Organized by the World Bank in partnership with the Global Facility for catastrophes prevention and Recovery (GFDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the African Development Bank (AfDB), ISDR and other development partners, the forum aimed to facilitate the strengthening and modernization of national hydrometeorological services through the harmonization of actions of key actors involved in the hydrometeorological services value chain.
For 3 days, the forum brought together about 50 representatives of meteorological services, ministries in charge of water, representatives of services in charge of risk and disaster management, representatives of national hydrological services, civil society actors, universities, Media and parliamentarians from the countries of the sub-region, the private sector, sub-regional institutions and development partners, including GWP-CAf, represented by its Regional Coordinator, the WACDEP Program Officer of the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe and a representative from the University of Ndjamena.
The GWP-CAf intervened during two sessions through two presentations which focused on the implementation of a strategy for the efficient and sustainable management of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in Central Africa and the importance of follow-up in terms of quality and quantity of water resources. In addition to its interventions, GWP-CAf representatives discussed with partners at the Forum various topics, including the need to support NMHSs in determining the optimal hydrometeorological monitoring network for each country in the sub-region, and the critical role of other actors in the hydrological value chain, particularly those of civil society, in the strategic positioning of NMHSs at the national level.
In conclusion, it must be said that the first Central African Hydrometeorological Forum was an opportunity for GWP-CAf representatives to position the network as an important actor and strategic partner of ECCAS in the domain of quantitative and qualitative monitoring of water resources, as well as for disaster risk management in Central Africa.