GFDRR on Hydromet Launched in 2011, the GFDRR Hydromet Program works closely with the World Meteorological Organization and other partners to help countries modernize their weather, climate, and hydrological information systems. Why Hydrometeorological Services Matter Hydrometeorological or hydromet hazards such as storms, floods, droughts, and heat and cold waves cause the largest proportion of losses from adverse natural events, triggering almost 80 percent of disasters and over 50 percent of disaster-related deaths from 1980 to 2011. 1 What We Do The GFDRR Hydromet Program helps countries develop modern, sustainable, and service-oriented climate, weather, and water information services through engagements focusing on their national meteorological and hydrological services. GFDRR supports making improved weather, climate, and hydrological services an important aspect of countries disaster and climate risk management strategies to improve their preparedness and resilience. The program: - Provides analytical, advisory, and implementation support to governments and development partners working to modernize national hydromet services and early warning systems; - Develops knowledge and capacity, including methods to assess and use economic evidence of the benefits of hydrometeorological services for better services that are tailor-made for the people depending on them; and - Helps economic sectors including agriculture, water management, energy, transportation, and tourism, among others to use hydrometeorological services to improve productivity through seasonal planning, long-term design, and spatial planning; Across its work, GFDRR s approach emphasizes the role of the ultimate users of climate, weather, and water information the people and businesses who will benefit most from effective hydromet services and drive sustainable demand for them. US$30 Up to billion a Year in improved global productivity can be achieved with better weather, climate, and hydrological observation and forecasting. Up to $2 billion in reduced global annual asset losses can also be achieved with better hydromet services, according to the World Bank. 2
Costa Rica GFDRR Project: Pilot Project on Early Warning Systems for Hydrometeorological Hazards Partners: WMO, Costa Rican Red Cross, Costa Rican government Description: Project helped emergency committees in five towns use and respond to flash flooding information generated by a modernized and accurate early warning system. In 2012, the committees successfully held an emergency simulation with hundreds of volunteers, local and national disaster risk management agency staff, and civil society organizations. Central Asia GFDRR Project: Support for design and implementation of Hydrometeorological Modernization Project Partners: WMO, Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea Description: Project is improving the accuracy and timeliness of hydromet services in Central Asia and improving regional coordination and data sharing. Croatia Albania Moldova Mali Niger Republic o Jamaica Costa Rica Burkina Faso Ethiopia Ghana Ugand Togo Peru Democratic Malawi Republic of Congo Ka Uzbek Mozam Lesotho GFDRR Support $500,000 or Less $500,000 to $1,000,000 More than $1,000,000 Grant only Hydromet Team Support Only Both Where GFDRR Works Since its inception, GFDRR has supported hydrometeorological service improvements in 31 countries, providing support through grants as well as its own team of weather and climate specialists and disaster risk management professionals. How GFDRR Leverages Impact GFDRR Hydromet leverages: Leading expertise and knowledge provided by key partners including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a number of well-established 2
Nepal GFDRR Project: Support for design and implementation of Building Resilience to Climate-Related Hazards Partners: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, Nepalese government Description: GFDRR technical and Russian Federation financial support is allowing the government to create modern zakhstan hydrometeorological and early warning systems for floods, droughts, and Kyrgyz Republic landslides. The project is improving istan transportation safety and water resources management, while helping Tajikistan Nepal farmers mitigate climate-related production risks. Lao People's Democratic Republic f Yemen a bique Sri Lanka Cambodia Vietnam Mozambique GFDRR Project: Support for design and implementation of Strengthening Hydrological and Meteorological Information Services for Climate Resilience Partners: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, Nordic Development Fund, Mozambique government Description: Project is improving reliability and timeliness of climate information on hazards including floods for communities, while supporting economic development. Philippines Vanuatu Fiji Snapshot: Leveraging in Practice The GFDRR Hydromet Program supports design and implementation for large-scale improvements in countries hydromet services, leveraging new projects with the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) through their Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA) its special fund for the poorest countries and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), among other partners. Central Asia: Hydrometeorology Modernization Project, $27.7 million (IDA and PPCR) Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program, $136.3 million (IDA and GEF) Mozambique: Strengthening Hydrological and Meteorological Information Services for Climate Resilience, $22 million (PPCR and Nordic Development Fund) Moldova: Disaster and Climate Risk Management, $10 million (IDA) Nepal: Building Resilience to Climate-Related Hazards, $31 million (PPCR) Russia: Hydromet Modernization Project II, $139.5 million ($60 million IBRD) Vietnam: Managing Natural Hazards Project, Hydromet Component, $30 million (IDA) Republic of Yemen: Climate Information System and PPCR Coordination, $19 million (PPCR) national meteorological and hydrological services, and WMO Centers of Excellence; Relationships with national meteorological and hydrological services in developing countries for strong institutional development and investment results; A range of international investment possibilities and financing tools to help countries achieve larger-scale improvements in hydromet services; and Access to central planning and finance ministries to raise the profile of and government support for national meteorological and hydrological services. Over $400 million from in CIF-PPCR, the Climate World Investment Bank, and Funds, other World development Bank, and financing other development to improve financing hydrometeorological sources to improve services leveraged hydrometeorological through GFDRR support services leveraged through GFDRR-supported initiatives. 3
