High Impact Weather Lake System (HIGHWAY) Project

HIGHWAY is a 4,500,000.00 GBP project under the Weather and Climate and Information SErvices for Africa (WISER) programme, funded by the UK department for International Development (DFID) which looks to enhance the resilience of African people and economic development to weather and climate related shocks, with an inital focus on the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB).

The LVB is the lifeblood of East Africa supporting approximately 25 percent of the population. The people and economy heavily depend on rain-fed agriculture and fish industries in this basin. On average, 3,000-5,000 deaths occur each year due to navigation accidents caused by strong winds and waves, and there were no regional, operational warning systems in place to protect the safety of those exploiting the natural resources of the LVB.

Objectives

  • Have an established, effective institutional framework for an Early Warning System (EWS) for the East Africa Region
  • Strengthen integration between producers and user to develop innovative, accurate tailor-made EWS products through co-production for the East African Region, mainly through activites focused on fellowships and knowledge transfer 
  • Improve methods and strengthen capacity for communication and promoting understanding and use of EWS products with relevant producers, technicians, forecasters, intermediaries and users in the East African Region

Structure

The expected outcome of the HIGHWAY project is increased access to and use of co-designed and sustainable early warning systems to inform regional, national, sub-national and community level planning and decision-making in the East African region.

The outcome indicators are:

  • The number of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) accessing new/improved EWS for improved decision making
  • The number of households and institutions able to access and use new or improved EWS information

The expected impact of the project is an increased use of weather information to improve resilience and reduce the loss of life and damage to property supporting sustainable economic development in the East African Region.

The impact indicators are:

  • The number of people with improved resilience resulting from the use of EWS 
  • The value of avoided losses due to use of climate information
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Completed
Funding:
GBP - British Pound 4 500 000.00
WMO Strategic Priority:
  • Climate Resilience and Adaptation

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