Using data digitalization to inform climate change adaptation policy: Informing the future using the present

Digitalization of climate data preserves historical observations and provides the basis for understanding and assessing climate variability, predicting extreme climate events and designing adaptation and mitigation strategies. Small-scale, cost-effective digitalization projects could inform climate adaptation policy and bring about significant impact on the livelihood of local community, which are especially promising for application in developing countries. This paper presents the data digitalization project conducted in Mozambique as a case study, and concludes that data digitalization should be promoted and replicated widely in developing countries. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V