WRA Head Appointed WMO’s Region Four Panel Chair

Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority (WRA), Peter Clarke, has been appointed to Chair the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Association IV Hydrological and Water Coordination Panel.

The appointment, which took effect in March 2025 and will last for three years, recognises his expertise, dedication, and long-standing contributions to hydrology and climate science.

Mr. Clarke told JIS News that his work at the WRA has prepared him for this new role as chair for the region, which consists of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

“It’s all about managing the resources to maintain the sustainability of water resources in Jamaica. That has put me in good stead because the group that I will now head is the Hydrological and Water Coordination Panel (HCP) within the framework of the World Meteorological Organization. To manage it, what the WMO has done is divide the world into regions. Jamaica is in region four and it’s a big region and is also one in which there is a lot of major water resource issues and water resource capabilities present,” he said.

Mr. Clarke will play a vital role in fostering international cooperation, advancing meteorological and hydrological services, and supporting sustainable development initiatives across the Americas and the Caribbean.

“What it means is that we have to be a part of the coordinating in determining what are actually the regional hydrological priorities. This would mean coordinating all needs and activities around issues with weather, climate and water management,” he pointed out.

He said members intended to work through the panel “to coordinate how we give information so that when somebody gives information in Jamaica and we use certain terms, it is understood right across the region. So that is a matter of strength in the service delivery and also strengthening capacity-building,” Mr. Clarke said.