MEACAM Research Report: Communicating MEACAM Forecasts in an Early Warning System

“Communicating MEACAM Forecasts in an Early Warning System” reviews the communication component of an Early Warning System and outlines how the MEACAM’s agricultural drought and flood forecasts can be communicated in an Early Warning System (EWS). This paper is intended to serve as a roadmap to guide potential integration of MEACAM’s early warning information in a future centralized EWS in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

The report begins with an overview of the pillars of an EWS and then explains the steps for communicating hazard alerts. Specifically, how to organize hazard alerts, leverage different communication channels, manage information flow, and define the governance of alert dissemination. This section also relates MEACAM early warning information to standardized alerts. The paper concludes with a summary of progress made towards a centralized EWS in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, based on in-country engagements with key stakeholders by the MEACAM team.