Guyana only Caribbean nation with fully integrated hydromet service – Agri Minister

Outlining Guyana’s current efforts towards building resilience and attaining sustainable development, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha said that Guyana is the only English-speaking Caribbean country with a fully integrated hydrometeorological service.

He was at the time addressing the 61st Session of the Caribbean Meteorological Council late last week.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, MP

Minister Mustapha said this service serves a crucial role in achieving goals involving the integration of water, weather, and climate services and solutions.

“With a fully integrated hydrometeorological service, where meteorologists and hydrologists work hand in hand, we therefore strongly support the work of the WMO (World Meteorological Organisation) to strengthen its role in the water resources management story through its hydrology, biological assembly and other evolving mechanisms.”

He said Guyana, known as the “land of many waters,” can easily manage its water resources in the context of WMO’s global framework for climate services, the sustainable development goals and its own Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which, among other things, encompass Guyana’s water agenda.

“This is significant because it demonstrates that Guyana is also committed to ensuring that the name ‘land of many waters’ is synonymous with land of quality water,” he noted.

He said further, that Guyana, through the hydrometeorological service, along with other government and non-governmental agencies, is committed to accomplishing the integration of weather, climate, and water agendas through national adaptation and resilience policies. 

“In the specific case of the hydrometeorological service, and in its role of national regulator, a strategic plan was recently developed with support under the Climate Resilience and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Project and the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation. This strategic plan has allowed Guyana to align the national priorities on weather, water and climate with the ambitions of the international community, as led regionally by the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation and internationally by the World Meteorological Organisation,” the minister added.

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