The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed an agreement to support the development of effective hydrological and meteorological data and information in Tajikistan.

The signing of the Funded Activity Agreement makes it possible to move the project towards implementation.

Tajikistan experiences recurring extreme weather events which result to floods and landslides, affecting the country’s poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants.

“By modernizing the State Agency for Hydrometeorology of Tajikistan (Hydromet), we expect the country’s hydromet services to provide better climate data for development planning,” says Jerry Velasquez, Director of GCF’s Mitigation and Adaptation Division. “Better data will empower communities to make informed decisions in managing climate risks through timely and robust information.”

The grant will help address Hydromet’s institutional weaknesses by improving the agency’s operations center and by updating its business model towards increased management and financial autonomy.

“The project will support Hydromet’s transformation into a sustainable, well-resourced and reliable national agency for meteorology and hydrology which will strengthen Tajikistan’s disaster and climate resilience initiatives,” says Nathan Rive, ADB Climate Change Specialist for Central and West Asia.

Around 8.7 million people are projected to benefit from this project with increased resilience.

GCF is supporting a number of projects in developing countries that strengthen their use of climate information systems. Technological improvements are rapidly improving the ability to use advanced climate measurements and predictions to ameliorate the damage of climate impacts on life, national economies, and the stability of societies and ecosystems.