Events

Events and announcements

WMO: Progress on Hydrology at 19th Congress

The 19th Congress (Cg-19) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 22 May to 4 June. Harald Köthe, Director of ICWRGC as well as acting German hydrological advisor to WMO, and Ulrich Looser, Head of the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), represented the German delegation in the third Hydrological Assembly of WMO with 294 participants from 121 countries.

Harald Köthe and Dr. Ulrich Looser at the 19th WMO Congress

Harald Köthe, Director ICWRGC, and Dr. Ulrich Looser, Head of the Global Runoff Data Centre, at the 19th WMO Congress.

Based on the results of the UN2023 Water Conference in March, the WMO has set itself the priority goal of taking the lead in promoting the “Early Warning for All” initiative. This initiative aims at establishing warning systems for the entire world population for dangerous weather and climate events as well as extreme hydrological events by 2027.

Within this framework, the following progress was agreed for hydrology at the 19th WMO Congress:

  • “Accelerate the development of integrated systems and services to address global risks associated with irreversible changes in the cryosphere, downstream impacts on water resources and sea level rise” was added as a new goal to the WMO Strategic Plan. It includes strong hydrology components and contributions (Resolution 2 Cg-19 and Resolution 6 Cg-19).
  • The terms of reference of the Hydrological Coordination Commission were revised (Resolution 7 EC-77) and a new function of Hydrological Advisor to the President of WMO (exercised by the Chair of the Hydrological Assembly) was introduced (Resolution 8 Cg-19).
  • With the same resolution (Res.8 Cg-19), the Congress requested the Executive Committee to submit proposals to increase the contribution of hydrologists in the Governing Board and subsidiary bodies of WMO. These proposals will be considered at the next Congress.
  • The process for reviewing and revising the Hydrology Action Plan was established (https://www.hydroref.com/wmo/hcp/index.php <https://www.hydroref.com/wmo/hcp/index.php) (Resolution 7 Cg-19).
  • The WMO hydrological database (WHOS) was recognised as part of the WMO Information System (WIS 2.0). Member countries were invited to contribute to its expansion. The significant contribution of the Global Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS), the Global Hydrometric Support Centre (HydroHub), and the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) was reaffirmed (Resolution 4.2(4)/2 Cg-19).
  • The extension of the WMO HelpDesk to include the Associated Programme for Flood Management and the Integrated Programme for Drought Management was agreed in order to complete the available information for water management (Resolution 19 Cg-19).
  • Regional plans for the implementation of the WMO Global Hydrological State of Resources (HydroSOS) system were approved (Resolution 9 Cg-19).
  • The establishment of hydrological service centres within the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) created new opportunities for national hydrological institutions.
  • The criteria for recognition of 75+ and 100-year time series stations were adopted.
  • The criteria for recognition of 75+ and 100-year time series stations were adopted
  • The latest developments and benefits of artificial intelligence in operational hydrology, interactions with the private sector and the latest hydrological research were part of the agenda at the Congress and Hydrological Assembly.
  • A declaration on gender equality and women’s empowerment was read at the Hydrological Assembly and the Congress Gender Day to drive change in the next 4 years

ICWRGC and BfG support these developments by means of their global water databases (GRDC, GWDC and ISMN) as well as DWD’s GPPC through research products with German scientists.

Related links:

  1. Documents of the 3rd Hydrological Assembly
  2. Adopted documents of the 19th WMO Congress 
  3. WMO Action Plan Hydrology 2022-2030 

Global FRIEND-Water 2023 International Conference

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 WebsiteScientific ProgrammeConference Registration

ICWRGC to co-organize “Science for Sustainable Livelihoods” Forum

ICWRGC, together with Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, and the African Climate Competence Centres SASSCAL and WASCAL, is co-organizing a conference titled “Science for Sustainable Livelihoods”. It is going to be held at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Germany, from 12 to 16 June 2023. The conference constitutes an interdisciplinary forum   on  research-based  approaches for climate  resilience. ICWRGC’s Dr Luna Bharati is in the organizing committee and will coordinate input on behalf of the Centre.

Please submit your abstract before 31 March, 2023. Any further information on the conference, calls for abstracts etc., can be found on the University’s website.

HS Mittweida - Climate Forum 2023

9th FRIEND-Water Global conference 2023

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 FRIEND-Water programme complements and interacts with many national and international projects and initiatives: Ecohydrology-IHP, International Sediment Initiative (IDI), the International Drought Initiative (IDI), the International Floods Initiative (IFI), the International Sediment Initiative (ISI), the Global Network on Water and Development Information for Arid Lands (GWADI), the WMO/GWP Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), World’s Large Rivers Initiative (WLRI), among others. The Global FRIEND conference takes place every 4 years with previous editions in Norway, Germany, Slovenia, South Africa, Cuba, Morocco, France and China.

