5 – 1 0 June 2023, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

Addressing unsolved problems in hydrology for a water secure world in a changing environment

FRIEND-Water (Flow Regime from International Experimental and Network Data) is an international collaborative network of experts of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP).
Established in 1985, it aims to generate new understanding about regional hydrology and multi-scale water cycle processes. FRIEND-Water is investigating long-term variations and changes in hydrological regimes to better understand the climate and river basin controls, as well as influence of humans on the spatial and temporal distribution of water. As a flagship initiative of IHP IX (2022-2029) FRIEND-Water aims to
put science to action for a Water Secure World. FRIEND-Water research is critical for: water resources management, socio-economic development, secure livelihoods, safeguard the environment, and assessing the impact of global change. The FRIEND-Water initiative is currently structured in 8 regional groups: West and Central Africa, Europe, Mediterranean, Latin America and Caribbean, Southern Africa, Asia Pacific, Nile, Congo.

The 9th International FRIEND-Water Conference will be held at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal from 25 to 29 September 2023.

The conference concentrates on “Addressing unsolved problems in hydrology for a water secure world in a changing environment”. Seven topics are in the focus, i.a. bridging the data-knowledge gaps in hydrology and water management. ICWRGC is also increasingly active in this field. ICWRGC’s Dr. Stephan Dietrich will be co-organizing the relevant session. The full conference programme is linked at the end of this post.

FRIEND-Water (Flow Regime from International Experimental and Network Data) is an international cooperation network of experts of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO. Founded back in 1985, the FRIEND-Water programme aims at improving our understanding of regional hydrology and cross-scale water cycle processes. FRIEND-Water investigates long-term variations and changes in hydrological regimes as well as anthropogenic influences on the spatial and temporal distribution of water.

As the flagship initiative of the ninth phase of the IHP (2022-2029), FRIEND-Water aims at putting science into practice with the goal of global water security. Research under FRIEND-Water is critical for water resources management, socio-economic development, secure livelihoods, climate and environmental protection and climate impact assessment.

Conference Website Scientific Programme Conference Registration

The first Mittweida Climate Forum titled “Science for Sustainable Livelihoods”, co-organized by ICWRGC, took place from 12-16 June 2023, bringing in experts, researchers, and policy makers from Europe and Africa. Mittweida University of Applied Sciences (HSMW) has been cooperating with WASCAL and SASSCAL (funded by BMBF) and the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) in Koblenz and the Institute of Geography and Geology at the University of Würzburg.

The aim of the Forum was to promote the exchange of African and German expertise on the interplay of global and local climate systems on the African and European Continent. Furthermore, local measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change in regional environmental contexts were discussed.

Members from the partners of the Mittweida Hochschule, The South African Science Centre for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (SASSCAL), The West African Science Centre for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), University of Würzburg, and the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) attended the meeting. In addition, stakeholders from universities, research institutions, politics and civil society, including young minds from Africa and Germany, shared their knowledge to find creative solutions in a more climate-resilient world.

The Mittweida, SASSCAL, WASCAL, ICWRGC, and University of Würzburg delegations at the welcoming ceremony of the Climate Forum 2023

ICWRGC represented by Dr. Luna Bharati, a member of the Advisory Board for this conference, and Dr. Layla Hashweh jointly convened an interactive workshop titled “Fair Data Principles”. The workshop aimed at showcasing ICWRGC and the two data centres, Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (GEMS/Water) and the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) it hosts.

The participants had the unique opportunity to not only learn about the developed data products, how they are set up and shared, but were also given the opportunity to retrieve the data provided from the websites themselves.

Additionally, Luna chaired the water management session where Layla held a scientific fifteen-minute oral presentation about Ewaso Narok wetland in East Africa, among presentations from other participants.

As part of the Forum, Layla moderated a workshop titled “Climate Change – Real Stories from Africa”, presented by our SASSCAL colleagues. The workshop showed research-based evidence on the effects of climate change in Southern Africa. Furthermore, it highlighted the Climate Scenarios in the region and the contribution of SASSCAL’s activities to climate change response. Last but not least, it advocated for cultural and traditional knowledge and norms in climate change and the perspectives of the communities.

