Stocktaking of climate, weather, and water services in Southern Africa

The challenge: strengthening early warning services across Southern Africa

Natural hazards in the SADC region have been increasing in frequency and intensity over the past three decades and warming over the region is faster than the global average. The entire region is affected by droughts, floods, cyclones, and other hazards.

Meteorological, climatological, and hydrological services (jointly called “hydromet services”), play an important role in providing timely and adequate early warnings that help protect against the impacts of these natural hazards. Early warning can save lives and will improve the management of sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, power production and transport.

Haskoning, in collaboration with Aqualinks Research & Implementation and Weather Impact, was tasked to take stock of the hydromet services in the SADC Member States, investigate the academic and private sector engagement in the region and use these insights to develop an investment plan to strengthen early warnings services in the Southern Africa region.

The solution: comprehensive stocktaking to guide investment planning

We began by producing an online questionnaire to interview all stakeholders in the Hydromet Value Chain. This included national meteorological and hydrological services, river basin organisations, disaster risk management institutes, academia, private sector organisations, and regional institutes.

Our comprehensive survey allowed us to assess the Hydromet Value Chain for all these organisations and draw conclusions on a regional, basin, and national level – and do so during COVID-19 when in-person contact was restricted.

Drawing from the analysis of the status of weather, climate, water and early warning services in the region, an action plan for strengthening early warning services was formulated. The proposed investments were structured using a Theory of Change model and detailed on a national and organisational level. We were also able to identify relevant universities and research institutions for collaboration opportunities, as well as potential partnership engagements within the private sector that would benefit the development of early warning services.

The result: robust guidance for future investments in early warning services

As a result of this project, the SADC Secretariat now has robust guidance how to strengthen Southern Africa’s early warning services.

Our work has helped stakeholders to identify new opportunities for regional collaboration and establish more informed investment strategies, which will ultimately improve the region’s climate change adaptation efforts for the foreseeable future.

This comprehensive work allows governments and international organizations to structure their future investments in the hydromet sector, and early warning services in particular, in Southern Africa.

Read more about the project in The World Bank report “A regional analysis of weather, climate, water and early warning services in Southern Africa: status quo and proposed actions"