Climate Exchange

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Strengthening hydromet

services in Mozambique

Louise Croneborg, Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

n Africa, Mozambique is ranked third country most at risk

to extreme weather- and water-related events.

Some 48 per

cent of the country’s 24 million people are estimated to be

negatively affected by reoccurring floods and droughts.

At the

same time, Mozambique’s climate and water resources present

potential for economic growth and agricultural productivity as

key to human development and poverty reduction.

The Government of Mozambique acknowledges the importance

of hydromet information in preventing disasters from floods and

droughts or improving productivity in sectors such as agriculture

and hydropower. In addition, because climate change is expected

to exacerbate the uncertainties and magnitude of extreme events,

the Government’s responsibility to provide hydromet information

becomes even more relevant. Hydromet information is important

not only for understanding climate processes, but also for everyday

decision-making and planning for the public and private sectors.

Mozambique’s hydromet services are provided by:

• The National Directorate of Water (DNA) at policy and

planning level

• The five regional water authorities (ARAs) which undertake

hydrological monitoring and modelling

• The National Institute for Meteorology (INAM) which observes

and forecasts weather conditions.

Through various laws and policies,

these agencies have the politi-

cal mandate to monitor and collect raw data on water and weather

across the country, use data to forecast future conditions (at differ-

ent time- and space-resolutions), and disseminate and communicate

their data and predictions to relevant users.

Mozambique’s hydromet services are weakened by a number of

deep-set challenges. The institutional mandate to deliver hydromet

services is fragmented across different government agencies (DNA,

the ARAs and INAM). In addition, other government agencies such

as the Ministry for Agriculture are also collecting data. These agen-

cies are are not able to coordinate and share information effectively

because of practical obstacles such as Internet connectivity or insti-

tutional impediments from hydro-met services being spread across

multiple line-ministries. The networks and equipment for moni-

toring hydromet, as well as the IT solutions for data management

and processing, are in significant need of technological upgrade and

rehabilitation. Retaining sufficient numbers of qualified staff, and

fluctuating core financing, put additional dent in the services’ sustain-

ability and consistency.

The World Bank started working with the relevant institutions in

Mozambique in the late 1990s, particularly the water sector. Work

apacity

evelopment

on comprehensively supporting the improvement of

its hydromet services, in collaboration with related

domestic institutions, began in November 2011. Since

then, it has been undertaking a detailed needs assess-

ment to inform the future interventions. Although

the project will be implemented on a standalone basis

funded by the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience

(PPCR)

(US$10 million), it is closely interlinked with

a broader programme of support from the World Bank.

During 2012, the project is in its planning stages and

the components and activities continue to evolve. The

proposed Project Development Objective is to strengthen

hydrological and meteorological information services to

deliver reliable and timely information that increases

climate resilience, which in turn will lower the water-

and weather-related risks to local communities and

economic development.

The World Bank is particularly concerned with

enabling the government institutions mandated to deliver

hydromet services to develop improved raw data moni-

toring and forecasting capacity, and to improve their

inter-agency coordination. Furthermore, the project will

focus on the ways in which information can be tailored

to suit a range of users, including governmental actors

and those in the private and public spheres.

Improved hydromet services have the potential to

benefit important social, economic and environmental

issues. In addition to accurate and timely information

for disaster management (especially due to reoccurring

tropical cyclones, floods and droughts), and for the

productivity of agricultural and hydropower industries,

hydromet can also serve the interests of sectors such as

fisheries, aviation and transport, all of which currently

have limited access to hydromet services.

Financial sustainability is also a critical issue affect-

ing hydromet services in Mozambique. At present, there

is no fixed business model to support the country’s

hydromet services. This can partly be explained by the

fact that hydrology and meteorology information services

are split between the multiple agencies DNA, ARAs and

INAM, which have different government budget alloca-

tions and different levels of international donor support.

Mozambique’s climate needs

Over half of Mozambique’s population lives and works

in low-lying coastal areas where they experience recur-