Toward Risk-Aware and Climate-resilienT communities (TRACT) - Strengthening climate services and impact-based multi-hazard early warning in Maldives

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), under the GCF-funded TRACT Project, initiated the Data Rescue (DARE) activity to strengthen national climate services. A two-day technical training workshop, led by Professor Enric Aguilar and Mr. Freddy Zinse of Universitat Rovira i Virgili, focused on data digitization, quality control, and AI-assisted data rescue techniques, including scanning, text recognition, data labelling and automated quality checks.

The 2nd coordination meeting with the technical partners of the Maldives TRACT project was held to share updates on the progress of project implementation by the Project Management Unit (PMU) and to strengthen coordination among the partners. Discussions also focused on preparations for the upcoming Steering Committee meeting, including key updates, inputs, and areas requiring coordination to ensure the project continues to move forward effectively.

The meeting was convened to strengthen technical coordination among the TRACT Project Management Unit (PMU), the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM), the Maldivian Meteorological Service (MMS). The discussion focused on practical arrangements for strengthening early warning dissemination, particularly through a national Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) aggregation solution, radar-related technical support, and capacity for risk-informed decision-making. Participants emphasized the need for clear institutional ownership, technical assessment of proposed technologies and vendors, appropriate procurement arrangements, and sustained maintenance and operational capacity. The discussions were also considered in relation to the planned TRACT activities and the Maldives’ need for reliable, multi-channel warning communication that can reach communities during both normal and network-disruption scenarios.

The introductory technical coordination meeting brought together the TRACT Project Management Unit (PMU) and the Maldivian Meteorological Service (MMS) to establish a shared understanding of the project’s planned support to strengthen climate services, meteorological systems, data management, and the country’s Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS). The discussion moved beyond project mobilization to practical technical and institutional priorities identified by MMS, including the sustainability of existing alerting systems, improvements to the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) platform, rescue and digitization of historical meteorological records, establishment of an MMS training institute, modernization of observing infrastructure, and development of human and institutional capacity. Particular attention was given to selecting solutions that are sustainable and locally maintainable, avoid unnecessary recurring licensing costs, strengthen MMS ownership and technical capacity, and deliver tangible improvements within the TRACT implementation period. The meeting also discussed the need to align training and institutional arrangements with national vocational and educational requirements, while ensuring that risk information and warnings can reach diverse users, including persons with disabilities and special needs.

The introductory coordination meeting was convened to formally initiate implementation of the TRACT Project and strengthen coordination among the Project Management Unit (PMU), national partner agency, Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC). At the meeting, reviewed project mobilization, PMU arrangements, planned activities, coordination mechanisms, sustainability, and financial management. The discussion emphasized the importance of linking all four pillars of the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) and ensuring that implementation reflects the Maldives’ geographical and climate context and how the implementation shall be carried out as per the planned activities with the national partnering agency MRC.