This story originally appeared on the CGIAR website.

Jointly developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Directorate of Climate Change, Ecological Transition and Green finance, the CSG dashboard is an innovative tool designed to assist nations in climate investment priorities and planning to promote social and economic development. It provides access to critical climate-related data, including hazard information, vulnerability assessments, climate scenarios and project tracking tools. Senegal can utilize the dashboard to make informed decisions to enhance climate resilience and achieve its national climate goals by integrating such data.

Giriraj Amarnath, Principal Researcher at IWMI, provided an overview and demonstration of the CSG Dashboard and its applications. His presentation showcased a more in-depth look into how the dashboard bridges the gap between climate adaptation and investment planning and contributes to strengthening the NAP process and its implementation.

He demonstrated what users can expect from the dashboard from a country perspective; in Senegal’s case, for instance, the distribution of climate investment across adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting projects, distribution of climate investment based on multi-hazards, and even the sector-wise distribution of adaptation investment.

CSG monitors and tracks the progress of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting projects. It enables governments, NGOs, businesses, and individuals to track efforts in addressing the impacts of climate change at different scales and levels and identify areas where additional action is needed.”

The various modules it contains such as Investment Portfolio Planning enable users to evaluate the potential impacts on GDP under different climate scenarios across sectors and stress levels and let them visualize, analyze, and interpret a wide range of information that can then be used to direct climate adaptation interventions and investments.

The event featured presentations from dashboard application and early adopters, such as Sri Lanka, where the dashboard was implemented in April this year. Buddhi Marambe, lead agriculture negotiator for Sri Lanka at COP, shared his insights on how the CSG dashboard has benefited Sri Lanka so far, what considerations need to be made, and the challenges faced.

“There is a firm concern to make sure that there will be a special allocation or budget lines identified in Sri Lanka for climate change. Doing so, however, requires an informed decision-making process, and that is where the beauty of this Climate Smart Dashboard comes in. To me, it goes beyond a dashboard. It connects people – connects provincial-level people with national government establishments and makes sure that messages pass through effectively. 

“I think it’s one of the best sources we have. Of course, things must be populated further, I do understand. We have such a system right now and it’s the duty of the government, NGOs, and the private sector, with the support of the focal point to make sure that the relevant information is uploaded and updated so that we can make better, and more informed decisions.”

Lamine Diatta, from the Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, Senegal, provided some insights into the current context of where things stand in the country. He highlighted the dashboard’s role in supporting Senegal’s efforts to establish institutional agreements that facilitate effective climate adaptation actions.

“We have a national committee on climate change but now the approach is how to institutionalize climate change. This dashboard will help us see the progress we are making and the progress in every sector, how we cover the country in terms of territories, and what the gaps are. This information will help when we design our next NDCs, because now we have learned everything about the gaps, which sectors are better covered, and which sectors are not. The dashboard will also help us when designing the NAP, as we will be able to identify any data or investment gaps, see how we can best direct our partners, and best plan for the National Adaptation Plans.”

This pre-launch event at COP29 highlights the importance of developing innovative and relevant tools that help countries coordinate and collate information for more informed decision-making but also demonstrates the importance of cultivating strong partnerships at multiple levels and scales to ensure that developing countries take ownership, building a resilient future.

The CSG Dashboard will be officially launched in Dakar, Senegal in December 2024.

Learn more about IWMI at COP29.