A panel discussion on securing livelihoods under changing climate was also held as part of the 2023 forum. The panellists were Dr. Luna Bharati (ICWRGC), Prof. Dr. Kehinde Ogunjobi (WASCAL), Dr. Budzanani Tacheba (SASSCAL), Dr. Wilfried Kraus (Min.Dirig. BMBF a.D.) and it was moderated by PD Dr. Gunter Süß, IKKS. A link to the recording is available and included here: https://www.youtube.com/live/ges_qzMixX0?feature=share

PD Dr. Luna Bharati highlights the importance of in-situ data collection in climate change analysis as part of the panel discussion with Dr. Gunter Süß, Prof. Dr. Kehinde Ogunjobi, Dr. Budzanani Tacheba and Dr. Wilfried Kraus.

PD Dr. Luna Bharati (2^nd from left) highlights the importance of in-situ data collection in climate change analysis as part of the panel discussion with Dr. Gunter Süß, Prof. Dr. Kehinde Ogunjobi, Dr. Budzanani Tacheba and Dr. Wilfried Kraus.

The Climate Forum provided an ideal opportunity to engage in conversations and networking as well as promote future collaborations. Students from Mittweida University engaged with the different partners and offered guided tours through the university and the university town of Mittweida.

Attending delegates were treated to a tour of the small University town of Mittweida

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the largest congregation of geoscientists from all over the world in Europe. Several scientists of ICWRGC and BfG were actively involved in the EGU General Assembly meeting held between 23^rd and 28^th of April 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

ISMN

Four scientists from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN): Fay Boehmer, Matthias Zink, Wolfgang Korres and Tunde Olarinoye attended the EGU on site while others joined online. The ISMN team organised the first ISMN splinter meeting at any EGU event, aiming at promoting connectivity within the soil moisture community to improve data sharing, knowledge sharing and scientific collaborations. The splinter meeting was well attended by different stakeholders: soil moisture sensor manufacturers, data providers, data users and soil moisture enthusiasts. Besides the splinter meeting, Fay Boehmer presented the ISMN at a session on the role of subsurface runoff, soil moisture and surface-subsurface feedback in hydrology. In her presentation, she emphasized the role of soil moisture as an essential agriculture, meteorology and hydrology variable. She concluded by highlighting the ISMN efforts towards ensuring access to open and fair in-situ soil moisture data and encouraged a community-wide participation in the ISMN project.

Team ICWRGC and GRDC at EGU conference 2023

Data centres and GTN-H

The international data centres: ISMN represented by Tunde Olarinoye, Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) represented by Claudia Faerber, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) represented by Claudia Ruz Vargas and Arnaud Sterckx, Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (GEMS/Water) represented by Dmytro Lisniak and Global Terrestrial Network – Hydrology (GTN-H) represented by Stephan Dietrich jointly convened a session titled “From observations to action: role of data services in hydrological research and management”. The session, co-sponsored by WMO, aimed at showcasing ideas, concepts, efforts and challenges in developing data products as well as demonstrating the benefit of setting up, maintaining networks, and sharing data to support the data acquisition ambitions of data centres. The new PICO session attracted 12 abstracts covering a wide range of hydro-meteorological data topics. Presenters gave a 2-minutes pitch talk which was followed by an extensive interactive discussion.

Stephan gave an introduction on Systematic water and climate observations through Global Water Data Centres and Networks in the GTN-H data centers session.

Tunde also co-convened the session “Large-sample hydrology: characterizing and understanding hydrological diversity and catchment organization”. It featured presentations on methods, data and advances in the understanding and modelling of hydrological diversity.

Science-practice Nexus and FRIEND-Water

In addition, Stephan co-convened the session “Elevating practice in the science-policy-practice nexus: highlights from operationalization of hydrological research and interdisciplinary collaborations” co-sponsored by WMO and UNESCO-IHP. The session highlighted contributions on interdisciplinary collaborations and existing hydrology initiatives, organizations, and networks that offer modalities and frameworks aimed at connecting typically isolated stakeholders of research and improving hydrological research-services interface on various scales and directions. Luna Bharati from ICWRGC participated in the session and presented a successful case study from her research where transdisciplinary methods were used to identify climate change risks and potential future land use scenarios. The research results including the hydrological models developed in the project were incorporated in the national irrigation master plan that was developed by the Department of Irrigation, Government of Nepal.

