Climate Exchange

apacity

evelopment

to check or certify these stations in meeting WMO

standards. There is a memorandum of understanding

between the hydromet agencies on sharing information,

but this has been difficult to enforce due to the lack

of practical solutions for data sharing and more clearly

defined roles and responsibilities. The proposed project

therefore works actively on bringing the staff of the

agencies together in the design and implementation of

the project to identify joint solutions. Simultaneously,

bringing the issues to the attention of political decision-

makers at ministerial level is equally important.

Capacities will be built in the following areas:

• Strengthening and optimizing the hydrological and

meteorological monitoring networks

• Improving forecasting capacities (modelling, data

management and other ICT interventions)

• Improving quality control and enforcement

of standards

• Product development (with improved monitoring

and forecasting, review and update of the package of

information products used to communicate among

agencies and users)

• Skills, capacities and training

• Securing financial sustainability using management

tools to improve and secure revenue flows for long-

term sustainability.

Looking ahead

Lessons from previous support to hydromet services in

Mozambique can be applied to this project. An under-

standing of the wider context in which the intervention

will take place is critical in ensuring the success and

sustainability of the project. Such contextual informa-

tion includes an understanding of the in-depth details

on availability of trained staff to run equipment; facili-

ties for calibration and standardization; sufficient, stable

energy supply; Internet connection and so on.

There are a number of examples where previous

support for hydromet services has not been as successful

as expected. Learning from these, the project design will

try to address some underlying causes for failure. These

include financial sustainability, institutional collabora-

tion, and ensuring that both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ resources are

in place to maintain technically advanced equipment (for

example, telemetric stations often need secure and steady

electricity supply to function as well as a paid guard to

protect the station from theft). Another lesson is to capi-

talize on other initiatives in associated beneficiary sectors

in an integrative manner. One such example is piloting

distribution of weather information that can be integrated

into existing projects to improve farmers’ access to infor-

mation. Capitalizing on regional hydromet initiatives is

also important so that more consistency and harmoniza-

tion of different systems at different levels can be achieved.

It is increasingly important that lessons are shared

among donors who may finance separate interventions.

Any lessons learned during this project can be trans-

ferred through ongoing and future projects at national,

regional and basin level.

With the proposed project, attention will be given to how DNA,

the ARAs and INAM can tailor the hydromet information products.

The goal is that with better monitoring and forecasting capacity,

the actual content of the products would be more accurate and

relevant to the user. Equally, the communication format and

channel with which this information is conveyed is important.

Advances can be made by introducing new technological solutions

(such as regular access to precipitation predictions from global

remote sensing sources), opening data access and refining prod-

ucts to user needs. The project would also include opportunities

to pilot new solutions to serve particular needs. These pilots can

include improvements to ongoing early warning systems for rural

communities or providing weather forecasts to farmers and so on.

Because it is beyond the scope and resources of the project to

serve all user groups across the entire country, these pilots can

become useful tools in trialling new solutions that can be refined

and scaled up, and build on existing mechanisms for communica-

tion between government and different users without duplicating

existing early warning systems, for example.

With respect to dissemination of hydromet information, the

institutions in Mozambique use email, fax and Internet to share

their information products with the stakeholder government

agencies. There is a well established system where the hydromet

agencies send information to the National Institute for Disaster

Management (INGC) which acts as a hub for further dissemination

to agencies, media organizations and private companies. Bulletins

are also sent on a daily basis to the media as well as other govern-

ment agencies.

Mozambique is often heralded in southern Africa as a successful

example where emergency response functions well and has sound

political backing that enables inter-agency cooperation.

Implementation and evaluation

The World Bank is mandated to administer the support from

the PPCR for the Mozambique Government for this project (the

International Finance Corporation and the African Development

Bank also administer the PPCR support for Mozambique). As the

primary institution managing the process for the needs assessment,

the World Bank is working in close collaboration with the named

implementation agencies. Staff within these agencies are provid-

ing the bulk of information and analysis, and are working with the

World Bank in a continuous process that includes meetings, field

visits, extensive communication and workshops. Ultimately, the

responsibility to implement the project will be with these main insti-

tutions and the bank will play a supportive role during this period.

Capacities

All capacity building and training for staff on topics such as quality

control, calibration and data standardization will be rolled out

together with efforts to improve inter-agency cooperation. As clari-

fied, the hydromet services are delivered by a number of agencies

–DNA, the ARAs and INAM – whose operations are not guided by

one national shared action plan, strategy or vision. This means that

responsibilities have gradually become more fragmented, sharing

of data between the agencies is cumbersome and technically chal-

lenged, and enforcing World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

quality standards across all stations in all the agencies’ networks

is problematic. For example, the ARAs have a vast number of rain

gauges but INAM does not have the staff capacity or full mandate

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