BACK KGROUND It is brroadly known thatt the warm and cold phases of ENSO O (namely, El Niñ ño and La Niña) cause serious soocial and econom mic impacts to coountries around th he world. Knowlledge about ENSO O and its impacts help to strengtheen prediction toolss used in supporrt of early warningg systems. Therefoore, improving ourr understanding of ENSO is fundam mental in reducing societal vulnerabillities. The high social and econnomic relevance of ENSO research annd prediction must be b visible i arenaa and the past experriences of extraorddinary ENSO eventts such as in the international the El Niño 1982-1983 aand 1997-1998 rem mind us of our vulnnerability as a society. This n the face vulnerability to extreme nnatural climate hazzards is moreover llikely to increase in bal warming. of glob The paast 30 years has seeen significant proggress in our abilityy to observe, understand and predictt ENSO. Yet, in the past decade,, ENSO predictioon skill has declined with significant consequencess on how to prepaare for and cope w with the associated d climatic impactts. This decline in pprediction skill hass occurred despite new theoretical approaches, significant advances on pphysical parameterrizations of subgridd-scale processes, and a better ons about and mo ore robust computter power. In addition, there are majoor unsolved questio the inffluence of climate cchange on ENSO bboth in the current cclimate and in the future. f It is allso needed to bridgge the gaps between the global and the regional science and to improv ve operational EN NSO prediction. These imperativves demand a strrong and uch as the coordin nated scientific eff ffort that requires ssustaining vital obsserving systems su ocesses in TAO-T TRITON array, addvancing ENSO sccience, including m more regional pro climatee models, and deeveloping improveed assimilation syystems for new ocean and climatee data on region sccales. he context This baackground highlighhts the need to adddress ENSO scientific challenges in th of inteernational climate rresearch, assessmeents, and operationnal prediction efforrts. As a catalyzzing activity in thiss process, CIIFEN proposes a III International Confeerence on d regional ENSO O, dedicated to “Brridging the gaps bbetween Global EN NSO Science and om 12-14 processses, extremes annd impacts” to be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador fro Workshop Novem mber 2014. This coonference is a folloow-on to the Seconnd International “W on EN NSO, Decadal Va Variability and Cllimate Change inn South America: Trends, telecon nnections and poteential impacts” helld in October 20100 and the First Inteernational ENSO Conference: “Thee El Niño phenomeenon and its global impact” in May 2005, both n Guayaquil, Ecuaddor. held in

ovember 2014 willl aim to synthesizee The III Internaational Conferencee on ENSO in No progress on EN NSO research, with h a detailed view off the climate-society relationship, and d to share experriences in vulneraability assessment methodologies ussed by the climatee impact studies community. Thiss conference will bring b together scientists and experts ons and operationaal climate servicess to build on new w involved in reesearch, observatio knowledge for improving the pred diction of ENSO an nd its regional imp pacts, and to discuss r to ENSO climate anomaliess. decision suppoort approaches in prreparation of and response Our intent is too provide a forum for f efficiently linkin ng science with societal needs, one of o the envisaged W World Climate Ressearch Program (W WCRP) “Grand Challlenges.”

VENU UE The Co onference will be hheld in the Auditorrium of the Centro Cultural “Libertad dor Simón Bolívaar” ex-MACC- Mallecón 2000 in Guaayaquil, Ecuador

MAIN GOA AL OF THE CO ONFERENCE To review proggress on the science of ENSO and related r regional prrocesses in order to o improve the prrediction of regionaal impacts; and to contribute c to devellopment of decision n support framew works that allow tim mely and appropriiate planning and response r at nationaal and local levelss.