Stephan also co-convened the EURO-FRIEND splinter meeting on Large Scale Variations in Hydrological Characteristics. Luna and Claudia Faerber from GRDC attended this meeting in person.

Presentation Lena Fay Böhmer et EGU 2023

Research and Networking

Luna and her PhD Student also participated in the session on extreme meteorological and hydrological events induced by severe weather and climate change. In their presentation titled Understanding the role of climate change in disaster mortality, they showed that extreme precipitation events caused by climate change has a significant impact in increasing mortality rates.

EGU presents an excellent opportunity for updating knowledge, networking, developing research ideas and establishing new collaborations.

Dr. Luna Bharati co-authored a paper that assesses the spatiotemporal trends of multiple types of climatic disasters with respect to the related mortality and vulnerability and their attribution to climatic and socioeconomic factors in a least developed country, Nepal. The impacts of climatic disasters, such as human mortality, have been rising globally, but the causes of the rise remain unclear. In this study, the authors found that the disaster frequency and mortality have increased, but the vulnerability has decreased. The findings imply that the strong increase in disaster frequency, potentially due to climate change, has overpowered the effect of reduced vulnerability and caused an increase in disaster mortality.

Chapagain, D., Bharati, L., & Borgemeister, C. (2022). Declining vulnerability but rising impacts: the trends of climatic disasters in Nepal. Regional Environmental Change, 22(2), 55.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01903-5

The world is witnessing an increase in environmental conflicts (ECs) caused by the overexploitation and pollution of natural resources. In this paper, a multidisciplinary group of researchers (including dr. Luna Bharati) critically explored the role of academia in co-producing knowledge on the complexities of environmental conflicts. The publication highlights why inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to understanding multifaceted environmental conflicts are important and which day-to-day challenges academic researchers face when applying them.

Aviles, D., Mora Motta, A., Pereira, A., Bharati, L., Biber-Freundenberger, L., Ptersheim, C. Quispe-Zuniga, MR., Schmitt, CB., Youkhana, E. (2022) Integrating scientific and local knowledge to address environmental conflicts: the role of academia. Human Ecology 50(4). DOI: 10.1007/s10745-022-00344-2

Dr. Luna Bharati is co-author to a paper that discusses the factors that hinder and promote implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) in Bogotá, considering the perspectives of the public sector, private sector, urban developers, and community members living in a flood-prone area. After identifying and categorizing 39 barriers, the authors found that technical barriers continue to have a significant impact on SUDS adoption. The evaluation of benefits yielded 34 results, demonstrating the broad scope of SUDS at a social, economic, and environmental level.

Ortega, A. D., Rodríguez, J. P., & Bharati, L. (2023). Building flood-resilient cities by promoting SUDS adoption: A multi-sector analysis of barriers and benefits in Bogotá, Colombia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 88 (February), 103621.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103621

Dr. Layla Hashweh

ICWRGC-Coordinator of SASSCAL Graduate Studies Programme in Integrated Water Resources Management (SGSP-IWRM)

Contact:
Federal Institute of Hydrology
P.O. Box 200253
56002 Koblenz, Deutschland

Telefon: +49 (0) 261 1306 5421
Email:

Dr. Layla Hashweh, a Palestinian raised in Jerusalem, has worked with different international organizations, and has several years of experience in the private, public, and NGO water sector in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Europe, East Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Layla has a strong interdisciplinary background as she received her BSc in Agricultural Economics & Management with a minor in Environmental Studies from the Hebrew University in Israel. She then pursued her master’s degree in Hydrology and Water Quality working on the rehabilitation of a transboundary polluted stream at Ben Gurion University. Layla did her PhD in Hydrogeology with the Center for Development Research in Bonn, Germany, as part of the global food security initiative GlobE project ‘wetlands in East Africa’, focusing on the modelling of the endangered Ewaso Narok floodplain in Kenya. Layla spent the last two years working as a proposal manager for an engineering team, ensuring suitable country-specific design of water and wastewater systems. Layla is fluent in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, and has a high command of German.

