Presentations by representatives of four large international data bases (GPCC, GRDC, FRIEND and GEMS-Water) helped the meeting understand different aspects of the performance of data bases and the problems related to them.
It was stressed that the hydrological services in many developing countries are in decline. The meeting agreed on the need to up-grade and/or rehabilitate existing stations in developing countries which are of primary importance for global observing systems. Some of these stations may be of little importance for national needs of a developing country but yet they play an important role in the global context.
