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Society - Economic benefits of meteorology and hydrology

Value of the meteorological services

There are certainly many more examples of the ways that Met. Services contribute to the socio-economic develWeather and Society in the Caribbeanopment of our countries and more products can be developed. However, they do require investment in monitoring networks, maintenance, training, product development and product delivery. The economic benefits that customers derive from these products should be quantified and presented to decision makers so that they can appreciate their contribution to the economy. In some countries this has resulted in the privatization of the Service (New Zealand) while in others it has led to the creation of a commercial section (United Kingdom). While these approaches are neither advocated nor discouraged here, by quantifying the economic benefits on a product-by-product basis, Met. Services will be able to justify their existence beyond providing warnings of severe weather. They also contribute substantially to the economic development of their countries and more investment in their infrastructure will increase the productivity of many sectors of the economy. By showing the value of these products, customers will appreciate them more and they and the government might be induced to contribute to ensuring the service continues and is enhanced.

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