WMO’s contribution to the end poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources. WMO is focusing on the MDG 7: ‘Ensure environmental sustainability’.

As weather, climate and water cycle knows no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global scale is essential for the development of meteorology and operational hydrology as well as to reap the benefits from their applications. WMO provides the framework for such international cooperation.
WMO plays a leading role in international efforts to monitor and protect the environment through its Programmes. WMO supports the implementation of relevant conventions such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Vienna Convention on the Protection of Ozone Layer and its Protocols and Amendments. WMO is instrumental in providing advice and assessments to governments on matters relating to the above Conventions. These activities contribute towards ensuring the sustainable development and well-being of nations.


WMO in Nigeria

Environment and economy are interdependent. Nigeria is quite vulnerable to climate variability, a situation that has led to an increase in natural disasters. Desertification threatens sustainable economic growth and development because it reduces productivity, including water supply, limits opportunities for other land use types, modifies ecosystems and threatens biodiversity and livelihood.
About 45% of the population of Nigeria is dependant on land resources, especially for the production of crops, livestock, fisheries and timber. The other sectors relating to environment include Transport (Air, Sea and Land) and Tourism. An increasing income gives people more resources to ensure basic needs of life i.e. food/water, clothing and shelter and pursue better education, and health care.

Poverty has persisted due to partly poor mainstreaming weather and climate information and products into development activities. Under WMO leadership and within the framework of WMO programmes, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services contribute substantially to the protection of life and property against natural disasters, to safeguarding the environment and to enhancing the economic and social well-being of all sectors of society, in areas, such as food security, water resources and transport by providing necessary products.

WMO assists Nigerian Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in the area of identification of their requirements and formulation of relevant proposals to address the existing short comings of the Services. Under the Voluntary Cooperation Programme of WMO, the National Meteorological Services, in the Ministry of Aviation has benefited in the areas of infrastructures and manpower developments to enable them play their full role in the socio-economic development of the country.

The NMHSs had been provided with major equipments such as ground receiving station from METEOSAT Second Generation, Digicoras for Upper Air sounding, Dobson Spectrophotometer for environmental measurement, Global Atmospheric Watch station for ozone measurement etc. Many staff of the department had also benefited from WMO Fellowship to undergo trainings in areas such as agro meteorology.
An on-going project, which Nigeria is fully involved in, is West and Central Africa Hydrological Cycle Observing System (AOC - HYCOS) a component of World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS).

Yet to be implemented programme is the ECOWAS Meteorological Programme which will contribute to the improvement of meteorological and related services within the region for better contribution to sustainable


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