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1.1 German contributions to capacity building
In Germany the overall responsibility for technical cooperation is with the Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the responsibility for scientific and technological
cooperation with developing countries is with the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF).
Germany’s contributions to the World Meteorological Organisations (WMO’s) Voluntary Cooperation
Programme come from several governmental organizations, but only few support
climate related activities. The German Agency for Technical Co-operation (GTZ) works
worldwide in the field of development cooperation. It inter alia supports the Focal point of
Mali with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and provides
for training and capacity building to digitize and distribute Malis climate data. DWD
supported a satellite training workshop in Croatia and for training activities in the WMO Climate
Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS) workshop in Tunisia. The Global Atmosphere
Watch (GAW) Training & Education Centre (GAWTEC) since 2001 provides scientific
guidance and instructions to GAW station personnel from worldwide global and regional stations.
GAWTEC, operated through funds from the UBA and the Bavarian State Ministry for
Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, is based at the Environmental Research Station
"Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus" (UFS), which accommodates the highalpine
platform of the GAW Global Station "Zugspitze/ Hohenpeissenberg". GAWTEC is part
of Quality Assurance / Science Assessment Centre (QA/SAC) Germany and responsible for
training and education of station personnel from global and regional GAW stations by teaching
measurement techniques and data analysis. Teaching (introductory courses and advanced
training) is done by experts from UBA, the Swiss materials science and technology
research institution EMPA and DWD. Special topics are covered by experts from universities
and other research facilities. The 15 th GAWTEC course will be held in November 2008.
DWD has no own budget for technical cooperation and only limited financial resources to
support the GCOS cooperation mechanism. This governmental support will be continued and
hopefully can be extended.
1.2 Atmospheric observations
Systematic and long term observation of meteorological variables in Germany is the responsibility
of Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), the national meteorological service of Germany.
Some observations of atmospheric composition and aerosol properties are also the responsibility
of DWD, but most of the atmospheric composition and aerosol properties’ observations
are the responsibility of the UBA and the Laender. In addition the Alfred Wegener Institute
for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (AWI) is contributing observations in the
Antarctic.
1.2.1 The Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC)
The Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) provides global precipitation analyses
for monitoring and research of the earth's climate. The GPCC provides free access to its
monthly gridded precipitation data sets for climate monitoring purposes and related research.
The centre is operated by DWD and is a German contribution to the World Climate Research
Programme (WCRP) and to the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS).
1.2.2 The CBS Lead Centre for GCOS Data - Europe
The CBS Lead Centre for GCOS Data for WMO Regional Association Europe (WMO RA VI)
is also operated by Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) Commission has designated a regional network of nine CBS Lead Centres for
