Summary

News

   - Ecohydrology Demonstration Projects: Date for submissions extended to the 10th May 2010
   - China inaugurates National Water Museum
   - Design Competition 'Delta city of the Future: Changing Perspectives'
   - The Netherlands offers analytical groundwater modelling tool to UNESCO community
   - What did World Water Day mean to you?

Events

UNESCO Water Family (*)
   - Water Conflict Management Graduate Certificate - Online Course
   - Water Governance and Conflict Management 2010
   - International Training Course on Qanats

Featured International Events
   - Middle East Desalination Summit
   - Fifth Biennial Caribbean Environmental Forum & Exhibition (CEF-5)
   - 13th International Riversymposium

Publications

   - The International Classification for Seasonal Snow on the Ground

Did you know?

Facts and figures about the Lake Merin Basin

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News

Ecohydrology Demonstration Projects: Date for submissions extended to the 10th May 2010

UNESCO-IHP calls to setup a network of EHP (Ecohydrology Programme) Demonstration Projects, which can showcase how to identify, quantify and improve the critical interrelationships between water, biota and social systems for sustainable water management using the UNESCO-IHP Ecohydrology concept.

The Ecohydrology concept can operate in Demonstration Projects on four levels:

• Information (monitoring, collecting of empirical data, defining interactions and hydrology-biota-society feedbacks)
• Knowledge (defining patterns, describing and explaining processes)
• Wisdom (ability to formulate policy, principles for action, problem solving by system solutions, stakeholders involvement, education, implementation)
• Cooperation for solving problems (willingness of different stakeholders to effectively contribute actively to the implementation of the EH approach in the demonstration site – this will ensure cooperation among all sectors and the achievement of the demonstration site goals)

There are three key objectives of this network:

• Synthesize knowledge gaps for addressing ecohydrological issues related to water ecosystems under pressure;
• Showcase how better knowledge of the biological and hydrological interrelationships in aquatic ecosystems can promote the long term sustainable carrying capacity of ecosystems and thus contribute to more cost-effective and environmental-friendly water management;
• Demonstrate systems solutions and technology transfer opportunities through North-South and South-South linkages.

A template in Word format is available online to propose an EHP demonstration project which will be evaluated by an international evaluation team. All proposals should be sent to Mrs Georgette Gobina through email by 10 May 2010.

China inaugurates National Water Museum

To celebrate the 18th World Water Day, the National Water Museum was inaugurated in Hangzhou, China on 22 March 2010. The inauguration also launched the 23rd national water campaign week aimed to improve public awareness on the saving and protection of water resources. As a 36,500 square meter steel and grass complex, the museum is erected close to the end of the world's longest and oldest man-made canals. Its location was selected as a way to publicize the long history of China for water conservation, along with its marvelous water conservation projects glittering in the Chinese history.

The inauguration attracted high-level attention. Mr. Hui Liang Yu, the Vice Premier, and Mr. Li Chang Chun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the China Central Committee, sent their congratulatory letters. Both Mr. Hui and Mr. Li urge the Chinese people to learn from the Chinese cultural tradition of water saving, and continue to strive for the global goal of sustainable water resources management.

The Chinese Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Chen Lei attended the inauguration ceremony. By celebrating achievements that China has made, in terms of water resources management in the past years, Mr. Chen pointed out the challenges faced. Particularly, he emphasized the urgency of local authorities to promote more efficient water consumption. Otherwise, it would lead to low-level water efficiency, and water may turn into a restricting factor for economic growth, as is warned by Mr. Chen. While confirming the positive role of water-related laws, regulations and enhanced water allocation scheme across the country, Mr. Chen also called for the most stringent management of water resources with top priority given to reasonable exploitation of water resources, high-efficiency utilization, and better distribution.

Design Competition 'Delta city of the Future: Changing Perspectives'

The Rotterdam Climate Initiative, the Port of Rotterdam, UNESCO-IHE and various other partners invite all interested individuals to take part in the international design competition 'Delta city of the Future: Changing Perspectives'.

Prize

The competition aims to receive ideas whereby Delta cities can cope with current and future climate threats. Instead of prize money, the organisers will help the participants to actually develop their ideas further in an urban setting.

Pressure Cooker

The best 7 teams will participate (expenses covered) in a 24-hour 'climate pressure cooker event' in Rotterdam. A range of experts from different disciplines will assist the teams with their ideas and presentations. The event will be covered by various media organisations (including Dutch national television). After the session, a team of experts will scrutinize and judge the plans.

