National Meteorological Policy.

The National Meteorological Policy (or NMP) is developed to contribute towards enhanced meteorological services to support socio-economic development of Malawi. The policy prioritizes seven issues: monitoring and prediction of weather and climate; management of meteorological data and information; meteorological engineering and Information Technology (IT) development; meteorological research services; financing the climate change and meteorological sector; capacity building and awareness; and cross-cutting issues. Meteorological information is used in a number of sectors including agriculture, aviation, health, education, forestry and wildlife. These sectors require timely, site specific and accurate weather forecasts and predictions. The climate change and meteorological Sector has provided useful information but is fraught with major challenges in the delivery of meteorological services which include: few and poorly distributed functional observational stations, shortage of trained personnel, vandalism of equipment, weak telecommunication support systems, and inadequate data processing and information dissemination facilities. These challenges affect provision of reliable weather and climate services to meet national, regional and international requirements. This policy has been developed through a consultative process with stakeholders from government ministries and departments, national and international non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, development partners, civil society organizations, local leaders, communities and individuals. The financial support was provided by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank. I would like to commend the Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services in leading the development of the national Meteorological Policy.
This policy has seven priority areas namely: i. Monitoring and prediction of weather and climate; ii. Management of meteorological data and information; iii. Meteorological engineering, communication and Information Technology (IT) development; iv. Meteorological research services; v. Capacity building and awareness; vi. Financing the climate change and meteorological sector; and vii. Cross-cutting issues. The NMP has been developed to serve as an overarching guide on generation and provision of meteorological services and products for various users. Specifically the policy is aimed at: a) improving planning, programming, and implementation of weather and climate activities in Malawi; b) enabling generation of reliable, responsive, high quality, timely and up-to-date weather and climate services; c) ensuring timely dissemination of accurate and reliable sector relevant information for early preparedness; d) providing a framework for monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on interventions for the meteorological sector; e) providing a platform for stakeholder engagement in the meteorological sector. The NMP aims to contribute towards enhanced meteorological services to support the socio economic development of Malawi. The policy is expected to achieve the outcomes below: a) Effective and efficient generation, dissemination and utilization of reliable, responsive, high quality, up to date and timely meteorological services; b) Enhanced community resilience from weather and climate shocks; and c) Increased demand, utilization and cost recovery for meteorological services. Objectives determined in this text are: a) To provide readily accessible and accurate weather and climate information for efficient planning, management and operation of relevant sectors; b) To guide and improve coordination of collection, management and dissemination of meteorological data and information among stakeholders; c) To ensure timely dissemination of meteorological information for early preparedness; and d) To improve capacity of the climate change and meteorological sector for effective and efficient delivery of meteorological services in the country.