World Meteorological Organization regional association VI (europe)

World Meteorological Organization REGIONAL ASSOCIATION VI (EUROPE) Seventeenth Session Geneva, 7 to 9 February 2018	RA VI-17/INF. 3.5(5)
	Submitted by: Secretary-General 6.II.2018

See https://owncloud.aemet.es/index.php/s/0r67HHnr2HQECiE for the full report.

• Centre for Climate Change (C3) at Rovira i Virgili University (URV) (http://www.c3.urv.cat/; http://www.urv.cat/en/).

• The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) (http://www.aecid.es/EN/aecid) provides financial and logistical support for training activities (http://intercoonecta.aecid.es/intercoonecta/centros-de-formaci%C3%B3n).

• The Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), supports SDS-WAS. (http://sds-was.aemet.es/).

. . .

In accordance with its statute, AEMET is responsible for “contributing to the planning and implementation of national policies in the field of international development cooperation in the areas of meteorology and climatology, in coordination with other national and international organizations carrying out these activities”.

• has been training professionals from other NMSs for nearly 50 years;

• has been teaching the WMO Class-II course for decades, and is currently teaching the second edition of the BIP-M course;

• has promoted the Conferences of Directors (CIMHET and AFRIMET) as a specific vehicle for cooperation in Ibero-America and Africa;

• is capable of identifying training needs on a regional scale and responding to them;

• has promoted and supported training activities with a total duration of more than 3,000 hours, whether face-to-face, distance or blended, for more than 1,000 professionals;

• is ready to collaborate with WMO in mobilizing resources for training activities.

Some of the most important milestones in AEMET’s long history of international development cooperation are the following:

• 1969. WMO´s Class II course for foreign students in Spain on fellowships.

• 1992. CIMHET (www.cimhet.org) and the Ibero-American Meteorological Development Cooperation Programme (RA III and RA IV). CIMHET, in collaboration with WMO, meets regularly to review, prioritize and approve by consensus the corresponding multi-year action plans that are mostly financed by a fiduciary fund created by Spain.

• 1994, 2007 and 2011. Memorandums of understanding signed between Spain and WMO with the aim of collaborating within the WMO Voluntary Cooperation Programme, mainly related to capacity development and professional and specialized training.

• 2007. AFRIMET. Spain promoted the creation of the Conference of Directors of Meteorological and Hydraulic Services of West Africa (AFRIMET). Major projects include HEALTHMET, METAGRI, and MARINET.

• 2007. The Mediterranean Climate Data Rescue Project (MEDARE).

• 2010. SDS-WAS and SDS-Africa Project. Since 2010 Spain has hosted the Sandstorm and Duststorm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS) (http://sds-was.aemet.es/), including the creation in Barcelona of the RSMC-ASDF for North Africa, the Middle East and Europe, managed and financed jointly by AEMET and BSC (Barcelona Supercomputing Centre).

• 2013. Mediterranean Climate Outlook Forum (MedCOF). AEMET coordinates MedCOF.

. . .

AEMET meets all benchmark requirements for an RTC, as set by Technical Regulations (WMO‑No. 49), Volume I.

For all the above, AEMET, on behalf of Spain, is requesting recognition as a WMO RTC, in collaboration with Rovira i Virgili University, AECID, and BSC.