Frequently Asked Questions

INTRODUCING CACIP

WHAT IS CACIP?

The main objective of Central Asian Climate Information Platform is to help stakeholders to access, analyze, and visualize public-domain data to support improved awareness, assessment, and decision support. This is expected to make available comprehensive and up-to-date relevant data and information, linking with high-quality datasets (including time series and spatial information) from global, regional, and local sources, provide analytical tools and interfaces for the visualization and interpretation of data and information (e.g. mapping tools to layer data and map hotspots and areas at risk, screening tools, etc.).

WHAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CACIP?

Central Asia Climate Information Platform (CACIP) is funded by the World Bank within the framework of Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB) of the Central Asia Regional Environmental Center (CAREC) and ICARDA (The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) project in cooperation with iMMAP international not-for-profit organization.

WHAT IS THE GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE OF CACIP?

CACIP covers the Central Asian countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. It also provides regional outlook, as well as country specific information.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CACIP?

Platform provides comprehensively streamlined data and information on climate and related parameters for the Central Asia. Platform acts like one-stop-shop (portal) for the climate data at regional to national scales.

WHAT IS UNIQUE IN CACIP?

Platform integrates several interactive aspects of knowledge components, which goes beyond regular knowledge products, like documents. The attention is on interactivity, i.e. user interactivity of data, and multilateral exchange. Examples can be interactivity in Forum or E-learning tools. Platform is organized in tailored way for Central Asian needs, and it is free. Furthermore, CAMP4ASB knowledge products (wide range of hydrological, agrometeorological trainings, models, projections) adapted for Central Asia can be found in CACIP.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE PLATFORM?

Organizations: ministries, agencies various institutions, government. Serves various community roles, i.e: Citizens, Trainers, Researchers, Farmers, Decision Makers, and other stakeholders.

WHAT KIND OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE?

CACIP Knowledge & Data Products includes climate related specific publications (journal articles, books (including reviews and chapters), thesis, paper, report, newspaper article, educational and training material, presentation, video, audio and infographics, blogs, news, events, spatial and statistical data.

ARE THERE ANY TRAINING/DEMONSTRATIONS ON CACIP? ARE THERE ANY GUIDING DOCUMENTS?

Special e-learning module that contains various thematic webinars and courses is integrated in CACIP. To explore the module the user needs to enter Resources menu and choose E-learning in the drop-down list.

WHO WILL ADD NATIONAL DATA TO THE PLATFORM? HOW THIS PROCESS IS LEGALLY REGULATED?

CACIP relies on open data to develop the platform. The Platform can enable registered organizations to login and upload their open data. Furthermore, organizations can set up their website/platform to allow automatically harvest data, and CACIP Team can provide guidance if needed. Please contact by email contact@centralasiaclimateportal.org for any propositions.

DATA MANAGEMENT & OWNERSHIP

IS USING CACIP FREE?

CACIP relies on open access and free online resources, hence, all CACIP products are free of charge.

WHAT CAN I DO IF DATA I NEED IS NOT PROVIDED BY PRIMARY SOURCE FOR FREE?

CACIP may find climate related resources, which are not free. In this case, it redirects the users to the original source for communicating directly with the data provider.

WHAT ARE THE RULES TO USE, COPY, AND REPRODUCE DATA FROM CACIP?

All efforts are to make CACIP as open as possible. The Knowledge Hub gives all users the full permissions to find, download, and visualize (if available) open data/knowledge products. For the data, which is not free, some functionalities like downloading could be disabled).

WILL I BE REMUNERATED FOR WORKING/GIVING DATA FOR CACIP?

CACIP is a regional initiative aiming at sharing data and establish network across stakeholders. You can provide your data for free (fully or partially). You can ensure that data is presented with its description (metadata). Then users will be redirected to your site. When you are referenced in CACIP as a data provider, reviewer, contributor to the forum, subject matter expert or knowledge creator, you are presented as a trustable source for potential projects and funding opportunities. The network established by CACIP can lead you to the new remunerated opportunity despite CACIP is not a job seekers website.

WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF DATA AND INFORMATION IN CACIP?

The Platform obtains (harvests1 ) data from open access sources. The following are examples of sources, where CACIP is harvesting: FAO GeoNetwork, NASA - MODIS satellite data, The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository of World Bank (OKRWB), Climate Technology Center & Network (CTCN), Natural Resource Governance Institute - Resource Governance Index Source Library. Each data/knowledge product will have metadata with references to its original source.

HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO THE POOL OF RESOURCES?

CACIP Knowledge Hub will enable registered users to log in and upload data/knowledge products.

TECHNICAL CACIP

WHERE DATA IS STORED? HOW DATA IS GATHERED?

