Regional Association II (ASIA) - E-Library - WMO

GENERAL SUMMARY 277.1.14 The Association thanked Hong Kong,China, and welcomed its proposal to launch a pilotproject on the provision of city-specific NWPproducts to developing countries via the Internetwithin the Region. The proposal would be beneficialfor developing countries by providing city forecasts.7.1.15 The Association agreed that the work tocoordinate the implementation of the pilot projectshould be carried out by a Pilot Project CoordinationGroup and adopted Resolution 14 (XIII-RA II).7.2 AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY PROGRAMME(agenda item 7.2)7.2.1 The Association complimented theSecretary -General and the Commission forAgricultural Meteorology (CAgM) for the progressmade in the field of agricultural meteorology,including the publication of a large number oftechnical notes and CAgM reports.7.2.2 The Association noted with appreciationthe theme adopted by the Commission, namely “topromote operational applications of agrometeorologyusing innovative technologies forservices to agriculture, silviculture and aquaculture”,and stressed the need to increase the awareness ofusers of the economic, environmental and healthbenefits of the application of meteorological,climatological and hydrological information toagriculture to meet the food, fodder and fuel needsof the growing populations in Asia. The Associationconsidered the theme to be of extreme importance tothe Region. The Association noted with interest theintersessional activities of CAgM and agreed thatthey would contribute greatly to the economicdevelopment of the countries in Asia.7.2.3 The Association noted with satisfaction thatan Expert Team Meeting on StrengtheningInformation and Dissemination Networks, includingMonitoring and Early Warning Systems of theCommission for Agricultural Meteorology had beenheld in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 22 to26 September 2003. The Association stressed theimportance of undertaking case studies in the Regionto demonstrate the importance of effectiveinformation and dissemination networks for diffusingagrometeorological information and applications.7.2.4 The Association noted with appreciationthat an Expert Team Meeting on Reduction of theImpact of Natural Disasters and Mitigation of ExtremeEvents in Agriculture, Rangelands, Forestry andFisheries had been held from 16 to 20 February 2004in Beijing, China. The Association agreed that therewas a need for an integrated data managementsystem including adequate collection, quality control,analysis and presentation of data specific to naturaldisasters. The Association pointed out that currentnatural disaster management was largely crisis drivenand that there was an urgent need for a more riskbasedmanagement approach to natural disasterplanning in agriculture, rangelands, forestry andfisheries. The Association was pleased to note thatthree experts from JCOMM had participated in themeeting and it encouraged CAgM and JCOMM tocontinue to work together in developing a project onan integrated coastal management approach toreducing the impacts of natural disasters onagriculture, rangelands, forestry and fisheries.7.2.5 The Association noted with satisfaction thattwo Seminars on Radio and Internet (RANET) forDiffusion of Agrometeorological Information andMonsoon Research in India had been organized incollaboration with the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) in Pune, India, on 30 and31 July 2001. The Association stressed theimportance of fast and effective channels for thediffusion of agrometeorological information to endusersand recommended that projects such asRANET be implemented in the Region.7.2.6 The Association noted with satisfaction thetraining events held in the Region and stronglysupported the continued organization of such events,for the benefit of the participants from the Region.The Association agreed that training in agriculturalmeteorology should receive high-priorityconsideration and it requested the Secretary-Generalto continue to provide strong support to the trainingactivities in agricultural meteorology which werehelping to build the much-needed capacity to addressthe emerging issues in agrometeorology in theRegion.7.2.7 The Association noted the WMO activitieson desertification and urged Members to participateactively in the implementation of the UNCCD. TheAssociation commended the efforts of theSecretariat in publishing and distributing theproceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on EarlyWarning Systems for Drought Preparedness andDrought Management at the fourth session of theConference of the Parties (COP-4). The Associationurged Members to benefit from the support of theGlobal Mechanism of the Convention for projects inthat area. The Association welcomed theestablishment of a drought monitoring centre inObninsk, Russia, for CIS Member countries.7.2.8 The Association complimented thechairman of the RA II Working Group on AgriculturalMeteorology and the members of the Group for theactivities carried out and for the final technical report.The Association expressed its appreciation to thePresidency of Meteorology and Environment of theKingdom of Saudi Arabia for having hosted aWorking Group meeting from 15 to17 December 2003. The Association recommendedthat the report of the Working Group be published byWMO and distributed widely.7.2.9 The Association agreed that the applicationof meteorology to agriculture continued to be of highimportance to the Region. Hence the activities of theWorking Group on Agricultural Meteorology shouldbe continued, taking into account the developmentsin the Region, such as promoting more active use ofagrometeorological products by the end-users,