Winners

The winning idea will be presented at the international conference 'Deltas in Times of Climate Change' in Rotterdam on 29 September 2010.

Interested?

The competition is open to teams of professionals from any domain. Deadline for applications is 1 July 2010. More information about the competition can be found here.

The Netherlands offers analytical groundwater modelling tool to UNESCO community

The Netherlands National Committee IHP-HWRP is pleased to announce the availability of the special UNESCO IHP edition of MLU for Windows, an excellent analytical groundwater modelling tool to compute heads and drawdowns, analyse a variety of aquifer test data and design well fields in layered aquifer systems. Unlike traditional aquifer test software, MLU uses a unique single generalized solution technique for well flow. MLU for Windows - UNESCO Edition is fully functional with high capacities and offered free of charge to UNESCO's IHP community.

Read more

What did World Water Day mean to you?

Monday was World Water Day. What did it mean for you? The Dundee UNESCO Centre held a free online seminar, and the video and slideshare that is now available for viewing. Many different organizations gave presentations, some broadcasting on location in Dundee, some from their own; an eclectic mix and well worth viewing. Your comments of your experiences are appreciated.

See be2camp.com/page/world-water-day-context for presentations on the policy context; be2camp.com/page/world-water-day-the-river for presentations on the (UK) river basins themselves; and be2camp.com/page/world-water-day-quality-and for presentations on water quality and flooding.

Events

UNESCO Water Family (*)

Water Conflict Management Graduate Certificate - Online Course

Water Governance and Conflict Management 2010
14-18 June 2010: Corvallis, Oregon, USA

International Training Course on Qanats
12-17 June 2010: Yazd, Iran

Featured International Events

Middle East Desalination Summit
7-9 June 2010: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Fifth Biennial Caribbean Environmental Forum & Exhibition (CEF-5)
21-25 June 2010: Montego Bay, Jamaica

13th International Riversymposium
11-14 October 2010: Perth, Australia

Access a complete list of water events around the world

Publications

The International Classification for Seasonal Snow on the Ground

Prepared by the ICSI-UCCS-IACS Working Group on Snow Classification – IHP VII Technical Documents in Hydrology No. 83, IACS Contribution No. 1

Since 1990 our collective knowledge of snow and the techniques we use to observe its characteristics have evolved. Thus, in 2003, the current classification (Colbeck et al., 1990) needed an update, but the users of the 1990 classification felt that corrections and additions should be kept to a minimum. Following the spirit of the previous editions, the Working Group on Snow Classification took care to again provide a concise document usable by user groups of quite different specialties: snow scientists, practitioners, scientists from other fields, as well as interested lay persons. However, classification schemes typically become more technical as knowledge, measurement techniques, and observation methods evolve.

The classification deals primarily with seasonal snow, even though many concepts in the present snow classification can also be applied to firn, which is the first stage in the formation of glacier ice. Definitions and tools are provided mainly to describe point observations of the snowpack, e.g., from snow pitwork. However, the classification does not attempt to classify snow covers from a climatic point of view, a topic that is dealt with in other publications (Sturm et al., 1995).

Available online

Did you know...? Facts and figures about the Lake Merin Basin

• Lake Merín is a freshwater body shared by Uruguay and Brazil. Covering an area of some 5,000 km2, it is the second largest lake in South America, after Lake Titicaca in the Andes. The Lake Merín basin extends about 63,000 km2 on the Atlantic coast of South America.
• It lies in the temperate zone, with a subtropical climate and annual rainfall of 1,200 to 1,500 mm. Much of the rain falls from June to September, while November to December is usually the driest time of the year
• On the Brazilian side, 97% of annual withdrawal is used for irrigation. During the summer months, especially in January, agricultural water use intensifies, reaching almost 99% of overall demand. Of this amount, 66% comes from the Merín-São Gonçalo basin, where vast paddy fields are common. The situation is quite similar on the Uruguayan side of the basin, where over 1,000 km2 of paddies produce 70% of Uruguay's annual rice crop, and demand for irrigation water represents 99.8% of overall water consumption.
• Inland waterways are an important and economical means of moving goods in the Lake Merín basin, and in the context of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). For example, rice and forestry products from Uruguay are transported through the eastern part of the Mercosur Waterway from La Charqueada, in Uruguay's Treinta y Tres Department, to the Atlantic port of Rio Grande in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul for access to regional and international markets.

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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