More than 70% of natural disasters in Central Africa are of hydro-meteorological origin. The region is vulnerable to floods, droughts, and other weather, water and climactic hazards. Finding solutions to this challenge presents an opportunity for governments, technical experts, academics, civil society and key stakeholders to strategize, coordinate, and improve meteorological, hydrological and climatic—hydromet—services for development.
Hydromet services are essential for scaling up resilience to climate and disaster risks, so Central Africa's hard-won gains and development aspirations for growth can be preserved and improved, and so that lives and livelihoods can be protected.
Working towards this goal, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) will hold its inaugural hydromet forum for Central Africa. The ECCAS Hydromet Forum, co-hosted by the Government of Gabon and the World Bank Group, offers a platform for climate-resilient development and adaptation planning through the improvement of hydromet services as a tool for development.
The event will demonstrate the benefits of hydromet service delivery across a range of sectors including agriculture, water, natural resource management, environment, transport, civil aviation, energy and disaster risk management.
The forum is organized as part of the implementation of the Africa Hydromet Program and the ACP-EU Regional Economic Communities Program to enhance and improve the coordination, planning, policy and capacity for disaster risk reduction and resilience across Africa.