Publication: Institutional Strengthening and Modernization of Hydromet and Multi-hazard Early Warning Services in Bhutan: A Road Map for 2024-2034
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2024-10-28
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2024-10-28
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This roadmap describes the current situation of hydromet service provision in Bhutan and presents a short- and medium-term modernization approach. It provides an overview of the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), its financial and technical infrastructure, human resources, and information about the users of its products and services. To provide enhanced and fit-for-purpose services to its users, the roadmap presents two development stages to help strengthen the capabilities of the NCHM to better deliver hydromet information, impact-based forecasting, and multi-hazard early warning services (MHEWS). The executive summary provides an overview of the key points and recommendations. In section one, the introduction, some basic background is provided on the climate of Bhutan and the consequent natural hazards, and on the organization of the NCHM and its position within the government structures. Section two, the approach to modernization, describes a generic framework which is used to analyze the different elements within a National Meteorological and Hydrological Service and to determine their maturity according to a five-level scale, ranging from low to advanced. In section three, the current status of NCHM services and infrastructure, the work of the NCHM is described and the generic framework outlined in section two is applied to the different elements within the organization to establish the baseline level of maturity for each. Section four is the roadmap for modernizing and strengthening NCHM’s services and systems. The conclusion in section five offers some broader thoughts beyond the detailed recommendations, including some suggestions for innovations and also on the possible role of public-private partnerships within the weather enterprise in Bhutan. The annexes contain the detail of the costs and timelines associated with the modernization plans, as well as the implications for future staffing requirements.
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“World Bank. 2024. Institutional Strengthening and Modernization of Hydromet and Multi-hazard Early Warning Services in Bhutan: A Road Map for 2024-2034. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42315 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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