The International Hydrological Programme is wishing you and yours the very best for 2010.
Summary
News
- World Water Day 2010 website launched
- UNESCO-IHE and Women for Water Partnership form alliance
- IWA/UNESCO-IHE Water Supply and Sanitation Fellowships launched
- The 17th Regional Steering Committee Meeting for the UNESCO IHP for Southeast Asia and the Pacific organized in Wuhan, China
Events
UNESCO Water Family (*)
- International Symposium: Harmonising Environmental Considerations with Sustainable Development Potential of River Basins
- 6th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics (ISEH)
Featured International Events
- International Conference on Coastal Conservation and Management in the Atlantic and Mediterranean (ICCCM2010)
- First European IAHR Congress / Third International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures (IJREWHS ’10)
- Third International Conference on Debris Flow
Publications
- Managing Extreme Flood Events - Analysing, forecasting, warning, protecting and informing – case studies from the RIMAX projects Compiled and edited by Georg Petersen © German IHP/HWRP Secretariat, Koblenz, 2009
Did you know?
Facts and figures about the Han River Basin (Republic of Korea)
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News
World Water Day 2010 website launched
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UN-Water is dedicating World Water Day 2010 to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management. World Water Day 2010 activities will aim to communicate messages on water quality, ecosystems and human well-being.
About World Water Day
The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 December 1992 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21. States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to the conservation and development of water resources and the implementation of the recommendations of Agenda 21.
World Water Day website
UNESCO’s World Water Day website
UNESCO-IHE and the Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) have agreed to jointly enhance women's participation in achieving sustainable livelihoods
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With the launch of this strategic partnership, UNESCO-IHE and the WfWP will work on UNESCO-IHE’s Waters & Society Programme, on the World Water Development Report of the United Nations and on the follow-up of the outcomes of World Water Forum 5.
Co-convenors
WfWP and UNESCO-IHE were co-convenors of Topic 6.1 'Education and Capacity Development Strategies' at the World Water Forum, at which their creative approach in highlighting the issues drew many accolades. The strategic partnership is intended to broaden the joint efforts towards inclusion of gender issues and women's empowerment in the water and sanitation sectors.
Scholarship
Besides this, UNESCO-IHE will facilitate the WfWP's participation in technical and high-level events; a future scholarship and internship programme. This also will be aimed at enhancing women's participation and practice on the ground components in UNESCO-IHE's education programs and with its academic partners. The new partners will disseminate each others material at events and will fundraise together.
Women for Water Partnership
The Women for Water Partnership is an international network of women's organisations with presence in approximately 100 countries of the world. They contribute to women's empowerment and combating poverty taking water and sanitation as a point of entry.
UNESCO-IHE website
Women for Water Partnership website
IWA/UNESCO-IHE Water Supply and Sanitation Fellowships launched
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At the first IWA Development Congress that was held in Mexico City from 15 till 19 November 2009, IWA President Dr David Garman and Professor Damir Brdjanovic of UNESCO-IHE signed an agreement on IWA/UNESCO-IHE Water Supply and Sanitation Fellowships.
Brdjanovic presents IWA/UNESCO-IHE Water Supply and Sanitation Fellowships.
The fellowships agreement is an important milestone in the cooperation between IWA and UNESCO-IHE. Dr Garman invited potential donors to contribute to the fund and set up a target of 50 fellowships for the next two years.
Fellowships will be divided between the three water supply and sanitation related specialisations at UNESCO-IHE, namely Sanitary Engineering, Water Supply Engineering and Water Services Management.
More information about the fellowships will soon be made available on the website of IWA.
The 17th Regional Steering Committee Meeting for the UNESCO IHP for Southeast Asia and the Pacific organized in Wuhan, China
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The 17th Regional Steering Committee (RSC) Meeting for the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO-IHP SEAP) was organized in Wuhan, China on November 5-6, 2009. Over 40 participants from Australia, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Japan, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, UNESCO Office Jakarta and UNESCO Office Beijing attended the meeting.
