The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat through its Climate Services Centre (CSC), in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will convene a workshop on Enhancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning coordination in SADC and the 7th SADC CLIMSA Programme PMC Sub-Committee (Steering Committee) Meeting from 19-23 May 2025, in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. The workshop is being held under the theme ‘Enhancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning Coordination in SADC: Towards a Unified Response Mechanism’.
Some of the objectives of the workshop are:
1. To review the status of data sharing between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and the SADC CSC and identify challenges and opportunities in strengthening meteorological and climate data exchange.
2. To explore the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise data-sharing.
3. Provide a platform for NMHS and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) stakeholders to reflect on the progress, challenges, and opportunities in implementing the Maputo Declaration on the Commitment by SADC to Enhance Early Warning and Early Action in the Region.
4. Review and align current coordination frameworks between, the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC), SADC Climate Services Centre (SADC-CSC), National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs), and National Disaster Management Organisations (NDMOs), focusing on harmonising messaging to prevent duplication and conflicting information.
5. Establish clear roles and responsibilities for key institutions in the implementation of the protocol and operationalisation of coordinated early warning and response action.
The 7th PMC Sub-Committee meeting will in addition review technical and financial progress for the SADC ClimSA Programme, and workplan for the remainder of the programme. The Programme is funded by the European Union (EU) under the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).
The goal of the SADC ClimSA Programme is to contribute to the efforts of SADC Member States countries to adapt to climate change and climate variability by providing science-based climate prediction and information services into national and regional planning processes. It aims to strengthen the climate services value-chain through building the capacities of decision-makers at all levels to make effective use of climate information and services.
