On Monday, March 23, 2020, Burundi joined the world in celebrating World Meteorological Day 2020 edition, which is celebrated on March 23 every year. This year, this day is celebrated under the theme: “Climate and Water”.

On the occasion of this World Meteorological Day, the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock via the Geographic Institute of Burundi (IGEBU) organized in Gitega, an information and exchange workshop on the effects of climate change, the importance of monitoring and evaluating water resources.

The Director General of IGEBU Augustin Ngenzirabona, who opened the activities of this workshop, recalled that water occupies a place of choice in almost all human needs.
He said that the world is however facing increasing challenges posed by water stress, floods, droughts and the lack of clean water. He added that there is an urgent need to improve the forecasting, monitoring and management of water supplies and to address the problems associated with water scarcity or pollution.

Augustin Ngenzirabona explained that climate change is currently a threat to development in various countries around the world, including Burundi. In Burundi, climate change is one of the major challenges to the development of certain sectors, the most vulnerable of which are among others the drinking water supply and sanitation sector, agriculture and food security, energy, health, health, transport, transport, and the preservation of natural ecosystems, he continued.

Augustin Ngenzirabona pointed out that in addition to these effects are the risks of natural disasters. He noted a few cases of natural disasters that have hit the country. He cited the case of Gatunguru, Nyaruhongoka, the Kirundo drought and more recently the floods, landslides and torrential rains that have caused a lot of material and human damage throughout the country and in particular in the provinces of Bujumbura and Cibitoke. He pointed out that protecting the environment and strengthening the monitoring and early warning system are inseparable in order to deal with these disaster risks.

The Director General of IGEBU said that in order to deal with these disaster risks, the Government of Burundi has initiated a national policy to protect the environment and restore landscapes through the national reforestation program called “Ewe Burundi Urambaye” .This program provides for the planting of trees in all the country's watersheds, he added.

He emphasized that in addition to these environmental protection activities, the Government, through IGEBU, plans to strengthen the climate and hydrological monitoring system by developing the national network for the observation of hydrometeorological phenomena and the climate forecasting service.

The Director General of IGEBU thanks the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for supporting the IGEBU in the supply and maintenance of equipment for hydrological and climatological stations. The WMO is also providing IGEBU with meteorological instruments to improve the climate monitoring and early warning system, he added. He noted that WMO also provides scholarships and various courses abroad in the field of meteorology and hydrology.

The participants in this workshop followed various presentations including the functioning of the WMO, hydrometeorological activities in Burundi, the state of play of climate change in Burundi, the impacts of climate change observed in Burundi and the importance of hydrological information in Burundi, etc.