The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia Maldives Secretariat for the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) Ali Shareef Deputy Director General, Maldives Meteorological Service

MARCH 2005 (7)JULY 2006 (10) JUNE 2007 (22) SEP 2008 (26)DEC 2006 (13) Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) A regional cooperation of 26 countries in Africa and Asia on multi-hazard early warning. RIMES aims to cater to differential needs and demands of member states in addressing gaps in the end- to-end multi-hazard early warning system.

RIMES  Formally established on 30 April 2009, with the signing of an international Cooperation Agreement, by Cambodia, Comoros, Lao PDR, Maldives, and Seychelles  21 other countries are in various stages of Agreement consideration and approval for signing  Member States financially contribute upon joining

RIMES Governance  Council  Composed of heads of National Hydro-Meteorological Services and national scientific and technical agencies generating multi-hazard early warning information  Empowered to make policy decisions concerning regional early warning arrangements  Secretariat  Carries out the decisions and tasks assigned by the Council  Supports the Program Unit in the management of the regional early warning facility  Maldives is the current RIMES Secretariat

RIMES Governance cont.  Program Unit  Responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of the regional early warning facility  Has financial and administrative autonomy through delegated powers and the financial and staff regulations approved by the Council  Co-located with the regional EW facility at the campus of the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

Executive Board  Implement policies and decisions of the Council for resource mobilization  Formulate an action plan to provide cost-effective services to each Member State  India as Chair; China as Vice-Chair  Comoros, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, and Thailand (to be confirmed) as Members

Services  Provision of regional tsunami watch  Capacity building and technology transfer to NMHSs for providing localized hydro-meteorological disaster risk information  Enhancing capacities to respond to early warning information at national and local levels for disaster preparedness and management  Acting as a test-bed to identify promising new, emerging technologies, and pilot test, and make it operational through demonstration of tangible benefits

Capital Cost  Capital cost for tsunami information, and capacity building of member-countries: USD 4.5 million - UNESCAP  This compares very favourably with the USD 115 million required to establish individual tsunami EWS for 23 developing/ least developed countries  Approximate investment cost of Australia, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Malaysia – approx. USD 250 million  Capital cost for weather and climate information, and capacity building of member-countries: USD 1 million - Danida

Recurring Cost  RIMES total annual recurring cost: USD 2.5 million (for tsunami and all other hazards)  This compares very favourably with the USD 48 million annual recurring costs by individual countries maintaining separate systems for tsunami alone

Ownership by Countries  Member States collectively manage and draw services from RIMES  Member States need not put up their own system  Member States need not depend on other tsunami watch providers

Maldives received approval of around US$ 375,000 from UNESCAP to undertake activities for sustaining RIMES UNESCAP is supporting test operations of the regional facility until 31 December 2009 to allow RIMES to mobilize resources for assuming full responsibility for regional facility operation by 1 January 2010 Transition Agreement (1 August – 31 December 2009) signed between RIMES and ADPC, allowing “RIMES to initiate and complete constitutional, institutional, and financial frameworks for RIMES to eventually assume full responsibilities for the operation and sustainability of the regional EW facility” Financial Sustainability

A self-reliant RIMES is possible because of: Economy of scale and scope, with least recurring cost Integration of all early warning services into one holistic system System built to address needs and demands of countries with differing capacities and vulnerabilities Catalytic investment by UNESCAP for tsunami and capacity building subsystems Critical investment by DANIDA for hydro- meteorological subsystem to transform EWS into a multi-hazard end-to-end early warning system Full ownership by Member States

Thank you