World Meteorological Organization

Document list:

1. Concept Note (PDF)
2. Agenda (PDF) - updated on 18 February 2020
3. Logistical Information Note (PDF)

Presentations:

• to come (already available on the ESCAP site for this event.

Organizers:
The Workshop was led by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), with technical assistance by the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and kindly co-hosted by the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD).

Funding:
Support is kindly provided by (i) Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) as part of its contribution to the Climate Risk and Early Warning System (CREWS) Initiative through the project entitled "Building Resilience to High-Impact Hydro-meteorological Events through Strengthening Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) in Southeast Asia (SEA)", (ii) the European Commission Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) through the project entitled "Scaling up Forecast-based Financing (FbF)/Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) and Shock Responsive Social Protection (SRSP) for disaster resilience in ASEAN Member States (AMS)" and jointly implemented by FAO, World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women, and (iii) through in-kind contributions of WMO, ESCAP, and FAO Regional Office for Asia Pacific (RAP).

Objectives:
The Workshop aimed to provide a dialogue platform for stakeholders involved in early warning, disaster risk reduction and management (DRR/DRM) and climate change adaptation in SEA to:

1. Present, discuss and validate the outcomes of recent (MH)EWS assessments in selected countries in SEA with regard to the key gaps, challenges and needs especially of their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs),
2. Build a common understanding of impact-based forecasting and warning services (IBFWS) and FbF/EWEA,
3. Share lessons learnt, good practices and innovative tools for improving IBFWS/FbF/EWEA in the framework of MHEWS,
4. Identify needs and opportunities for cooperation to enhance products and services provided by the NMHSs and develop new tools (such as indicators and thresholds for common hazards, triggers, Early Action Protocols, and financing options),
5. Mainstream approaches and identified priorities into regional strategies and plans as a contribution to the global frameworks of the Agenda 2030 (such as the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme 2021-2025 or an ASEAN-wide approach to drought management), and
6. Provide recommendations for (i) the Canada-CREWS project, (ii) the ECHO-funded joint UN/NGOs project, and (iii) future MHEWS-related capacity development and infrastructure initiatives by national governments and bi-/multilateral development partners.

Expected outcomes:
It was expected that the Workshop would contribute to the better understanding of the state of MHEWS in countries in SEA and of their NMHSs’ capacities to support their national DRR efforts (Day 1), and of the IBFWS/FbF/EWEA concepts and practices for the sectoral users of early warning information (Day 2). It would also provide inputs into:

• The work plans of the above-mentioned ongoing projects,
• A potential subregional roadmap for strengthening hydrometeorological services for DRR/climate services across various sectors, and
• A sub-regional approach to drought management.

All would contribute to the implementation and monitoring of regional and global frameworks, strategies and plans (Day 3) and are to be documented in technical briefs and a meeting report.

Participants:
Invited representatives of NMHSs, National Disaster Management Organizations, social welfare agencies, provincial/city/local governments, UN, regional intergovernmental organizations, International Financial Institutions, NGOs, other international organizations, academia, foundations, telecommunication, media, etc.

Format:
The Workshop was interactive, facilitating information sharing, discussions and joint identification of priorities and opportunities for cooperation.

Additional documents:

1. Participant List (to come)
2. Technical Background (to come)
3. Canada-CREWS SEA Project Overview and Narrative Activity Plan (to come)
4. Draft Canada-CREWS Report on the Status of MHEWS in Cambodia, Lao People’s PDR, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam (to come)
5. Brochure of the ECHO-Joint UN and NGO Project in AMS (to come)
6. Collection of other relevant resources (references and links) (to come)