Research interest

Water quality management
Food security and wetlands
Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
Water policy and gender

Education

Dr. rer. nat. (Promotion in Hydrogeology and Geosciences), Bonn University, Germany – 2022.
Doctoral Thesis: Modeling of Ewaso Narok floodplain: A study of the hydrochemistry and hydrogeology in a data-scarce environment
Master of Science in Hydrology & Water Quality, Ben-Gurion University, Israel – 2015.
Master’s Thesis: The eco-hydrology of the cross-border As Samen-Hebron Basin: The chemical transformation of pollutants along the As Samen-Hebron stream and aquifer system in Israel and Palestine
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and Management & Environmental Studies, Hebrew University, Israel – 2011.

Publications

Hashweh, Layla: Modeling of Ewaso Narok floodplain: a study of the hydrochemistry and hydrogeology in a data scarce environment. – Bonn, 2023. – Dissertation, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. https://bonndoc.ulb.uni-bonn.de/xmlui/handle/20.500.11811/10672

Back to "Team"

ICWRGC researchers will be participating at the next European Geoscience Union (EGU) General Assembly between 23 and 28 April 2023 in Vienna, Austria. Our researchers will convene multiple sessions, organise splinter meetings, and give presentations on a wide-range of water and climate related topics. Check the programme below to follow our EGU 2023 activities.

Tuesday, 25 April 2023

16:15 – 18:00

Olarinoye, Faerber et al.: From observations to action: role of data services in hydrological research and management | PICO. [Pico spot 3b]
Dietrich et al.: Systematic water and climate observations through Global Water Data Centres and Networks. [PICO spot 3b]

17:00 – 18:10

Chapagain & Bharati: Understanding the role of climate change in disaster mortality: Empirical evidence from Nepal. [Room C]

Thursday, 27 April 2023

Friday, 28 April 2023

15:25 – 15:35

Boehmer et al.: The International Soil Moisture Network – a global interoperable data center for in situ soil moisture observations. [Room B]

16:15 – 18:00

Dogulu, Dietrich, et al.: Elevating practice in the science-policy-practice nexus: highlights from operationalization of hydrological research and interdisciplinary collaborations. [Pico spot 3b]

16:50 – 16:55

Bharati & Chapagain: Policy and practice relevant climate change impact assessments: Case study, Western Nepal. [PICO spot 3b]

Hydrology Day is the annual meeting of the German hydrologists community, under the auspices of the German Hydrological Society (DHG), the German Association for Water Management, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) and the Technical Community for Hydrological Sciences in the DWA (FgHW). This year‘s Hydrology Day, held from 21 to 23 March at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Hochschule Bochum, focused on “Sustainable Water Management – Regional and Global Strategies”. Five sessions centred on the topics:

Monitoring and analysis of hydrological extremes
Water quality under global change
AI in hydrology
Future challenges in water governance
Urban hydrology

Dr. Moritz Heinle and guests at Tag der Hydrologie 2023

Harald Köthe presenting at Tag der Hydrologie 2023

Dr. Tunde Olarinoye and guest at Tag der Hydrologie 2023

ICWRGC was present with a booth and two posters, well connected with the booth of the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), where ICWRGC is located. Dr. Tunde Olarinoye introduced the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN), which was successfully transferred for permanent operation from TU Vienna to ICWRGC and BfG last year and went fully operational this year (https://ismn.earth/en/). On the second poster, Dr. Moritz Heinle showed results of the two previous data runs for UN SDG Indicator 6.3.2 and highlighted the third assessment, to be carried out this year and supported by the GEMS/Water Data Centre (http://portal.gemstat.org/) at ICWRGC and BfG. At the booth, attendees could learn more about the work and the services provided by ICWRGC and inspect the two global water databases, GEMStat, a global water quality database, and ISMN. In particular, this opportunity for a practical test of the databases was very well received. Together with BfG´s Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) and the Global Precipitation and Climatology Centre (GPCC) at the German Weather Service (DWD), Germany has a leading role in operational hydrology at the UN level.

Jointly with Prof. Dr. Mariele Evers (UNESCO water chair Univ. Bonn), Harald Köthe (Director ICWRGC) presented an impulse lecture on the just started UNESCO IHP IX Programme and made the case for increasing the visibility of the multifarious international research activities of the German hydrological community in the UNESCO IHPIX programme. There, the activities and results would receive more visibility and recognition for the water-related goals of the UN Agenda 2030. ICWRGC will inform the German water chairs and call for contributions regarding the outcome of the UN2023 Water Conference held parallel to the Hydrology Day.

