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Box 8-10. Mixing different data sources to improve theavailability of climate data in AfricaPast and present climate information is critical to informclimate resilient development, but climate data in Africa isoften not available. Weather station coverage on thecontinent is a fraction of what the World MeteorologicalOrganization considers to be basic coverage. Whileimproving station network density is vital to improving theavailability of climate information, investments in newobservation stations made today will not resolve existinggaps in historical data. Besides, it is not financially feasibleor practical to install weather stations everywhere.The International Research Institute for Climate and Societyat Columbia University, in collaboration with partners, hasbeen leading an ambitious effort to simultaneously improvethe availability, access and use of climate information atnational levels: Enhancing National Climate Time Series(ENACTS). It focuses on the creation of reliable andactionable climate information that is suitable for nationaland local decision-making. To fill spatial and/or temporaldata gaps, ENACTS combines quality-controlled stationmeasurements with satellite rainfall estimates for rainfalland climate observations, model forecasts and/or satellitefor temperature datasets (Figure 8-11). The final productscover 30 or more years of rainfall and temperature timeseries for every 4Km grid across a country.Figure 8-11. Station observations (top left) are combinedwith satellite rainfall estimates (top right) to produce a morespatially complete and accurate estimates (bottom),TanzaniaOther tools are being developed in Africa to integrateclimate data with other sources in order to assess theimpact of climate change. The Demographic Explorer forClimate Adaptation (DECA) was established for Malawi. 864Developed by UNFPA, this tool integrates populationinfrastructure and climate data to illuminate the linkagesbetween population dynamics and adaptation to globalclimate change. Climate data is also being combined withhistorical malaria prevalence data to predict peaks ofmalaria transmission. 8658.3.4. Integrated environmental-economic accountsThe System of Environmental-Economic Accounting(SEEA) 866 is a framework to integrate environmental andeconomic information. This system enables any data usersto analyse environmental issues and their linkages to theeconomy, knowing that the comparisons are based on thesame entities, for example, pollution levels caused by aproducing industry can be linked to the specific economicsof that industry. Environmental-Economic Accounting canbe developed for specific resources – like water, energyand ecosystems – and for specific sectors – like agricultureor tourism. For instance, water accounts records the flowsand stocks of water and stock of water and links them toeconomic information such as price of water, costs,charges, tariffs, etc. as a way of raising awareness of wateruse and the overall costs associated with water use. 867Although the use of environmental-economic accounts inAfrica is still limited, some countries have made advances incertain areas. A Global Assessment on EnvironmentalEconomic Accounting, carried out between October 2014to January 2015, received responses from eleven countriesin the African Region: four countries currently have aprogramme on environmental-economic accounts; sixcountries have plans to begin a programme onenvironmental-economic accounting in the future. Amongthese ten countries, the accounts most commonly compiledand prioritized are energy and water accounts, as well asenvironmental taxes and subsidy accounts. Some countrieshave already a wide program of environmental-economicaccounts. South Africa, for example, has already developedenvironmental-economic accounts in five areas, namelywater, minerals, energy, fisheries and land. 868Source: Dinku (2015). 863South Africa has taken a geographical approach to landaccounts that can provide deeper insights into the areasthat are undergoing greater rates of land use change.Further, the use of geographical information provides aclearer link to fundamental ecosystem services such as theprovision of water, water filtration, and carbonsequestration, as well as highlighting those ecosystemtypes and associated species that are most threatened byloss of natural habitat (see Box 8-11).162