Access to myDEWETRA.world for Burundi 

As part of the long-term project “Strengthening disaster risk management at community level in Burundi”, a dedicated access to the platform was created for Burundi in December 2020 

The work leading to Burundi’s access to the myDEWETRA.world platform has been carried out as part of the “Strengthening disaster risk management at community level in Burundi” project, led by the United Nations Development Programme since 2015, ended in December 2020. 

Between October and December 2020, CIMA Research Foundation, in collaboration with the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD, the World Meteorological Organization’s center of expertise on weather and climate in Africa) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, carried out an activity funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and dedicated to supporting risk management in the country.  

“In particular, our work focused on enhancing weather-related risks prediction and monitoring at the Hydrometeorological Department of the National Institute of Geography (IGEBU)”, explains Alessandro Masoero, project manager at CIMA Research Foundation and researcher in the Hydrology and Hydraulics Department. 

“We created a dedicated access for Burundi to myDEWETRA.world so that the country could take advantage of the platform’s data collection services and employ them in its risk management operational chain”, the researcher continues. “In addition, the platform offered the possibility to issue warning bulletins, a key tool of Early Warning Systems, which can be shared with civil protection institutions and the population”. 

In addition to the creation of the dedicated national access, these months of work have also focused on training and capacity development activities for the use of myDEWETRA.world. Although the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to organize these activities in-person, it was still possible to conduct them with moodle remotely. 

“Although relatively short, this project has been a wonderful opportunity for exchange and comparison with IGEBU and ACMAD.”, concludes Masoero.