Combining sustainable development and economic growth in a country the size of Brazil faces environmental, social and productive challenges. To help overcome these issues, the Brazilian National Research and Educational Network is developing the System for Monitoring and Observation of Climate Change (Sismoi). The platform aims to integrate climate components to formulate public policies - environmental, economic, and social - in order to disseminate current information on the effects and impacts of climate change in the Brazilian territory, to promote greater environmental awareness of the civil society and to assure a lower investment risk for the private sector.

The creation of the platform was requested by the Office of the General Coordinator for Climate of the Secretariat for Research and Development Programs and Policies (Seped/MCTIC) and is supported by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), who are following the project. Currently, all data related to the impacts of climate change in Brazil are scattered. That is why Seped expects to centralize information, monitor the environment and evaluate and share data on the climate effects on the Northeast Semi-Arid during this first stage. “The future goal is to extend the system for the entire national territory and include other thematic areas related to climate change,” explained the RNP Business Analyst Daniele Sodré.

According to the coordinator of Climate, Meteorology and Climatology Of Seped, Andréa Araújo, the ministry is responsible for propelling the distribution of valuable resources for society. “We want to make available a simple and everlasting system that offers citizens and the academy information on the observed and projected impacts in the event of climate change. That way, people can demand better planning from the government and decision-makers will have a support’ tool for actions aiming to mitigate the impacts in the natural and human systems,” she highlighted. And researchers will be able to verify and compare information available on Sismoi with data already obtained in other research, thus deepening their studies. “I see the platform as a great tool for data integration,” complimented Andréa.

The development process of the platform

Over this year’s first few months, RNP conducted in-depth research with representatives of the federal and state governments, universities, research institutes and union and non-governmental organizations. Following that, the group of interviewees was invited for a week of joint development, in April, during which the requirements and priorities for the pilot platform were defined.

The low fidelity prototype was created and validated during the event and all feedback obtained will guide the following cycles of development that include the development of a browsable platform and usability testing. “We expect to have a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) deployed until November, like a high-fidelity prototype that can be validated in the field with potential users. From there, we will continue developing the platform, implementing advanced functionalities for data integration and analytics, accessibility and governance,” concludes the Solution Manager Christian Miziara.

Longstanding partnership

RNP’s participation in Sismoi is a result of the planning and structuring of actions in collaboration with Seped, which have already resulted in the development of platforms such as the Information System on Brazilian Biodiversity (SiBBr) and the Nutrissan - Global Network of Research, Learning, Research, and Extension on Nutrition, Food, and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security In this sense, Sismoi collaborates in achieving RNP’s strategic objectives, such as executing TIC projects  for the development and use of innovative services and applications.