Coral bleaching and coastal hazard forecasting - regional networks

The coral bleaching component of this system has been developed by CORDIO East Africa and operational since 2007, and has been evaluated for accuracy in two stages – up to 2010 (Obura et al, in review) and up to 2012 (Obura & Gamoyo, in prep.). In a project funded by the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association and in collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the University of Cape Town (UCT), we have undertaken trials to broaden the approach to identify the key climate hazards to which coastal communities are vulnerable (extreme rain and wind events, drought), and develop tools to also generate useful forecasts for these (dry/wet spells, extreme wind/rain/drought).