• National commitments to UN Conventions
• Foundation for sustainability and development
• Systematic meteorological  observations
• Significance of weather and climate for agriculture
• Cooperation Project in Central America
• Cooperation Project in Sudan
• Cooperation Project with the SADC countries
• New initiatives

1. to reduce uncertainties related to the climate system, the adverse impacts of climate change and the economic and social consequences of various response strategies, and
2. to promote the development and strengthening of endogenous capacities and capabilities to participate in international and intergovernmental efforts, programs and networks on research and systematic observation, taking into account Article 5 of the Convention”.

Within the environmental program in Nicaragua 1998-2001 one sub-program is supporting the national implementation of the FCC and Montreal Protocol. The support is focusing on the national FCC activities for implementation and reporting, clean development mechanisms, strengthening of climatological and hydrological research and systematic observation. The counterpart institutions are the Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARENA) and Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER) in Nicaragua and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and Finnish Environment Institute (FEI) in Finland.

Finland and the FMI, with the collaboration of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will address the environmental need to improve data acquisition regarding atmospheric ozone and the corresponding UV-radiation monitoring in Latin America 1997 - 1999. The National Meteorological and Hydrological Institutes (NMHIs) of 17 countries

• Argentina,
• Bolivia,
• Brazil,
• Chile,
• Colombia,
• Costa Rica,
• Ecuador,
• El Salvador,
• Guatemala,
• Honduras,
• Mexico,
• Nicaragua,
• Panama,
• Paraguay,
• Peru,
• Uruguay and
• Venezuela

Thematic evaluation on environment and development in the Finnish Development Cooperation was initiated in 1998 by the Dept. for International Development Cooperation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It includes Finnish cooperation on world meteorological development cooperation from 1970s to 1997 with special emphasis on regional programs in SADC and CAI regions. The results were published in 1999.

The general objectives of the Finnish development cooperation are formulated in the governmental strategy for development cooperation. Finland supports development efforts which aim at reducing widespread poverty in developing countries, combatting global threats to the environment by helping the developing countries to solve their environmental problems, and promoting social equality, democracy and human rights in the developing countries.