HIGH PRAISE FOR CIMH

Federico Gomez-Delgado, representative of the World
Meteorological Organisation (WMO), says the Caribbean Institute
for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) is one of the most
progressive Regional Training Centres of the WMO.

THE Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) is well recognised within the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) as one of the most progressive WMO Regional Training Centres, especially in the area of human resource development.

This was the information coming from Federico Gomez-Delgado, representative of the World Meteorological Organisation, as he spoke at the 53rd meet-ing of the Caribbean Meteorological Council, held recently at the Radisson Aquatica Resort in Barbados.

“The Institute provides expertise for various development projects and has initiated a range of activities that address the concerns of the region, in areas such as climate change, including the monitoring of sea level. For WMO, the CIMH stands out as a model of co-operation in capacity building,” the WMO rep-resentative remarked.

“As with similar Regional Meteorological Training Centres, WMO will continue to work closely with the Institute and the National Meteorological Services (in Barbados), in addressing their human resources development needs,” Gomez-Delgado added.

Stressing that the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO) Co-ordinating Director, Tyrone Sutherland, as a member of the WMO Executive Council, has been pushing for many years to have the CIMH designated a WMO Regional Climate Centre, Gomez-Delgado revealed that the CIMH is now in its demonstration phase, as part of the assessment process for its eventual formal designation.

Dr. David Estwick, Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, also had high praise for the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH).

He too noted that the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation, the regional arm of the World Meteorological Organisation, has started the process of making its training arm, the CIMH, a WMO Regional Climate Centre, which will guide the region’s activity under the Global Framework for Climate Services.

“This Institution, in conjunction with the Regional Meteorological Services, is involved in a number of projects which are enhancing the climate services provided throughout the Caribbean basin. Projects such as the Caribbean Agro-Meteorological Initiative project (CAMI Project), a project that focuses on increasing and sustaining agricultural production in the Caribbean through the use of weather and climate information; and the Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network.

“Under this project, drought and the general precipitation status is monitored on both the regional and the national scale, through the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), which proved to be a highly valuable tool in forecasting the drought of late 2009, early 2010, which was experienced across the Eastern Caribbean,” Minister Estwick acknowledged. (RSM)