Tshwane to host weather early warning system workshop

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Bernice Swarts, is expected to address the opening of the National Consultative Workshop on Early Warnings for All (EW4All) to be held in Tshwane from Monday.

The agenda of three-day workshop will include: 

• The review of the current state of Early Warning Systems in South Africa and the evaluation of the progress in implementing the four pillars of EW4All. 
• The exploration of the linkages and alignment among ongoing and upcoming initiatives and the consolidation of key stakeholder commitments to strengthen early warning services.
• The establishment of a national coordination mechanism / affirmation of existing national coordination mechanism to guide efforts to scale-up early warning programming across the four pillars and linking national and local engagement.
• The identification of gaps in national Early Warning Systems, with respect to the minimum core capabilities checklist tool provided by the EW4All initiative.
• The provision of initial inputs towards a multi-year, multi-stakeholder, focused and actionable EW4All National Roadmap, around which all actors can marshal resources, technical assistance, and long-term support.

“The workshop, which will be hosted by the South African Weather Service, comes as South Africa continues to rank among the Southern African countries that are vulnerable to hazardous weather events including severe floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, storms, and heat waves.

“Among the participants at the workshop will be the SAWS; the National Disaster Management Centre; the Departments of Water and Sanitation and Communication and Digital Technologies; the Council for Geoscience; the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa; and provincial, district and local government representatives.

“Also participating in the programme will be the UN and international organisations active in Early Warning Systems; civil society organizations, including Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) active in early warning services, climate and disaster risk information; and the private sector, including the mobile network operators and the insurance industry,” the department said.

The DFFE said the EW4All is a United Nations initiative, which seeks to “ensure that everyone on earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving Early Warning Systems by the end of 2027”.

It rests on the pillars of Disaster Risk Knowledge and Management, Detection, Observation, Monitoring, Analysis and Forecasting, Warning Dissemination and Communication and Preparedness and Response Capabilities.

“According to the UN, Early Warning Systems have helped decrease the number of deaths and have reduced losses and damages resulting from hazardous weather, water or climate events. However, major gaps still exist, especially in small island developing states and least developed countries,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za

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