Highlights GFDRR together with the WMO and other partners supports the modernization and strengthening of national weather, climate, and hydrological services, as well as early warning systems and other efforts for disaster preparedness, leading to significant investment and reform. This is particularly visible in projects GFDRR supports in Mozambique, Nepal, and Central Asia. Nepal: Strengthening Hydromet Services by Focusing on Stakeholders Nepal faces widespread flood, drought, and landslide hazards. The country also lacks a strong national hydromet services to help its people and economy better prepare for and reduce disaster risk. GFDRR experts provided core design support for a US$31 million project with the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience. 3 One of the project s components calls for the development of an agriculture management information system to provide timely agro-climate and weather information to farmers, allowing them to grow more crops and reduce losses to weather and climate risks. Central Asia: Taking a Regional Approach to Shared Hazards The Central Asia Hydrometeorology Modernization Project takes a cooperative approach to strengthening transboundary weather, climate, and hydrological services. In 2008-09, GFDRR supported an action plan for improving service delivery in low-income countries in Central Asia, working directly with the national hydromet services of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. This led to a $27.7 million program with the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience and the International Development Association integrating Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It aims to improve the accuracy and timeliness of regional forecasts by institutionalizing the sharing and archiving of hydromet information. Mozambique: Managing Institutional Complexity toward Greater Climate Resilience Since the destructive floods of 2000, Mozambique s achievements in disaster risk management have led to significantly fewer lives lost due to flooding, making the country a good example of early warning systems in practice. Building on this, the government has recognized that climate change will likely lead to more intense and frequent floods, storms, and droughts, requiring greater national and local preparedness. The Pilot Program for Climate Resilience and the Nordic Development Fund are jointly financing a $22 million project, which builds on GFDRR project design support, to improve hydromet information services. Supporting hydrometeorological service delivery in Mozambique requires flexibility due to a complex $31million To help Nepal address its national hydromet services capacity, GFDRR provided core design support for a $31 million project financed by the Climate Investment Funds. 4
institutional landscape, including a national meteorological service, five regional water authorities, the national water resource directorate, and a national disaster management agency that oversees the country s early warning systems. Benefitting from GFDRR implementation support, the project will help build capacity at relevant government agencies, while also working with them on coordination, information exchange, and early warning delivery. Lessons Learned Modernization operations must be of sufficient financing and scope to be transformative. While smaller projects targeting specific concerns or geographic areas may be useful in certain contexts, they often do not achieve the intended results. In Mozambique, the government received two Doppler radars in 2006 without complementary investment in operational management and maintenance resources. Within a few years both radars had stopped working. Public recognition of the value of services helps build sustainable resource streams and client bases. When the users of hydrometeorological services from specific industries to the general public do not see the value of the current services offered, they will not use them or pay for them. In the Republic of Yemen, evidence from GFDRR-backed analytical work supplemented and supported a $19 million Pilot Program for Climate Resilience hydrometeorology modernization project. This led to the Ministry of Finance committing to increase the country s hydromet services budget for at least five years. In Nepal, analytical evidence also helped secure budget increases from the Ministry of Finance, while efforts to involve farmers and to recognize their importance as clients has improved the ability of Nepal s meteorological and hydrological services to deliver more useful services. Clear legal and regulatory frameworks make national hydromet services more effective. Governments often have different ministries managing different meteorological and hydrological functions, such as weather forecasting and early warning systems, and current legal and regulatory frameworks in many cases do not clarify expected roles and responsibilities. To achieve large-scale hydromet services modernization, governments should first identify roles and responsibilities and then consider changes in institutional arrangements. To approach Mozambique s complex institutional context, the team working on the joint Pilot Program for Climate Resilience and Nordic Development Fund project are helping clarify roles among government agencies. They have also secured support from a complementary World Bank project for policy improvements. Advancing Knowledge on Hydromet Services GFDRR supports research, knowledge sharing, and practitioner peer-to-peer learning: In September 2013, GFDRR published the flagship study Weather and Climate Resilience: Effective Preparedness through National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, highlighting how national meteorological and hydrological services can reduce the impact of natural hazards and improve national economic performance. 