Finland to support meteorological cooperation in Southern Africa
Press release 301/2009
23 November 2009
Finland and SADC, the Southern African Development Community, have signed an agreement on the initiation of regional meteorological cooperation. The SADC is a community of fifteen Southern African countries with the aim of economic integration and development. The agreement came into force on 21 November.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute is responsible for practical implementation of the year-long preparatory phase in cooperation with MASA, the Meteorological Association of Southern Africa. MASA’s role as a regional actor is based on a mandate given by the SADC ministers in charge of meteorology. MASA is still a young actor – its charter was signed this year. The preparatory phase, for its part, strengthens the organisation’s operations; for instance, the organisation’s strategic plan will be finalised as one aspect of the preparatory phase. The preparatory phase will be carried out by the Finnish Meteorological Institute in 2009–2010 and it has a budget of 800,000 euros.
The objective of the preparatory phase is planning of the actual realisation phase of the meteorological cooperation project. The readiness of the target countries and regional organisations to receive the project itself will be strengthened and other donors’ activities in the region will be determined at the same time. The aim is to start the actual project phase immediately after the preparatory phase has ended. Realisation of the actual project phase will be subject to competitive tendering on the basis of the project document drawn up during the preparatory phase.
Southern Africa still faces numerous development challenges. In addition, the impacts of climate change are predicted to have the most serious effects on sub-Saharan countries, because the region is highly dependent on agriculture and other sectors vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is also predicted that the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena will increase most strongly especially in Southern Africa, and there is great need for improved preparedness in the meteorological sector and for more efficient early warning systems. In meteorological services, cooperation between countries is a basic precondition for services to function smoothly.
Additional information: First Secretary Hanna Väänänen, tel. 358 9 1605 6239, mobile tel. +358 40 835 9031