1 Status and Challenges for 2010 Reorganized Development and Regional Activities Department (DRA) Rob Masters Director, DRA World Meteorological Organization

2 STAKEHOLDER SURVEY* CALLED FOR: 1.Strengthened Regional Offices 2.Faster assistance by WMO - especially relating to disaster response and recovery 3.Need for advocacy, especially with sister agencies, funding agencies, and national leaders. 4.Need for additional resource mobilisation * Stakeholder survey (2006): EC, donors, partners, staff

3 REORGANIZATION Strengthened Regional Offices to support technical projects and resource mobilization efforts WMO Training Office integrated into new DRA Creation of Resource Mobilization Office in DRA Creation of LDC Office Country Profile Database to as a means to tracking the needs and status of the Members Short response times to hydromet emergencies emphasized Projects were designed to demonstrate socio-economic benefits of support for NMHSs at national level

4 Resource Mobilization Office Education and Training Office WMO Regional Office for Asia & SW Pacific WMO Office for West Asia WMO Office for SW Pacific WMO Regional Office for Africa WMO Office for NCWA WMO Office for ESA WMO Regional Office for Americas WMO Office for S America WMO Office for NCAC Development and Regional Activities Department (DRA) (Sept 2009) WMO Regional Office for Europe Brazil Project Office Mexico Project Office Office for the LDCs and Regional Coordination Rob Masters Jeff Wilson Mary Power Kaliba Konare Alioune Ndiaye Toki ToyaMiguel RabioloDimitar Ivanov

5 WMO REGIONAL OFFICES Geneva Nigeria Samoa Bahrain Costa Rica Paraguay EU UN HQ Kenya

WMO DRA Staff (in Geneva)

7 DRA FOCUS 1.Support for Regional & National development/modernisation projects Advocacy on valuable role of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in national the economy Technical Support/Project Management Resource mobilisation Advisory 2.Demonstrate value of NMHS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES to achieving the MDGs: Food security (Agricultural Met.) Disaster Risk Reductions (severe weather and climate events, drought and flood prediction and management) Climate variability and climate change

8 DRA Focus (cont) 3. Education and Training Programme Long Term (Degree level) Short Terms Fellowships and training workshops Regional Training Centers 4. Strategic partnerships with Development agencies (EU, WB, UNDP, ISDR, FAO, WFP, DIFD, JICA, KOICA,, USAID …) and Other organisations (AU, SADC, NATO, IOC, ICSU, WB, other regional economic groupings, etc…)

9 Status of NHMSs have deteriorated in many regions Importance of NMHS should grow due to increasing society exposure to hazards and growing climate risks but ability to deliver needed services is deteriorating Reasons for degradation – considerable underfunding of NHMS in the process of social and economic reforms, and military conflicts. Massive underfunding of NHMS has led to: Deterioration of observation networks and reduction in observation programs Depreciation of equipment and outdated technology Lack of modern monitoring equipment and forecasting methods Insufficient scientific and research support Lack of trained specialists Consequences – considerable increase of excessive economic losses Example: Share of unpredicted hazardous phenomena in Russia increased from 6% at the beginning of 1990s to 23% at the beginning of Evaluation of potential economic benefits of NMHS modernization is an important tool to convince the governments to invest in this public sector Investments in improvement of NMHS service delivery are well justified from economic perspective (Slide Courtesy of World Bank)

10 COUNTRY PROFILE DATABASE Develop a systematic way to follow the status of the Members Contents of database could include: -The status of meteorological and hydrological services, resources, manpower and infrastructure in the Member countries -Development needs and plans -Ongoing WMO and other development activities -WMO questionnaire output, WMO mission reports Reduce duplication of WMO questionnaires Demonstration of the needs of the NMHS to donors

11 CHALLENGES FOR 2010/2011 Regions: New Format of RA meetings according to SP, Regional Strategic Plans, Building stronger advocacy Resource Mobilization: Building fruitful partnerships, pipeline project preparation, project management LDC and SIDS: Implementation of Country Profile Data Base, National Strategic Plan Development, Education and Training: RTC Reviews, meeting demand for Fellowships, Aviation requirements, High-demand training Also: Strengthen relationships with other UN offices, governments, and regional bodies Follow-up of African Ministerial Conference and possible extension to other regions Regional Project/Programs Development Trust Fund Development and Management Consideration of Regional Office role and structure

12 Thank You !

13 RESOURCE MOBILISATION Resource Mobilization combined with VCP office Strengthened Relationships with European Commission, World Bank, regional banks, national development agencies, etc. Sought funding agency priorities related to NMHSs: Adaptation to climate change Disaster management/early warning Food production, energy, health, marine Advocacy role for NMHSs

14 Hindered socio-economic development Increased poverty Loss of life and property Lack of information & services to public & decision-makers Limited or Low- quality forecasts No specialized services to users Limited information on extreme events/trends Lack of qualified personnel Limited financial resources Poor Telecomm infrastructure Poor observation networks NMHSs potential benefit not understood by Govts Low priority to NMHSs by Govts NMHS PROBLEM CYCLE

15 LDC PROGRAMME A new LDC Office established (2007) Cross-cutting function vs. whole WMO activities in in LDCs & SIDS Current status of the NMHSs in the LDC and SIDS => Identification of development needs and opportunities => Resource mobilizing for development projects Close link to the MDGs: food security, health, energy, gender and sustainable development