4 In June 2013, GFDRR, the United States National Weather Service, and the WMO organized an international workshop called Sustaining National Meteorological Services Strengthening WMO Regional and Global Centers. It brought together 50 professionals from regional and global weather centers with representatives of national meteorological and hydrological services from more than 25 countries, including many GFDRR priority countries. GFDRR and Shanghai Meteorological Service held an international workshop on multi-hazard early warning systems in March 2012 in Shanghai, China. World Bank staff from countries in the Asia and the Pacific region learned the latest operational techniques for multi-hazard early warning systems and explored how to adapt and apply them in least developed countries. The follow-up workshop in October 2013 brought together disaster risk management and hydrometeorological officials from 12 GFDRR priority countries in Asia and Africa. 5
Cooperation helps connect national hydromet services with expertise, data, and forecasting products. Working with the WMO, national meteorological and hydrological services from four countries in Central Asia are beginning to make use of operational support for local snowmelt runoff and severe weather forecasting, working with the WMO. The national hydromet services are gaining better access to global and regional data and forecasts provided by WMO Centers of Excellence, which helps improve their local forecasts. At the same time, the WMO Centers can use the locally observed data from these Central Asian agencies to improve larger-scale forecasts. Looking Ahead Continuing its focus on helping countries improve their hydrometeorological services, GFDRR will: - Strengthen its relationship and alignment with the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS); - Identify and prepare new projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel and West Africa, and the Lower Mekong basin in Cambodia, Lao People s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Vietnam, among other new opportunities; - Support implementation of projects in Central Asia, Mozambique, Nepal, and the Republic of Yemen; and - Jointly publish in 2014 with the WMO, the World Bank, and USAID Assessing the Socio-Economic Benefits of Meteorological and Hydrological Services, a report that will provide a rigorous basis and practical guide for national hydrometeorological services management and staff to evaluate their agencies impacts and improve management, service delivery, and communication. As GFDRR continues to develop its monitoring and evaluation framework, it will work with the World Bank and other partners to evaluate whether the projects it supports have successfully: - Increased accuracy and timeliness of weather forecasts and early warning systems, and - Increased satisfaction of both the general public and specific economic sectors with hydrometeorological services offered. Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) The GFCS is an international partnership of governments and organizations that produce and use climate information and services. It seeks to enable researchers to join forces with information producers and users to improve the quality and quantity of climate services worldwide, particularly in developing countries. GFDRR supports projects that are planned and implemented according to the Global Framework s principles and that contribute to its goals. GFDRR will strive to ensure alignment between its own operations and any existing or planned GFCS projects by serving as the World Bank s focal point in the GFCS Partner Advisory Committee and Project Oversight Board. GFDRR s support of climate services in Nepal demonstrates its support of the GFCS principles of reducing the vulnerability of society to climate-related hazards through better provision of climate services, while building relationships between providers and users of these services at both the technical and decision-making levels. 6
Strategic Partners GFDRR works with a wide variety of partners, including: World Meteorological Organization Climate Investment Funds (CIF), including Pilot Program for Climate Resilience Global Framework for Climate Services China Meteorological Administration Finnish Meteorological Institute Korean Meteorological Administration MeteoSwiss The United Kingdom s United States National Oceanic and Met Office Atmospheric Administration through the National Weather Service For more than 60 years, the [WMO] has been leading international cooperation to enhance weather and climate services globally and especially in least developed countries and Small Island Developing States. Today, thanks to the [Hydromet Program of GFDRR] more countries will receive support for modernizing their hydro-meteorological infrastructure to better deliver adequate weather and climate services. We are committed to reinforce this cooperation further for the benefit of hydro-meteorological services in those countries where it is most needed. Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, WMO NOTES 1 World Bank, GFDRR, Government of Japan (2012). The Sendai Report: Managing Disaster Risk for a Resilient Future. 2 Hallegatte, S. (2012). A Cost Effective Solution to Reduce Disaster Losses in Developing Countries: Hydro-Meteorological Services, Early Warning and Evacuation. World Bank Policy Research Paper #6058. 3 All monetary amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise indicated. 4 https://www.gfdrr.org/weatherandclimateresilience 77
Contact Vladimir Tsirkunov Team Leader of the GFDRR Hydromet Program vtsirkunov@worldbank.org Daniel Kull Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist dkull@worldbank.org GFDRR PILLAR: Preparedness People in vulnerable countries will be better protected through more accurate and timely early warning, and through civil protection agencies capable of mobilizing a fast response in the event of a disaster.