ABSTRACT
This is the advisory note 'El Niño 2014/2015: Policy implications for Asia and the Pacific' of November 2014, developed jointly by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES). The advisory gives an overview of El Niño and its risks, actual and potential impacts on the climate in Pacific Island countries and on climate-sensitive sectors, and provides policy recommendations. This advisory note is part of the science and policy knowledge on the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into sustainable development.
• Pacific island countries (PICs) are at greatest risk of experiencing impacts from a potential 2014/2015 El Niño event.
• The most vulnerable sectors in PICs are agriculture, freshwater resources, reef ecosystems, fisheries, public health systems and infrastructure.
• Regional collaboration will be critical to ensure understanding of El Niño risk, communicating the risk to stakeholders and creating the enabling mechanisms to act on risk information.