The main contents of the meeting includes: reports of global IHP activities by UNESCO Offices Jakarta and Beijing, country reports on IHP activities by National Committees for the UNESCO IHP, Development of Centres under the auspices of UNESCO, reports from UNESCO water-related Category II Centres, activity plans and ongoing project examinations. The member states of the meeting nominated and unanimous approved China to be the RSC Chairperson for the next session, and Mr. LIU Heng, the Vice Chairman of the China National Committee for the UNESCO IHP, was elected to be the RSC Chairperson for 2009-2011 by the China National Committee.
The participants visited Wuhan Guan Hydrological Station on the Yangtze River and the Hydrological Forecast Center of the Yangtze River Commission after the meeting.
On behalf of the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), the first UNESCO water related Category II Center, and Technical Secretariat of UNESCO-IHP-International Sediment Initiative (ISI), Dr. LIU Cheng made a report of "IRTCES and ISI Technical Secretariat".
IRTCES/ISI website
Events
UNESCO Water Family (*)
International Symposium: Harmonising Environmental Considerations with Sustainable Development Potential of River Basins
24-25 March 2010: Langat Basin, Malaysia
6th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics (ISEH)
23-25 June 2010: Athens, Greece
Featured International Events
International Conference on Coastal Conservation and Management in the Atlantic and Mediterranean (ICCCM2010)
11-17 April 2010: Estoril, Portugal
First European IAHR Congress / Third International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures (IJREWHS '10)
4-6 May 2010: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Third International Conference on Debris Flow
24-26 May 2010: Milan, Italy
Access a complete list of water events around the world
Publications
Managing Extreme Flood Events
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Analysing, forecasting, warning, protecting and informing – case studies from the RIMAX projects
Compiled and edited by Georg Petersen
© German IHP/HWRP Secretariat, Koblenz, 2009
Extreme floods have always been an integral part of our environment. They feature amongst the most destructive natural hazards in many countries around the world. Damage resulting from the natural destructive power of floods is aggravated by increasing vulnerability of growing populations in river flood-plains. This is paired with a perception that floods nowadays impact the societies more frequently than in the past.
The publication summarizes the research status of the Risk Management of Extreme Flood Events (RIMAX) programme. The RIMAX programme is a German contribution to the UNESCO-IHP International Flood Initiative (IFI). Although the geographical research focus of the RIMAX programme is on Central Europe, the tools, procedures and strategies are universally applicable and provide assistance to operational hydrological services globally.
This joint publication of UNESCO-IHP and the German IHP/HWRP National Committee is issued as Volume 9 in the IHP/HWRP-Berichte publication series of the German IHP/HWRP National Committee.
Download the publication [in PDF - 7.49 MB].
To order print copies, please contact the IHP Secretariat at ihp@unesco.org.
Did you know...? Facts and figures about the Han River Basin (Republic of Korea)
- The capital, Seoul, one of the world's largest cities, is located in the Han River basin. The population of the basin, now 41% of the national total, almost tripled between 1966 and 2005, from about 7 million to almost 20 million. Nevertheless, urban areas account for just 1% of the basin. Forests make up 78%, cultivated areas 16%, and grasslands and water bodies 5%. The Han River basin is considered the heart of South Korea.
- Annual renewable water resources in the Han River basin are estimated at 16 billion m3. As of 2003, 8.5 billion m3 of this amount was actually in use.
- Owing to the high rate of urbanization, the household sector – which accounts for 2.8 billion m3 (33% of overall consumption) – is the number one source of consumption, followed by agriculture (1.6 billion m3 or 19%) and industry (0.8 billion m3 or 9%). The remaining 3.3 billion m3 is allocated for environmental purposes.
- Agricultural water use in the Han River basin accounts for about 10% of water use for agriculture in the Republic of Korea. Rice fields alone consume 70% of the total.
- There are 724 reservoirs, primarily serving the agricultural water requirements in the basin. Of these, 127 meet the international standards for large dams.
The section "Did You Know…?" is taken from the 3rd World Water Development Report "Water in a Changing World".
UNESCO's Water Family consists of the following:
- International Hydrological Programme
- World Water Assessment Programme
- UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
- Water-related Institutes and Centres under the Auspices of UNESCO
- UNESCO Water-related Chairs
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