WORLD METEOROWGICAL ORGANIZATION REGIONAL ASSOCIATION V (SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC) ABRIDGED FINAL REPORT OF THE TENTH SESSION Singapore, 14-24 November 1989 I WMO - No. 730 I Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization - Geneva - Switzerland 1990 © 1990, World Meteorological Organization ISBN 92 - 63 - 10730 - 3 NOTE The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. CONTENTS GENERAL SUMMARY 1. Opening of the session •..•..........•........•......•...••..•..•..• 1 2. Organization of the session ......................•....•.•...•...... 2 3. Report by the president of the Association .....•............•...•.. 3 4. World Weather Watch Programme - Regional aspects ......••....•...•.. 3 5. World Climate Programme - Regional aspects ..................•....•. 14 6. Research and Development Programme - Regional aspects ...•...•...... 20 7. Applications of Meteorology Programme - Regional aspects •........•. 23 8. Hydrology and Water Resources Programme - Regional aspects .....•... 29 9. Education and Training Programme - Regional aspects .•..•........•.. 35 10. Technical co-operation activities - Regional aspects ....•.........• 38 11. Long-term planning - Regional aspects ............••...••........... 39 12. WMO Regional Office ......•...••........•...•..•.•.••............... 40 13. Scientific lectures and discussions ..•...•......•••••..•••...•.•.•. 41 14. Review of previous resolutions and recommendations of the Association and of relevant Executive Council resolutions ...•...... 41 15. Public information - Regional aspects ............••..•..•.........• 42 16. Election of officers ..•..••...•...•.•............••••...........•.. 44 17. Date and place of the eleventh session .•.•.....• ~ ••••..•.......•... 44 18. Closure of the session .•.••..••......•....••.....••.•••...•.•...... 44 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE SESSION (together with their annexes) 1. Promotion of meteorology and operational hydrology in the Region .................................................... '. 47 2. Working Group on Planning and Implementation of the WWW in Region V •••...••..••...•..•...•......•••.•.•••...•..•... 48 3. Regional Basic Synoptic Network ............•..•..•••....••.•....... 52 4. New calibration factors for standard pyrheliometers ••..•....•...... 58 5. Further development of the Global Observing System •............•... 58 6. Rapporteur on Codes ...........•..................••••.•............ 59 7. Amendments to the Manual on the GTS, Volume II Regional aspects, Region V - South-West Pacific, Part I - Organization of the Regional Meteorological Telecommunication Plan for Region V (South-West Pacific) for the World Weather Watch ...•..•..•...•.•....•........... 60 8. Amendments to the Manual on the GTS, Volume II - Regional aspects, Region V - South-West Pacific, Part II - Telecommunication procedures for Region V (South-West Pacif ic) •.••.•..•••..........•.•.....•..........•.....• 64 9. Amendments to the Manual on the GTS, Volume II - Regional aspects, Region V - South-West Pacific, Part III - Engineering of centres and circuits in Region V (South-West Pacific) ..........•......•.................•........... 65 10. Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South Pacific and South-East Indian Ocean •••.....••...•.•••..•.•..• 70 IV CONTENTS 11. RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee for the South Pacific and South-East Indian Ocean ..........•..•..•.........•...•....•...••.•• 70 12. Climate change in the South-West Pacific .........•..•.••..••..••••• 73 13. Rapporteur on Climate Data Management ..............•..••..•.•.••.•• 75 14. Rapporteur on Regional Aspects of the World Climate Applications Programme (WCAP) ......................•....•.•.•..•.•• 78 15. Rapporteur on Atmospheric Ozone and Rapporteur on Environmental Matters ........•................. ~. • • . • . • •.• . • • • 78 16. Working Group on Agricultural Meteorology ........................... 80 17. Rapporteur on Marine Meteorological Services ....•...•...•.•.•..•••. 81 18. Participation in the Joint IOC/WMO Integrated Global Ocean Services System .....................•............•.•.••... o. 82 19. Working Group on Hydrology .............•..........•••••.•.•••..•••• 83 20. The WMO Voluntary Co-operation Programme ......•....••...•.•...••••• 89 21. Review of previous resolutions and recommendations ..•.....•...••••. 89 ANNEXES I. List of persons attending the session ......•......•.•...•..•..•••• 99 II. Agenda •......0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 101 III. Annex to paragraph 4.4.2 of the general summary Present status and future plans for the implementation of the Regional Meteorological Telecommunication Network, satellite services and automation of GTS centres in Region V - South-West Pacific •••. 