From The Dominican

Bridgetown, Barbados (TDN) National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) from across the Caribbean are now better equipped and trained to monitor climate in the region, thanks to a series of training workshops co-hosted by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and international environmental and hydrological monitoring company Sutron Corporation.

The training, which took place from July 25 to 29, 2016, at CIMH’s St. James, Barbados campus sought to help NMHSs support risk informed planning and decision-making in climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, disaster risk management, energy, health, tourism and water management) at the national level so that they can better mitigate the impacts of climate variability and change.

During the workshops, representatives from eight countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & The Grenadines) received hands-on training from CIMH and Sutron staff about how to operate and maintain climate monitoring equipment that has already been installed by CIMH in their respective countries.

Participants were trained how to use a comprehensive suite of machines that will give them better access to weather and water data that they can then provide to help climate-sensitive sectors prepare and adapt to extreme weather events and climate change. Featured equipment included Automatic Weather Stations, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) Xlink Family of Loggers, XLITE 9210 Loggers, Telemetry and Software Management as well as Meteorological Sensors and Hydrological sensors.

The equipment and related installation and training were procured by CIMH from Sutron Corporation and funded through the Programme for Building Regional Climate Capacity in the Caribbean (BRCCC Programme), a three-year project made possible through the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The focus of the BRCCC Programme is to contribute to the sustainable development of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) by supporting the region’s initiatives related to adaptation to climate change and increasing variability, as well as disaster risk reduction.

“Through the BRCCC Programme, CIMH has been able to partner with one of the world’s leading providers of equipment for hydro-meteorological and climate monitoring to help National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in BRCCC participating states improve their ability to manage their hydro-meteorological and climate early warning networks.

Two important outcomes of this workshop are strengthening of the NMHSs in BRCCC participating states to support national and regional Disaster Risk Reduction activities and to improve the quality of the region’s climate data to better support the delivery of climate services to climate sensitive sectors.

Supporting these two activities will strengthen national and regional resilience to severe weather and extreme climatic events thereby supporting the socio-economic development of the region,” explains Dr. David Farrell, Principal of CIMH.

As a specialized agency of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), CIMH supports the economic and social well-being of CARICOM member states through research, education and capacity building in meteorological, hydrological and climatologic services in the Caribbean.

Since 1975, Sutron Corporation has provided customized hydrological and meteorological monitoring and control solutions for applications involving weather, floods, coastal monitoring and tides, water level, water quality, dams, irrigation, rainfall, and extreme and remote environments to a wide range of clients including the United States National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, Texas A&M University Division of Nearshore Research as well as many state and local governments and private sector industries.

IMAGE: Participants at the training workshop.

For more on this story go to: http://www.thedominican.net/2016/08/help-build-climate-change-resilience.html