Programme History
The concept of ecohydrology that developed within the framework of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) was inspired by conclusions from the International Conference on Water and the Environment, held in Dublin in 1992. This conference highlighted the need for new concepts and solutions to achieve sustainability of water resources. In 1996, as a follow-up to this conference, the IHP launched an activity that focused on the integration of biological and hydrological processes at the catchment scale in order to develop the scientific basis for a new systemic and cost-effective approach to the integrated management of freshwater resources. The ecohydrology approach that developed as the result of this activity is based on the assumption that ecosystem properties and water dynamics can be managed so as to maximize their synergistic interactions and to optimize resilience of ecosystems to human induced stresses, while also reducing such stresses. Activities implemented under the fifth phase of the IHP (IHP-V: 1996-2001) focused on the formulation of the principles guiding the application of the ecohydrology concept and took into account the experiences of the project under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme on "Role of land/inland water ecotones in landscape management and restoration" [
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New momentum was gained during the sixth phase of the IHP (IHP-VI: 2002-2007), which gave birth to UNESCO’s Ecohydrology Programme. In 2005, a network of demonstration projects was launched, which address a wide range of environmental and social issues. In 2006, five Task Forces were launched:
- Costal Zones
- Assessing Impacts of Global Change on Aquatic Systems
- Social Sciences
- Education and capacity building, and
- Demonstration Projects (which incorporates the network of demonstration projects launched in 2005)
These Task Forces together contributed to the three pillars of the Ecohydrology Programme: research, education and implementation. These Task Forces worked to advance the concept of ecohydrology in each of the three areas. Their completed projects are described under Activities on the homepage. In 2007, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Ecohydrology developed a new mission statement and strategy for the Ecohydrology Programme.
In the seventh phase of the IHP (IHP-VII: 2008-2013), the Programme will build upon knowledge acquired in the previous two phases of the IHP, seeking to move ecohydrology forward as a transdisciplinary approach to the solving of issues surrounding water, environment and people. The new structure of the Programme is organized under three foci: education, demonstration and science. A Steering Committee of 10 members and five ex-officio members leads the Programme with working groups formed for each focal area. The working groups are formed for specific tasks with timelines for completion with the aim to maintain productivity while having the ability to quickly respond to emerging issues. Their current projects are described under Activities on the homepage.