104 IV. Annex to paragraph 11.5 of the general summary RA V regional priorities for the period of the Third WMO Long-term Plan 1992-2001 .;....................................................... 110 V. List of documents I. "rxx:::" series .............' ..........o •••••••••••••••••••••••e •••• 113 II. "PINK" series •••••••••••••••••••••••• ! ••••••••••••••••••••••• 116 GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE WORK OF THE SESSION 1. OPENING OF THE SESSION (agenda item 1) 1.1 At the invitation of the Government of Singapore, the tenth session of Regional Association V (South-West Pacific) was held in Singapore from 14 to 24 November 1989. The session was opened at 10: 00 a .m. on 14 November 1989 by Mrs H. P. A. Jaafar, acting president of Regional Association V. 1.2 Mr P. Lo Su Siew, Director of the Singapore Meteorological Service and Permanent Representative of Singapore with WMO, expressed his pleasure that the meeting was being held in Singapore as that gave him the opportunity to meet colleagues from the Region. He extended a warm welcome to all participants and introduced the Minister of State for Communications and Information, Mr Mah Bow Tan. 1.3 Firstly, the Minister welcomed the participants. He then went on to say that the past few decades had witnessed significant advances in the field of meteorology and that, with current issues such as climate change coming into prominence, there was bound to be further improvement. Recent achievements in satellite meteorology had made it possible for improved warnings to be given in areas like Region V which were susceptible to the ravages of tropical cyclones. Even though modern for~casting techniques were costly to adapt, much could be achieved through regional co-operation among countries, an initial step towards which had been taken by the ASEAN members. The fine tradition of co-operation established by WMO among Member countries was manifest in the free exchange of data, the sharing of experiences, and the transfer of knowledge and technology. He wished the session every success in its deliberations. 1. 4 In his address, Professor G. O. P. Obasi, Secretary-General of WMO, thanked the Government of Singapore and Mr Lo Su Siew for having invited WMO to hold the session in the beautiful and modern metropolis of Singapore and for having provided such excellent facilities. He expressed his appreciation for the leadership and co-operation provided by Mr J. S. Hickman, the past president, and Mrs H. P. A. Jaafar, the acting president of the Association, during the intersessional period. The prime interest of WMO was to assist Members in their endeavours to achieve well-balanced socio-economic development through the application of meteorology and operational hydrology. He commended the regional collaborative efforts already initiated in the Region, in particular those which had culminated in the approval by ASEAN of the establishment of an ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre to be located in Singapore. The Secretary-General referred to the current issue of global climate change and variability which was a matter of serious concern to governments. He mentioned the initiatives taken by WMO together with UNEP in the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the decision taken by the last session of the Executive Council to strengthen the required monitoring activities through ,the Global Atmosphere Watch. Prof. Obasi concluded by wishing the participants a most fruitful meeting and a pleasant stay in Singapore. 1.5 Mrs H. P. A. Jaafar, acting pres~dent, expressed her thanks to the Government of Singapore for hosting the session. She appealed to Members to discuss and make proposals for WMO's policies, strategies, overall objectives 2 GENERAL SUMMARY and new thrusts and priorities fo-r the Third Long-term Plan. She also emphasized the need for Meteorological Services to be more involved in national and international initiatives related to climate change and the environment. 1.6 There were 42 participants at the session, including delegates from 14 Members of RA V, six observers from non-Members of WMO and Members of WMO outside the Region, and six observers from international organizations. A complete list of participants is given in Annex I to this report. 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION (agenda item 2) 2.1 Consideration of the report on credentials (agenda item 2.1) As provided for in the WMO General Regulations, the credentials were examined by the