Introduction to AMMA
African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA) is an international project to improve our knowledge and understanding of the West African monsoon (WAM) and its variability with an emphasis on daily-to-interannual timescales. AMMA is motivated by an interest in fundamental scientific issues and by the societal need for improved prediction of the WAM and its impacts on West African nations.

Vulnerability of West African societies to climate variability is likely to increase in the next decades as demands on resources increase in association with one of the World's most rapidly growing populations. Vulnerability may be further increased in association with the effects of climate change and other factors linked to the fast growing population such as land degradation and water pollution.

Recognizing the societal need to develop strategies that reduce the socioeconomic impacts of the variability of the WAM, AMMA will facilitate the multidisciplinary research required to provide improved predictions of the WAM and its impacts.

Objectives of AMMA

• To improve our understanding of the WAM and its influence on the
  physical, chemical and biological environment regionally and globally.
• To provide the underpinning science that relates variability of the WAM
  to issues of health, water resources, food security and demography for West African nations
  and defining and implementing relevant monitoring and prediction strategies.
• To ensure that the multidisciplinary research carried out in AMMA is
  effectively integrated with prediction and decision making activity.
  

AMMA will promote international coordination of ongoing activities, basic research and a multi-year field campaign over West Africa and the tropical Atlantic.

AMMA will develop close partnerships between those involved in basic research of the WAM, operational forecasting and decision making, and it will establish blended training and education activities for African technical institutions and schools.

AMMA Support
Based on a French initiative, AMMA was built by an international scientific group and is currently funded by a large number of agencies, especially from France, UK, US and Africa. It has been the beneficiary of a major financial contribution from the European Community's Sixth Framework Research Programme. Detailed information on scientific coordination and funding is available on the AMMA International web site http://www.amma-international.org.