The world is not on track to achieve the ambitious targets of SDG 6 to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Meeting drinking water, sanitation and hygiene targets by 2030 requires four times increase in the pace of progress. This year’s World Water Day¹ is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

Today, on World Water Day, the United Nations launched the 2nd UN Water Conference², which will focus on the critical role of water in ensuring sustainable water management and addressing global water challenges. The Conference will take place at UN Headquarters in New York from 22 to 24 March and is co-hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands.

Water is a dealmaker for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and for the health and prosperity of people and the planet. Water is thus central to addressing the triple planetary crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution). Yet progress on water-related SDGs and targets remains alarmingly off track, putting the entire sustainable development agenda at risk.

The conference, which brings together water experts, policymakers and representatives from different sectors, aims to find inclusive, action-oriented and cross-sectoral voluntary commitments by governments and stakeholders to get back on track with regard to the SDG process and SDG6 and other water-related goals and targets, in particular with a new Water Action Agenda as a mandated outcome of the UN Water Conference in 2023.

In his invitation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised the need for greater engagement by governments, industry and other stakeholders, calling it a crucial step towards achieving the water-related Sustainable Development Goals.

“The UN Water Conference in March 2023 must result in a bold water action agenda that gives our world’s lifeblood the commitment it deserves,” he said.

The ICWRGC will contribute to the conference as part of the German delegation and to support the activities of the UN agencies, in particular

Science-Based Global Water Assessment (UNESCO)³
Realizing Early Warning Systems for All (WMO)⁴
Acceleration for ambient water quality action – A UN Systems Approach (UNEP/WMO/UNESCO, #SDGAction49536)⁵

The core of our engagement is to highlight the importance of of in-situ water observation data for decision making and to promote evidence-based policies that address water-related issues. By operating global water data centres, the ICWRGC and the Federal Institute of Hydrology primarily aim to improve the global exchange of hydrological observations as a contribution to the SDG6 accelerator “Data and Information”.

Stephan Dietrich (Deputy Director ICWRGC) added that observations are key to decision making, but in particular the in situ water observation network is not often visible to high-level policy makers worldwide. “We cannot manage what we do not measure and understand. It would be important to connect the water agenda with the agendas on climate change and biodiversity loss, also to ensure sustainable funding of observational networks” he said. In addition, observational data have great value beyond national borders, for example to develop or improve early warning systems, so commitments to improved open exchange of observation data would be another key to achieving the SDGs.

The ICWRGC also addresses defragmentation of water observations in the complex UN system. UNEP and partners have come up with a game-changing idea to reorganise global water quality monitoring. “Bringing together the leading activities of UNEP (Global Environmental Monitoring System for Water Quality), UNESCO’s International Initiative for Water Quality, and WMO’s long-term ambition ‘Water Quality is Known’ would have great potential to accelerate the implementation of SDG6.3 on ambient water quality,” says Philipp Saile, head of the GEMS/Water Data Centre.

In this role, the ICWRGC also strongly supports the #OpenWaterData campaign for governments and organizations led by our partner centre IGRAC, which also has the support of WMO and UNESCO. Join the commitment that IGRAC will submit to the Water Action Agenda (by 31 March). Read the pledge here⁶ and join by filling out this form.⁷

The UN Water Conference 2023 comes at a critical time as the world faces increasing challenges of water scarcity and pollution. The conference aims to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices, and accelerate change towards a more sustainable water future.

¹https://www.worldwaterday.org/

²https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2023

³https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-proposing-global-assessment-could-be-game-changer-reaching-worlds-water-goals

⁴https://public.wmo.int/en/earlywarningsforall

⁵https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/acceleration-ambient-water-quality-action-un-systems-approach

⁶https://un-igrac.org/news/join-openwaterdata-commitment-and-campaign

⁷https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7rfnbXUKULHLcZaCPmOdf2YGHRfShFqn_u5HOQi5TKS1vyQ/viewform

Global FRIEND-Water 2023 International Conference

ICWRGC at Science for Sustainable Livelihoods Forum in Mittweida

ICWRGC and BfG scientists at the EGU General Assembly 2023

Trends in climate disaster impacts in a least developed country

The role of academia in communicating environmental conflicts

Case study on the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems

Dr. Layla Hashweh

Research interest

Education

Publications