; and promote early and anticipatory action for various weather and climate-related disasters and ensure preparedness to respond capabilities are in place; strengthen coordination of investments in MHEWS.

For the NMHSs, strengthened capacity to monitor and predict weather and climate-related events will lead to improved forecasting models, improved early warning capabilities, increased public trust, and better-informed decision-making.

The project will help national disaster management offices to proactively prepare for and respond to potential disasters, minimizing their impact on communities and infrastructure. By receiving advance notice of impending natural hazards and/or extreme events, they can implement evacuation plans, deploy resources, and coordinate emergency services more effective.

The project will also work closely with public and private telecommunication regulators and companies via the ITU and with humanitarian communities via the IFRC.

The Early Warnings for All Initiative (EW4ALL) aims to ensure universal protection from hazardous weather, water or climate events through life-saving Early Warning Systems by the end of 2027.