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Andrea

ICWRGC’s visit to the Dutch UNESCO Category 2-Centre Delft IHE

The heads of ICWRGC and IHE devoted a whole day’s time to coordinate their fields of cooperation in Delft on 16 August 2019. The UNESCO Cat. 2-Centre IGRAC (International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre) hosted by IHE also attended the meeting. The exchange of ideas on water resources management in the historical Prinsenkamer was very fruitful. Numerous high-level experts of IHE also attended the round table. Specific tasks of cooperation in various subject areas were were agreed. These notably focus on synergies for co-shaping the UN Water Programmes and on further advancing the existing goals.

Apply now: Scientific officer (m/w/d), M. Sc. in Geosciences, Social Sciences, Cultural or Communication Sciences

The International Center for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) located at the Federal Institute of Hydrology in Koblenz, Germany, seeks to appoint a

Scientific officer (m/w/d), M. Sc. in Geosciences, Social Sciences, Cultural or Communication Sciences

within the scope of the “CO-MICC” project. It is a temporary position on a part-time basis, starting at the earliest possible date and ending on 31.10.2020.

The place of employment is Koblenz, Germany.

www.bav.bund.de

18th WMO Congress Takes Landmark Decisions

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has realigned itself by passing numerous resolutions in June 2019. Particularly noteworthy are

The new Strategic Plan of WMO (2020–2023) reflects the requirements arising from the Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.  It enumerates three superordinate categories:

  1. Better preparation for hydrometeorological extremes, notably to prevent casualties and damages to critical infrastructure;
  2. Support in climate-friendly decision-making, to allow and improve adaptability and resilience against climate risks;
  3. Improving WMO services in the fields of weather, climate, and hydrology.

The adopted Governance Body Reform, much supported by Germany, is another milestone for WMO. The WMO’s existing structures have proven to be too inflexible and unable to react adequately to current developments. Instead of eight technical commissions, there will be two commissions in future, one for Infrastructure, Information Systems and Observations, and another one for Application and Services. A Scientific Advisory Panel, independently advising the Executive Council and the Congress concerning research issues, has also been established. Furthermore, a Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) and a Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) have been set up. The TCC will take on a key role and will coordinate the work of the two new technical commissions, the regional associations and research.

The adopted “Geneva Declaration – 2019: Building Community for Weather, Climate and Water Actions”  calls for closer cooperation between the public, private and acedemic sectors and includes a commitment for the free exchange of weather data.

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Adrian, permanent German representative to WMO and Head of the Deutscher Wetterdienst, is the first German in the history of WMO to be elected President.

Hydrology has received reinforcement in the new structure – in spite of the abolition of the Hydrological Commission (CHy). The reinforcement is implemented by means of the new Hydrological Coordination Panel and the Hydrological Assembly, where the Heads of the National Hydrological Services (NHS) and the Hydrological Advisors (HA) of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States are represented and may bring in proposals for resolutions. The Director of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Dr. Esser, acts as NHS for Germany, while the Director of the ICWRGC, Harald Köthe, acts as HA. As hydrological advisor and representative of the BfG’s management, Mr. Köthe participated in the essential negotiations as a member of the German delegation.

In a panel discussion dealing with Water and Peace that was also attended by the German Ambassador Mr. von Ungern-Sternberg, there was consensus that water data are of central importance for the development of peacemaking water management solutions in regions with transboundary water resources. All panel members criticized the lack of one central voice for water within the UN system. They unanimously demanded better cooperation of the UN Family in the water sector. Ambassador von Ungern-Sternberg pointed out that water was becoming an increasingly important safety-relevant factor. WMO could become more important, as climate change and water crises were receiving more attention in world politics. However, WMO should not only rely on its scientific-technical skills, but should also improve its political communication.

The Hydrological Assembly  and the Congress passed two pioneering hydrological resolutions, i.a. including the WMO’s 8 long-term hydrological goals. It highlighted the significance of the existing global water data centres and their coordinating mechanism (Global Terrestrial Network Hydrology – GTN-H) that has been under the ICWRGC’s mandate since 2017.

The new WMO resolutions on Earth System Research  are also important for hydrology and freshwater management. They underscore the necessity for interaction of the water programmes of various UN-organisations and the weather, climate, water and ecosystem monitoring networks for the generation of seamless predictions and projections of future water resources.

