Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives

The 'Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT)' project is a proposed initiative to strengthen climate services and establish an impact-based multi-hazard early warning system (MHEWS) in the Maldives. Managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the project aims to shift the country from phenomenon-based weather reporting to impact-based forecasting to protect its highly vulnerable population and critical infrastructure from climate-related hazards.

• The Maldives is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, with more than 80% of its islands having a ground-level elevation of less than 1 metre above mean sea level. This exposure is compounded by the fact that half of the country's settlements, two-thirds of critical infrastructure, and nearly all tourism establishments are located within 100 metres of the shoreline.
• Climate-related hazards in the Maldives include floods, droughts, cyclones, thunderstorms, storm surges, strong winds, and tornadoes. Between 1988 and 2007, climate-related events accounted for 79% of economic losses and 45% of deaths.
• The Maldives faces significant gaps in its current early warning systems, including a lack of specific and measurable alerts, technical language that is difficult for the public to understand, and a lack of fail-safe end-to-end systems. Notably, despite rain-induced floods being the most frequent natural event, there are no established criteria to declare flood disasters.
• The TRACT project proposes a total investment of USD 25 million, with USD 19 million requested as a grant from the Green Climate Fund and USD 6 million in co-financing. The project has an estimated lifespan of 10 years, with a 5-year disbursement period.
• The project is structured around four main components: strengthening climate information services and coordination frameworks; modernising the Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS) observation and modelling networks; enhancing the dissemination of multi-hazard risk information; and improving climate risk management at the community level ('the last mile').
• A key innovation of the project is the implementation of Forecast-based Financing (FbF), which allows early actions to be pre-planned and funded based on forecast information before a climate shock occurs, reducing the need for subsequent humanitarian assistance.
• The project aims to benefit up to 541,000 direct beneficiaries, representing 100% of the population of the Maldives. It specifically targets the 42% of the population living within 100 metres of the coastline.
• The project seeks to transition the Maldives from 'phenomenon-based' information (what the weather will be) to 'impact-based' information (what the weather will do), utilizing tools like the Internet of Things (IoT) and wireless communications to close the loop between providers and end-users.
• The project identifies several critical sectors that will receive tailored climate advisories, including tourism (the largest contributor to GDP), fisheries, agriculture, water resources, public health, and sea transport.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23440-toward-risk-aware-and-climate-resilient-communities-tract-strengthening-climate-services-and.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23440-toward-risk-aware-and-climate-resilient-communities-tract-strengthening-climate-services-and.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives |date=28 January 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23440-toward-risk-aware-and-climate-resilient-communities-tract-strengthening-climate-services-and.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020toward, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23440-toward-risk-aware-and-climate-resilient-communities-tract-strengthening-climate-services-and.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }