Bhutan - Institutional Strengthening and Modernization of Hydromet and Multi-hazard Early Warning Services in Bhutan

Royal Government of Bhutan Prepared in collaboration between the National Centrefor Hydrology and Meteorology and the World Bank Thiswork is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, andconclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors,or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. Theboundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment onthe part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of TheWorld Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. Rights and Permissions Thiswork is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt thiswork, including for commercial purposes, under the following conditions: Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: World Bank. 2024.Institutional Strengthening and Modernization of Hydrometand Multi-hazard Early Warning Services in Bhutan: A Road Map for 2024–2034.Washington, DC: World Bank. License: CreativeCommons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO. Translations—If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: Thistranslation was not created by The World Bank and should not be considered an official World Bank translation. The WorldBank shall not be liable for any content or error in this translation. Adaptations—If you create an adaptation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution:This is an adaptation of an original work by The World Bank. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the soleresponsibility of the author or authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by The World Bank. Third-party content—The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work.The World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of any third-party-owned individual component or part containedin the work will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement restssolely with you. If you wish to reuse a component of the work, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission isneeded for that reuse and to obtain permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are notlimited to, tables, figures, or images. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW,Washington, DC 20433, USA; email: pubrights@worldbank.org. Cover photo: Adam Singer. Back cover: Mtcurado.Design: Ultradesigns, Inc.Editors: Selvaraj Ranganathan and Susi Victor. Institutional Strengthening and Modernization ofHydromet and Multi-hazard Early Warning Servicesin Bhutan A Road Map for 2024–2034 Royal Government of Bhutan Prepared in collaboration between the National Centrefor Hydrology and Meteorology and the World Bank Acknowledgments Thisroadmap has been prepared jointly by theNational Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology(NCHM)and the World Bank as part of theimplementationof the World Bank-supportedproject‘Strengthening Risk Information forDisasterResilience in Bhutan’.It presents apotentialpathway to strengthen the country’snationalhydrometeorological(hydromet)andmulti-hazard early warning systems and services,based on the needs of the user community. Theroadmap is based on a technical evaluation andassessment of the needs and capacities of theNCHM which, as the main service provider inBhutan, issues meteorological and hydrologicalinformation, forecasts, and warnings. all the stakeholders listed above. The roadmap isthe result of a collaboration between the RoyalGovernmentof Bhutan and the World BankGroup. Theroadmap has been prepared under theleadership of Mr. Karma Dupchu, Director of theNCHM. Special thanks to Mr. Chimi Namgyal forproactively coordinating the information sharingfrom the NCHM for preparation of the roadmapand all the staff who critically contributed to thiswork. TheWorld Bank team includes Naho Shibuya(Task Team Leader), Arati Belle (Senior DisasterRisk Management Specialist), Dechen Tshering(Disaster Risk Management Specialist Consultant),HalehKootval(Senior Meteorology and PublicWeatherServices Specialist),Gerald Fleming(Senior Meteorology Specialist), Wolfgang Grabs(SeniorHydrology and Cryosphere Specialist),Anish Kumar (Senior Hydrology Specialist), andMadhavi Ariyabandu (Senior Gender Specialist).The team expresses sincere gratitude to AbhasK.Jha(Practice Manager,South A