CACIP database will be stored on cloud servers. CACIP will store the products’ metadata in CACIP Database, a local database hosted on CACIP cloud servers for high availability and access to data. The availability of metadata/products depends on the open access resources and freely available data over the internet. Some resources may provide comprehensive metadata, while others may provide a title and a direct link to the original source. CACIP harvester will store what is available from these APIs. When CACIP consortium of institutions is formed, it is expected the institutional network in the region makes knowledge contributions by providing analytical products and deliverables of their projects for wide public

HOW PLATFORM CAN ACCOMMODATE MY NEEDS OF TARGETED USER PREFERENCES?

The Knowledge Hub gives all users to find, download, and visualize (if available) open data/knowledge products. The actions that require user registration are: uploading data/knowledge products, and forum access. Any CACIP user can do targeted search over the data/knowledge products available on the platform to filter based on:

topic, as an example: a. Water Management, b. Climate Change, c. Risk Assessment, d. Food Security, e. Sustainable Agroecosystems, f. Land Degradation;
geo-coverage as: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and International;
type, as an example: map layers, datasets, publications, visualization, news and blogs.

WILL CACIP WORK OFFLINE OR IN REMOTE AREAS?

In order to fully access to the resources shared through CACIP, it requires a “live” internet connection. CACIP currently do not provide an offline installation of the Platform fully working in a local personal computer. While it has been observed that some farmer communities may not have access to internet or knowledge on the usage, in order to meet the needs of the users without an internet connection, the platform ensures that material suitable for improving livelihoods is available, printable, and downloadable by champion farmers or intermediary institutions such as extension departments and NGOs

WILL IT SUPPORT ALL 5 LANGUAGES OF CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES?

CACIP first availability will be in Russian and English language defaulted to EN. In later stages, CACIP will include five Central Asian languages.

IS CACIP SUPPORTED BY PORTABLE PERSONAL DEVICES?

CACIP design is responsive, and is able to adapt its graphical interface to the device characteristics (screen size and ratio) of the user. CACIP Interface will be accessible through all desktop and mobile devices.

HOW PLATFORM RECOVERS FROM SYSTEM (INTERNAL/EXTERNAL) FAILURES, AND ALERTS FOR FAILURES IN THE SYSTEM?

CACIP will seamlessly recover from internal system failures. External data sources may face failures in their system. In order CACIP user experience will not be affected as much as possible, the Platform stores in own database certain set of data (meta-data) of external data and knowledge products, which could be enough for certain use. The link to the original source may not be reachable, which is wholly under operation of external web site. Still, when the external source will be operable, all links leading to them become reachable again. The metadata harvester will re-generate metadata on a regular basis.

CACIP GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME FOR CACIP DEVELOPMENT? WHERE CAN I FIND DOCUMENTS?

The initial phase of CACIP development is one-year from April 2019 to March 2020. Further development and maintenance will be required once the platform is launched. CACIP team conducted consultations in all five Central Asian countries with government, private, non-profit agencies, national research and extension services, farmers, international and regional organizations. The reports of the country consultations and other CACIP related documents are available in the repositories of MELSpace via this link.

DID YOU COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM FARMERS?

We have conducted farmer consultations in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During the meetings, we have presented and explained the features of the platform, conducted surveys and took into account their advice in the development of the Platform. The reports of the farmer consultations you can read in Russian and English.

WHICH ORGANIZATIONS ARE CONTACT POINTS IN EACH COUNTRY?

The key organizations for CACIP development are those steering CAMP4ASB program. We expect that the number of organizations managing CACIP will grow over the time thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Within each country, there are reference organizations in accordance with data types and user typologies.

HOW PLATFORM IS MANAGED AT REGIONAL, COUNTRY AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL? WHICH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE INVOLVED? HOW THOSE PROCESSES ARE LEGALLY REGULATED?

CACIP will be managed by a Steering Committee, which would be formed once the first pilot is released. It is expected that partners will rotate on different data domain and facilitate the forum area of the platform.

WHAT CAN I DO TO CACIP LIVE LONG?

If you are from academics, you may suggest your institution to have an interoperable (open data) website that CACIP can harvest. If this is not possible at the moment, you may submit your work to CACIP for greater visibility. You can engage in subject matter fora and provide news to share progress on CACIP domains. If you are a policy maker, you may visit CACIP regularly, ask institutions to share their news and knowledge through CACIP, and provide evidence that you took decision based on data and knowledge available. If you are an organization, you may join CACIP and together upgrade your ICT infrastructure to contribute to CACIP sustainability. You may stimulate your employees to contribute to knowledge sharing via CACIP or harvestable website.

HOW CAN I WORK FOR CACIP AS A CONSULTANT? IS THERE TERMS OF REFERENCE?

The organizations, which will manage CACIP might need consultancy services in the future. ToR will be developed by them once there will be an open vacancy.