World Meteorological Organization
M. Jarraud, Secretary-General
(Tunis,
Tunisia, 17 November 2005)
[Check against delivery]
Mr President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Representatives of International
Organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to address you on the
occasion of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
On behalf of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and
my own, I wish to express my appreciation to Mr Yoshio
Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), for the invitation to address
the Summit. I also wish to thank the Government of Tunisia,
for hosting the second phase of WSIS in Tunis and for the
excellent arrangements.
Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Natural disasters of unusual severity,
duration or extension pose a threat to life, property, human
activities and the environment. They include tornadoes,
thunderstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, coastal and river
flooding, and drought and desertification, as well as the
tsunamis and earthquakes that are quite fresh in our memory.
Natural disasters can occur on time-scales ranging from
minutes to years and impact on all countries. Over the past
20 years, more than three million people have died as a
result of natural disasters, and it is estimated that 90% of
these victims were from the developing countries. Indeed,
the majority of developing countries are regularly exposed
to a high risk of natural disaster occurrence and, in
addition to the direct damages, these countries often also
suffer indirect impacts on their food security, the spread
of disease, and the longer-term issues of desertification,
famine and mass emigration.
Enhanced planning and decision making is
a fundamental capability, at all levels, for the prevention
or mitigation of the negative impacts that are often
associated with natural hazards. To that end, increased
accuracy and reliability of information on weather, climate
and water on a global scale and the free, unrestricted and
timely access to that information, are some of the
requisites for effective natural disaster risk assessment,
vulnerability analysis, preparedness and response.
The release of hazardous materials into
our atmosphere and waters, accidental or otherwise, also
constitutes a major threat to life and safety that might
assume regional or even global dimensions. Information and
warnings on the concentration of toxic or radioactive
materials in the atmosphere, as well as their predicted
propagation and deposition, are essential to the mitigation
of their potentially disastrous impacts on populations and
economies.
Readily available information on weather,
water and climate, including analyses, forecasts and early
warnings, can be a fundamental contribution to sustainable
development offering substantial socioeconomic benefits.
Agriculture, fisheries and forestry, energy and
water-resources management, land-based, marine, and aerial
transportation, banking and insurance services, construction
and urban design, as well as human health, recreation and
tourism, can all benefit directly from relevant
meteorological and hydrological information. Additionally,
major societal and economic benefits for countries can be
derived from their access to climate information,
particularly to climate predictions and assessments of
climate change.
Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ever since the implementation of the
earliest weather networks of the 19th century,
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have
played a key role in meteorology and its associated
disciplines. Today, on a 24 hour/7 day real-time basis,
WMO's 187 Members operate more than 200 meteorological
centres that exchange in real-time their observations,
analyses, forecasts and early warnings. WMO's observing
systems include over 1000s of surface stations, upper-air
stations and ships, as well as countless buoys, aircraft,
weather radars and satellites. The observing network also
includes stations for measuring the chemical component of
the atmosphere such as greenhouse gases, ozone, toxic and
radioactive substances. In addition to this, WMO coordinates
hydrological observations networks. In the broader framework
of its multi-hazard early warning concept, WMO manages the
international coordination, generation and distribution of
early warnings for weather-, climate- and water-related
natural hazards. Additionally, WMO makes available its
Global Telecommunication System (GTS), to be the backbone
network for the exchange for early warnings and related
information on many natural hazards, as will be the case
with the new Tsunami Early Warning Systems of the Indian
Ocean and other oceanic areas at risk.
Weather, water and climate know no
borders. Effective services to users, economic sectors and
the public at large depend critically on the free and timely
exchange of the most relevant information. WMO is strongly
committed to the promotion, coordination and support for the
implementation of ICTs in the improvement of the global,
regional and national generation, exchange and distribution
of information and warnings on weather-, climate- and
water-related hazards. This is wholly in line with the
expected outcomes of the World Summit on the Information
Society and one of WMO's contributions to the successful
attainment of the UN-agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Accordingly, the development of
information and communication technologies and their
implementation will have a key role to play in enabling and
fostering societies' access to weather, climate and water
information and services, which are essential for the
protection of life and property and the realization of
sustainable development, for the benefit of humanity.
Thank you.
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