As a follow-up of the decisions of the WMO^[1] - 16^th Congress (2011), the Workshop will address the WMO Strategic Plan (2012-2015) Priority Area on WIS / WIGOS implementation and the related capacity building of NMHSs. WIS/WIGOS implementation has also been established as one of the major priorities for the WMO Regional Association VI (Europe). The goal of the Workshop is to facilitate the establishment of a WIS-DCPC / WIGOS Marine Meteorology Centre as a sub-regional facility for Adriatic Sea area. The Centre would be regarded as a pilot project for sub-regional cooperation in the provision of marine services over relatively small sea basin. Thus, it would provide useful knowledge and know-how for other similar regions, e.g., the Black Sea.

The expected outcome of the Workshop is an action plan / road map for the establishment and putting into operation of the WIS-DCPC / WIGOS Marine Meteorology Centre. To achieve this, it is necessary to identify mutual engagement and complementary roles of all interested partners related to the marine meteorology in small sea basins, and in particular Adriatic Sea area through a “win-win” approach.

The Workshop is intended to high level participants from NMHSs (mostly PRs) from the following 9 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Romania and Slovenia, as well as representatives of Marine Institutes from Italy, Slovenia and Greece. The Workshop will be actively supported by representatives of interested Croatian institutions: “Andrija Mohorovicic” Geophysical Institute (Zagreb), Hydrographic Institute (Split), Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (Split), “Rudjer Boskovic” Institute (Zagreb and Rovinj), Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Defence. These Croatian institutions have already expressed their commitment to be actively involved in the WMO-driven capacity development process of the WIS-DCPC /WIGOS entity with its respective role regarding marine observation network and analysis/forecasting products for the area.

Organizers of the Workshop are: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia (DHMZ).

The Workshop will be held in Zagreb at Kras Congress Centre (Ravnice 48) in Croatia from 17 to 18 May 2012. The opening will take place at 10.00 o’clock on the 17^th May and it is expected to close the event by 16.00 o’clock on the 18^th May. More details is in Annex I.

A block of the rooms have been reserved for the potential participants of the Workshop in Zagreb Palace Hotel. For accommodation participates have to fill accommodation form (Annex II). Deadline for accommodation in Zagreb Palace Hotel is 10 May 2012.

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia, its political, administrative, business and cultural centre. It has approximately 800,000 inhabitants (more then 1 million in the metropolitan area). It is located on the bank of the Sava River and protected by the mountain of Medvednica from the north.

http://www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr/

The national currency in Croatia is Kuna (KN).

Kreso Pandzic
Meteorological and Hydrological Service
Gric 3, HR – 10000 Zagreb
Mob: +385 91 45 64 684
Fax: +385 148 51 901
e-mail: pandzic(at)cirus.dhz.hr

^[1]
WMO – World Meteorological Organization
WIS – WMO Information System
DCPC – Data Collection or Production Centres
WIGOS – WMO Integrated Global Observing System
NMHSs - National Meteorological and Hydrological Services