Awareness and Communication Strategy 4.2.2 Hydro-meteorological Predictions and Scenarios Communicate that SADC needs to develop, adopt and implement proactive strategies that anticipate, reliably predict and give advance warnings of such disasters. To who: Policy makers, departments of Water Affairs, Shared Watercourse Institutions (SWCIs) and farmer associations How: Workshops, personalities brochures, newsletter articles, mass media, workshops, websites, and telephone including facsimile services and cell phone related communication (voice, sms, mms etc.). Disaster preparedness goes beyond national, regional and continental boundaries. It also requires investment in human resources and physical infrastructure. It is recognised that some structures are in place to enable prediction and planning for water-related disasters. These include the SADC regional early warning unit, Drought Monitoring Centre (DMC) and Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS). The structures are however operating in an environment of complex challenges which include limited accurate long term predictions of some devastating weather related events. The inadequate human resources and poor communication infrastructure in some Member States are also considered challenges in communicating climate change and adaptation measures. It is very essential that proper and effective communication channels between these institutions and the target audience is established to minimise the impact. At national level a closer collaboration between the Meteorological Departments and Hydrological Departments is strongly recommended to get a full picture of an impending weather related threat. 4.2.3 Impacts Specific to the SADC region and/or Watercourses Communicate that climate change and variability have negative and positive impacts on water availability and demand in southern Africa. To who: Policy makers, national water institutions, Shared Watercourse Institutions (SWCIs), business communities, agricultural extension workers, the media, NGOs, co-operating partners, and the general public. How: Workshops and conferences, dialogues such as the SADC Multistakeholder Dialogue, mass media, personalities, publications and Internet, education. The information is already available for the region but not in forms usable to all deserving stakeholders. The region needs to know negative and positive impacts, on water resources availability and demand, specific to the region and individual watercourses therein. All available resources and technologies for mitigation adverse impacts and accentuating beneficial ones should be widely documented, communicated and shared. Most importantly, the role of the Water Sector in climate change adaptation and mitigation should be emphasised. Page 22