There is more to weather than just sunshine and rain ACMAD: Using Climate for  Development


The   board   of   governors   of  African   Centre  of  Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) meeting in the ninth session held in  UNCC-AA  from  29-30  October,   recommended that ECA's substantive programmes be more involved in the activities of ACMAD.

Speaking  after  the  meeting,  Mr.  Samuel  Muchem  of   the  ACMAD Secretariat told ECANEWS that he was quite satisfied with the dialogue with  ECA.  Chaired  by  ECA Deputy Executive Secretary, Ms. Lalla Ben Barka,   the   session  dealt  with  the   importance  of  climate  for development,   the    necessity  of  co-ordinating  the  meteorological community  and  development actors and clarifying the role of ACMAD in capacity-building.

Climate Watch: Launched  in  1987  by  the   Conference of Ministers of ECA and the World  Meteorological   Organisation,  at  the  tail-end of some of the continent's   severest  droughts,  among  ACMAD's  principal  tasks are keeping  weather  and  climate  watch  across  the   African continent. Established  in Niamey in 1992, ACMAD is mandated to act as an African Centre  of excellence for meteorological applications for development.

Presentations  made  during  the  event, confirmed that the 1984/85 drought  affected  30-35  million  people  in 30 countries, created 10 million  'environmental  refugees'  and  caused  3 million deaths. The 1991/92,  as  well  as  the  1995,   drought  resulted in a 75% drop in agricultural  production  in   eastern  and  southern Africa. Floods in Egypt  caused  damage   of  US$ 2 billion in 1994, while the 1997/98 El Niño  affected  the   lives  of  10  million, and resulted in a loss of US$120 million.

Opening  the  meeting,  Ms. Ben Barka said: 'Over the last three to four   years  the  Centre  launched  a demonstration phase which was an attempt  to  market  its  products  during  the   transition  into  the applications   phase.  The   transition  phase  was  dedicated  to  the development    of  such  meteorological  tools  that  can   easily  lend themselves  to  application  in  policy   and  decision-making  at  the national  level in keeping with the initial objectives of the Centre.' She emphasised that as an ECA-sponsored institution, ACMAD's programme orientations  were  'consistent  with   ECA's  programmes focus on food
security and sustainable development.'

Climate Prediction: Mr.  Peter  J.  Lamb   of  the  Cooperative  Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological   Studies  and  School  of  Meteorology,  University   of Oklahoma,  says  'ACMAD  is  well  positioned  to   capitalise  on  and contribute  to  improving state-of-the-science of climate prediction.' He said that the Centre had always been at the forefront, but that for
ACMAD  to  better serve the continent, several criteria had to be met, including    '   continuity   and   enhancement    of   programmes   and funding'continuous   and    in-depth   interactions   with   users    in agriculture, water resources, and public health.'

The   Strategic  Plan  2000,  approved  by  the   meeting,  included capacity-building  in  weather  and climate monitoring, development of application  and  warning  systems,  and for the Centre to act for the continent on environmental and sustainable development matters.

Attending  the  session  were  representatives  from West, Central and North  Africa  SRDCs,  Angola,  Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger,   Nigeria,  Senegal  and  Tanzania,   the  World  Meteorological Organisation (WMO,) as well as other key players.