The ICWRGC celebrates its 5th anniversary as UNESCO Category 2 Water Centre

The Federal Government and UNESCO signed the contract establishing the first UNESCO-Category 2 Water Centre in Germany on 9 July 2014.

The German Secretariat of the National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO and for the Hydrological Water Resources Programme (HWRP) of WMO has been hosted by the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) in Koblenz since 1974. In 2014, the Secretariat received special appreciation from UNESCO. Based on this recognition, the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) was founded five years ago. In the same year, UN Environment (UNEP) relocated the global database for water quality data to the Centre. Along with growing esteem and acceptance of the ICWRGC by the UN organisations, WMO transferred the coordination of the Global Terrestrial Network Hydrology (GTN-H) to the ICWRGC, first in 2017 and most recently in June 2019.

The ICWRGC has very strong partners at its side, namely the BfG and its Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), the global data centre for precipitation and climatology located at the German Meteorological Service (DWD) as well as its scientific advisory board and the German hydrological research landscape. In close cooperation with these partners, the latest knowledge and methods from Germany are introduced at the UN level, on behalf of the German government, for the development of water resources under perceptibly changing global conditions (i.a. climate change, population growth, economy, politics). At the recent World Climate Summit (COP24) in November 2018 in Poland, it was unanimously determined – due to the involvement of the ICWRGC at the UN level – that the global demand for clean freshwater, an already precious and scarce commodity, is increasingly rising. This affects almost all spheres of life that are subject to strong changes in the wake of global warming and its impacts. In the fields of research, data and product provision, education and capacity development as well as networks, the ICWRGC will continue to promote its efforts in terms of contributions and events with dedication and motivation.

German radio reports to the topic:

Radio BR 2 im Interview mit dem ICWRGC

www.br.deRadio BR 2 Podcast (MP3, 6MB, 128 Kbit/s, 6:18 Min)

Das ICWRGC im Gespräch mit SR-Moderator Roland Kunz

www.sr.de

SWR4: Fünf Jahre UNESCO-Wasserinstitut in Koblenz

SWR4 Podcast (Quelle SWR, MP3, 7MB, 320 kBit/s, 2:50 min)

TUM master-student is doing research on MedECC project at ICWRGC

Veronika Zwirglmaier started working on her Master’s Thesis at the ICWRCG under the supervision of Dr. Marianela Fader (ICWRGC) and Prof. Markus Disse (Technische Universität München) in May 2019. She will continue her work at the ICWRGC until November 2019. Veronika is pursuing her Master’s degree at the Technische Universität München  with an emphasis on Water Resources Management and Environmental Hazards and Risks. Her research at the Centre focuses on the MedECC project and addresses the assessment of future trends in water resources in the Mediterranean Region. For her future career, Veronika is planning to stay in a scientific path working on topics related to hydrological risks or integrated water resources management.

ICWRGC supports Master thesis on “Uncertainty Quantification of Nutrient Load Estimations in Brazil”

Bruno Bezerra Bluhm studies Environmental Engineering at TUM. In May 2019, he started working at the ICWRGC to write his Master Thesis on “Uncertainty Quantification of Nutrient Load Estimations in Brazil”, and will stay there until November. He is a member of the GEMStat team, where he is doing his research, intended to provide a better understanding of uncertainty drivers and assessments for different data availability scenarios, using Brazil – a major partner – as the case study. Bruno’s thesis is supervised by Dr. Claudia Färber (ICWRGC) and Prof. Dr. Markus Disse (TUM). Bruno is a civil-engineer whose experiences focus on the field of sustainable infrastructure projects (renewable energies and water resources).

United Nations World Water Development Report 2019

‘Leaving no one behind’

Improved water resources management and access to safe water and sanitation for all is essential for eradicating poverty, building peaceful and prosperous societies, and ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’ on the path towards sustainable development.

Access to safe, affordable and reliable drinking water and sanitation services are basic human rights. Billions still lack safe water and sanitation facilities while rapid urbanization is on the rise with a growing number of slums, and hence more people without access to water and sanitation networks.

Equitable access to water for agricultural production can make the difference between farming as a mere means of survival and farming as a reliable source of livelihoods. Three-quarters of people living in extreme poverty live in rural areas. The vast majority of the rural poor are smallholder family farmers. While they constitute the backbone of national food supplies – contributing to more than half of the agricultural production in many countries – they themselves often suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition.

