The World's meteorological priorities

• Results of World Meteorological Congress (Geneva on 15-24 May 2003)

Armed with both a new vision and concrete plans, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) held its fourteenth Congress in Geneva on 15-24 May and set new priorities, among them a framework for reducing the impact of meteorological and water-related disasters.

Some 80 percent of all disasters, and 90 percent of the loss of human lives as a result of those disasters, are caused by meteorological and hydrological phenomena, according to WMO data. During the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in 2002, participants called for measures to reinforce monitoring and early warning systems, particularly to improve flash floods forecasts and make better use of satellite data on extreme meteorological phenomena.

At the 2003 WMO Congress, some 800 delegates from national meteorological and hydrological services worldwide agreed on the importance of reinforcing adverse-event monitoring in order to meet the needs of their fellow citizens and ensure the sustainable development of their countries.

The Congress’ task was to follow up on the progress of the various WMO programmes as well as elect the organization’s new President, Vice-President and Executive Council, which is made up by a total of 36 heads of national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs). Among the newly elected members, Central America will be represented by meteorologist Eladio Zárate Hernández. The director of Costa Rica’s National Meteorological Institute, he has worked in the field for 32 years.

Challenges

The main challenges identified during the Congress were the following:

• Disaster prevention and mitigation;

• A reliable assessment of water resources worldwide;

• Research on climate change and practical applications of that
research;
• Technical and scientific research for fighting environmental
degradation; and

• Technical capacity building among NMHSs.

In addition to acknowledging the scientific and technical contributions of the WMO, the Congress outlined the policies and vision that will guide all work in the future.

During his closing speech, outgoing WMO Secretary General G.O.P. Obasi, who is retiring after 20 years in charge of the organization, highlighted “the determination of Congress to pursue, in a forward-looking manner, activities relevant to the sustainable socio-economic development of all countries of the world.”

He added that the “Congress provided guidance on the scientific and technical programmes and agreed on new strategic programmes related to Space, [least developed countries or] LDCs, and disaster mitigation, as well as on a number of issues that will strengthen the capacity of NMHSs, their visibility and the recognition of their role in support of sustainable development.”

The Disaster Programme

At the Congress, the WMO agreed to launch a new cross- cutting programme for the prevention and mitigation of meteorological and hydrometeorological disasters by means of international cooperation.

In order to carry out this programme, the WMO will coordinate its efforts with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction; it will also reinforce its Tropical Cyclones Programme. Another step in this direction was the inauguration in January of the International Centre for Research on the El Niño Phenomenon (CIIFEN) in Ecuador as a result of a cooperation agreement among the WMO, the ISDR and the government of Ecuador.

Recurso hídrico

La preocupación internacional por los limitados recursos mundiales de agua dulce ha aumentado considerablemente en los últimos años.

Se reconoce ampliamente la función de la OMM en la evaluación y previsión de la cantidad y calidad de esos recursos, por lo que los participantes en el Congreso Mundial solicitaron el reforzamiento de sus actividades.

Es necesario conocer el volumen disponible, los puntos en que se encuentra y la estabilidad de las fuentes. Es fundamental que los países establezcan redes nacionales de vigilancia y bases de datos sobre los recursos hídricos, mejoren las ya existentes y elaboren los indicadores nacionales pertinentes.

Cambio clímatico

A pesar de los esfuerzos, todavía hay que realizar una considerable labor para reducir las incertidumbres relacionadas con la comprensión del cambio climático y para comunicar lo que se conoce.

El continuo deterioro de los sistemas mundiales de observación del clima es de especial interés, por las disparidades que persisten en zonas de África, Asia, el suroeste del Pacífico y América del Sur.

El Congreso instó a que se brinde un mayor apoyo a los países en desarrollo, en lo que respecta a la recolección, intercambio y utilización de datos sobre el clima, así como dar énfasis a las aplicaciones para el alivio de la pobreza, la seguridad alimentaria y la prevención de desastres.

Capa de ozono

El Congreso pidió a la OMM que se continúen las evaluaciones periódicas de determinados aerosoles y gases de efecto invernadero, que aporten al Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre Cambio Climático y a las Partes en la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas.

Intercambio internacional de datos y productos meteorológicos

La OMM ha continuado abordando la cuestión de proteger los intereses de quienes proporcionan los datos y productos meteorológicos, pero manteniendo y mejorando su intercambio gratuito y sin restricciones. En este sentido, la OMM ha seguido de cerca los debates en la Organización Mundial de Propiedad Intelectual con respecto a las bases de datos.

Para mayor información contactar a:
Sandra Salazar Vindas: ssalazar@imn.ac.cr
Gestión de Información y Comercialización
Instituto Meteorológico Nacional, Costa Rica
TEL (506) 222-56-16 Ext.114