Summary
News
- UNESCO-IHP participates in the International UN-Water Conference - Water in the Green Economy in Practice: Towards Rio+20
- Consultations regarding famine by UNESCO in Africa
- UNESCO-IHE supports flood crisis mitigation team in Bangkok
- Groundwater Centre moves to UNESCO-IHE
Events
Featured International Events
- Conference on Hydrogeology of Arid Environments
- 3rd IWA International Symposium on Water and Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations
- ASIA 2012: Fourth International Conference on Water Resources and Renewable Energy Development in Asia
- IV International Conference on Technology Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers | III International Symposium on Coastal Aquifers and Desalination Plants
Vacancies
- Professor of Ecohydrology – UNESCO-IHE
Did you know?
Facts and figures about the La Plata River Basin (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay)
e-Newsletter archives
Subscribe & Unsubscribe
Visit the UNESCO Water Portal
News
UNESCO-IHP participates in the International UN-Water Conference - Water in the Green Economy in Practice: Towards Rio+20
.png)
In her statement on the occasion of the International UN-Water Conference 'Water in the Green Economy in Practice: Towards Rio+20' (Zaragoza, Spain, 3-5 October 2011) Gretchen Kalonji, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, explains why our common efforts should lead to building green societies. 'Green societies cannot come into being without a real paradigm-shift in the way the food-energy-water nexus is addressed' added Ms Kalonji, 'The ultimate goal of green economies is to make a real change in the sustainability of our economic base and pave the way to reduce poverty.' UNESCO-IHP and UNESCO-IHE actively contributed to the conference and its worldwide promotion. UNESCO-IHP was represented in the final wrap-up session and conveyed on spot the Organization's message: green economies must be part of green societies, constructed on the basis of knowledge, education and ethical principles.
Read more
Consultations regarding famine by UNESCO in the horn of Africa
.png)
Within UNESCO's Post Conflict Post Disaster intersectoral platform framework, two national consultations and one regional will be organized for "Resources assessment and development to combat drought and famine in the horn of Africa".
The consultation for Ethiopia took place in Addis Ababa from 1 to 2 November 2011 along with the regional consultation is scheduled for 5 to 6 December 2011. The consultation for Kenya will take place at Nairobi from 8 to 9 November 2011. For more information please contact Dr. Alexandros Makarigakis, UNESCO Addis Ababa Liaison Office and Dr. Abou Amani, UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology in Africa.
UNESCO-IHE supports flood crisis mitigation team in Bangkok
UNESCO-IHE, in the capacity of Dr. Zoran Vojinovic, Associate Professor of Informatics, is supporting Bangkok city authorities in their efforts to mitigate the floods that are currently causing a major crisis in the Thai capital. He is working closely with the managers of the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, the Royal Irrigation Authority, and experts of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute Bangkok (HAII) and Deltares. The expert team, together with the managers, is implementing a real-time systems operation of infrastructure for flood mitigation.
Dr. Vojinovic was mainly working with HAII, as the Institute is directly engaged by the Minister of Science. The Professor was asked to give a keynote speech concerning flood risk mitigation at the Pacific Neighborhood Consortium (PNC) conference where HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol was also present.
The country also faces grave economic losses in business and agriculture as a result of the flood crisis. Other Southeast Asian countries have suffered serious flooding in recent weeks because of heavy monsoon rains combined with tropical storms.
About 342 people have died since late July in flood-related incidents, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Thailand said. According to Reuters news agency some 2.3 million people have been affected in the worst flooding to hit parts of Thailand in 50 years, mainly in the centre, north and northeast.
Groundwater Centre moves to UNESCO-IHE
.jpg)
The International Groundwater Resource Assessment Centre (IGRAC) has recently relocated to the UNESCO-IHE offices in Delft. They were previously hosted at the Deltares offices in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Centre will operate under the auspices of UNESCO and will have a partnership structure, which includes international bodies such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Established in 1999 at the 5th International Conference on Hydrology, IGRAC aims to facilitate and promote worldwide exchange of groundwater knowledge to improve assessment, development and management of groundwater resources.
Contact | More information/IGRAC website
Events
Featured International Events
Conference on Hydrogeology of Arid Environments
14-17 March 2012: Hannover, Germany
3rd IWA International Symposium on Water and Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations
22-24 March 2012: Istanbul, Turkey
ASIA 2012: Fourth International Conference on Water Resources and Renewable Energy Development in Asia
26-27 March 2012: Chiang Mai, Thailand
IV International Conference on Technology Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers | III International Symposium on Coastal Aquifers and Desalination Plants
24-26 April 2012: Alicante, Spain
Access a complete list of water events around the world
Vacancies
Professor of Ecohydrology – UNESCO-IHE
Ecohydrology is the integration of hydrological with ecological processes. It addresses interactions and feedbacks between these at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The successful candidate will apply research to current challenges for water quality and management, occurring from anthropogenic impacts such as land use change for urbanization and food production, exotic species introduction, and climate change. An ability to conduct research in developing countries is required. The approach can include experimental and/or modeling tools, with a preference on the study of biogeochemical transformations and fluxes and application of results to support Integrated Water Resources Management.
The professor is expected to form collaborations among existing cores in the department, particularly with Hydrology, Aquatic Ecosystems, and Hydraulic Engineering cores, as well as across departments at UNESCO-IHE. He/she will be expected to supervise MSc and PhD research, provide vision and leadership to the Hydrology and Water Resources core and lead the MSc programme specialization on Ecohydrology, which currently includes part of an Erasmus Mundus programme.
Full announcement
Did you know...? Facts and figures about the La Plata River Basin (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay)
- Extending over 3.1 million km2, La Plata River basin is the second largest river system in South America and the fifth largest in the world. Shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, it covers about one-fifth of South America. With over 100 million inhabitants, close to 50 big cities and 75 large dams, La Plata River basin is at the core of the region’s socio-economic activities, which generate around 70% of the per capita GDP of the five basin countries.
- With its extensive geographic coverage, La Plata River basin is highly variable topographically, ranging from 4,000 metre high mountains in north-western Argentina and southern Bolivia to almost sea level southern plains in Argentina and Uruguay. Rainfall similarly varies, from less than 700 mm per year in the western Bolivian highlands to more than 1,800 mm per year along the Brazilian coast in the east.
- In terms of freshwater potential, the Paraná River is the most important in La Plata River basin, with a mean annual flow of about 17,100 m3 per second (m3/s) at Corrientes. The Uruguay River has a mean annual flow of about 4,300 m3/s, while the Paraguay River has the lowest capacity, with a mean annual flow of some 3,800 m3/s at Puerto Pilcomayo.
- The basin is also rich in groundwater resources. The Guaraní aquifer, shared by all five countries except Bolivia, is one of the world’s largest groundwater reservoirs, extending over 1.19 million km2 and having an estimated capacity of 37,000 billion m3. Of this, 40 billion m3 to 80 billion m3 per year is exploited, mainly in Brazil for consumption in over 300 cities.
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
Archives
Access the UNESCO Water e-Newsletter archives (starting at issue Nº 85)
Subscribe & Unsubscribe
For contributions or comments, contact the editor at waterportal@unesco.org
UNESCO.ORG