Refugees and internally displaced people often face barriers in accessing water supply and sanitation services. Overcoming exclusion and inequality are still major challenges on the way to achieving access to clean water for all. Increasing investments in water supply and sanitation is vital. When resources are limited, it makes sense to target areas where populations have the least access to water-related services.

The report was published in Geneva, Palais des Nations, on 19 March 2019.

For more information and to download the report, please visit:

United Nations World Water Development Report

Observed Impact on Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region: A Meta-Analysis

Mihir Rambhia from TUM stayed at the ICWRGC from 07.11.2018–06.05.2019 to write his master thesis dealing with the “Observed Impact on Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region: A Meta-Analysis”. He successfully completed this thesis in May 2019.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recognized the Mediterranean region as the major ’hot-spot of climate change’. This, along with other anthropogenic drivers such as land use change and the change in water demand, is expected to significantly alter the average availability of freshwater resources in the region. This study uses a meta-analysis approach to identify the impact of these drivers on the observed quantitative change and trends in the water resources of the 22 countries bordering on the Mediterranean. In total, 125 studies were included in the meta-analysis covering climatic parameters (temperature), hydrological parameters (precipitation, evapotranspiration, and streamflow), and event parameters (droughts). For all the parameters except temperature, a highly heterogeneous spatial and temporal pattern has been observed within the countries. A decreasing precipitation trend in the Mediterranean is also in contradiction with globally increasing wetter conditions. Overall, it has been observed that with an increase in mean temperature and evaporation, and a decrease in precipitation and runoff, the climate in the Mediterranean region has become drier and warmer over the study period. However, the attribution of the observed changes could not be entirely implemented based on the selected drivers, due to a lack of such reporting in the primary studies.

If you are interested in reading the entire pdf of the master thesis, you may contact Mihir at:

UNESCO International Water Conference

Date: 13–14 May 2019
Venue: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
“Leveraging the trans-sectoral management of water resources for sustainable water security and peace” was the title of the first UNESCO International Water Conference opened by UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, and mainly prepared by the IHP department. It was attended by 34 ministers and 1,200 experts from 126 countries to mobilize the expertise and foster the cooperation needed to meet this challenge. It is worth mentioning that hardly any high-ranking European politicians were present. As part of the German contribution to the Conference, Mr. Harald Köthe, the ICWRGC’s Director, presented the Centre during the “UNESCO Water Family” side event.Although satellite imagery shows the abundant masses of water characterizing the Earth, less than 1% account for usable freshwater. The Conference offered a multitude of sessions reflecting the significance of freshwater for mankind in a wide variety of sectors (i.a. energy, education, security, diplomacy, data for decision-making, global change, climate change, disasters) while underscoring the need for action. In view of the ongoing alarming developments, Africa has been placed centre stage as a regional focal point. The scarcity of potable freshwater resources is further aggravated due to widespread poor water quality and climate change. Therefore, the upcoming IHP IX is to be aligned accordingly. The recently founded “Megacities Alliance for Water and Climate” was presented, including the prevailing problems in such cities, i.a. water scarcity, rising sea levels, and lowering due to excessive groundwater extraction. This alliance requires improved networking.

In his closing speech, the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Xing Qu, gave an excellent account of the overall situation. The Conference referred to the next World Water Forum in 2021, to be held for the first time in Africa, or more precisely in Dakar, Senegal. The Senegalese Minister of Water gave a speech on this subject and invited for participation.

https://en.unesco.org/waterconferenceOur Water for Our WorldAgenda (PDF, 2 p., 40KB)Closing speech Xing Qu (PDF, 6 p., 70KB)
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Special Issue on ERB 2018 International Conference in Publication

The Special Issue in the journal “Advances of Geosciences” has been produced as a follow-up to the 17th Biennial Conference ERB 2018. It contains contributions summarising conference presentations, edited by B. Schmalz (TU Darmstadt), S. Dietrich (ICWRGC), and J. L. M. P. de Lima (University of Coimbra).

The ERB 2018 international conference on “Innovative monitoring techniques and modelling approaches for analysing hydrological processes in small basins” was held in Darmstadt, Germany, 11–14 September 2018. It was attended by scientists from 19 different countries.

ERB is the Euromediterranean Network of Experimental and Representative Basins (https://erb-network.simdif.com/index.html).

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