Conference Flyer (PDF, 255 KB)Abstract submissionEUROFRIEND Workshop & training YouTube channel

Networking between water-relevant German UNESCO sites – joint DUK and ICWRGC Workshop in Bonn on 13 July 2022

For the first time, DUK (German Commission for UNESCO) and ICWRGC held a joint workshop. The topic of the kick-off event was “Water – where do we need and how can we develop expert knowledge?”

The successful workshop marks the beginning of better networking among the German UNESCO sites and stakeholders actively involved in the subject area „changing freshwater resources” and engaged in various UNESCO programmes. The objective is to understand and use the existing expert knowledge in line with an integrated approach to the earth system and its changes due to climate change and socio-economic uses. To this end, various experts met for a colourful and highly interesting programme on the premises of DUK in Bonn (see link to agenda).

It became evident that freshwater plays a major role in many UNESCO sites and that many of the lecturers present have a lot of scientific and/or empirical knowledge. This must also be developed for the UNESCO Water Family, or more precisely for phase 9 (2022-2029) of the UNESCO (IHP) water programme, thus making German knowledge more visible. Points of contact for a common work were identified and a further exchange was agreed. Harald Köthe, the Director of ICWRGC, sees this networking as an opportunity to identify and close practice-oriented gaps in expertise, thus unlocking synergies for the German contributions to achieve the objectives of the UNESCO programmes. The kick-off session for better networking and closer cooperation was interesting and promising.

Further information:

Workshop agenda

Download: PDF, 2 p. – 84 KB (german only)

URSACHEN: Virtual Symposium

30 November – 01 December 2022

Uncertainty in river water monitoring
New insights on spatio-temporal variability of suspended river water components

Rivers transport suspended solids, including multiple substances from geogenic and anthropogenic backgrounds, from hillslopes towards the oceans. The spatial and temporal variability of suspended matter transport hereby strongly affects river and delta morphology, the chemical status of the rivers, aquatic habitats, and the global element cycle.

Confluence of Danube, Inn and Ilz at Passau

Passau, © peter knechtges / Adobe Stock

Even though suspended solids are currently monitored in many rivers world-wide, the community is facing major challenges. In this symposium, we would like to discuss these challenges and foster the exchange within and between the scientific community and river managers from governmental organizations and various NGOs. The symposium offers an exchange platform for participants who are willing to present and discuss new methods, developments and implications of their work. This symposium is organized as part of the scientific project “URSACHEN” (‘Investigating the uncertainties of spatiotemporal variable substance loads estimations in rivers’) by the Federal Institute of Hydrology and the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (UNESCO Cat. 2 Centre).

We welcome contributions. To find out more about the relevant topics and further information on the symposium and how to attend can be found here:

URSACHEN Symposium

Bonn Water Lectures: Corruption in the water sector – how integrity management contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

The Bonn Water Network (BWN) invites you to its webinar “Corruption in the water sector: how integrity management contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”

Date: Tuesday January 18, 2022, 13.00-14.30

Corruption hampers the achievement of SDG 6 for ensuring water and sanitation for all. It is estimated to be responsible for “losses” of 10%, in some countries even between 40% and 50%, of investments into the capital intensive water sector. This in turn entails higher costs for drinking water and sanitation services, degrades the quality and reliability of supply and thus endangers the health of people (SDG 3). In many countries, women and girls are responsible for managing household water supply, sanitation and health. Hence, they are disproportionally affected by corruption compared to men, and can even be victims of sextortion and other forms of exploitation (SDG 5). Strengthening water integrity requires focusing on SDG 16, which aims for accountable institutions. Water and sanitation sector organizations need to operate with integrity to prevent corruption, and enhance credibility to achieve various SDG goals. This proposed webinar will bring together experiences and knowledge from different organizations on the topic of water integrity and discuss how integrity can help in catalysing the achievement of SDGs.

ICWRGC’s Dr. Marienela Fader and Dr. Luna Bharati will be participating in the webinar, with Dr. Bharati moderating and Dr. Fader acting as a panellist.

Details and agendaWebinar Registration

CO-MICC Portal official launch

Date: December 10, 2021
Venue: Web-based seminar

Announcement CO_MICC portal launch

During this web-based seminar, we will present the CO-MICC Knowledge and Data Portal on freshwater-related hazards of climate change. This pilot climate service was developed in the framework of the CO-MICC (CO-development of Methods to utilize uncertain multi-model-based Information on freshwater-related hazards of Climate Change) research project (2017-2021). It gives access to over 80 quantitative indicators of freshwater-related hazards of climate change, which can be visualized in the form of global maps or interactive graphs.

Attendees will be given a live demonstration of this newly developed tool, and then have the opportunity to follow a panel discussion on its added value of for decision making in response to future climate change risks.

Contact:

ISI – Training Workshop “River Basin Sediment Monitoring and Management”

Date: September 6 – 10, 2021
Venue: Online training workshop

The workshop under the umbrella of UNESCO’s International Sediment Initiative (ISI) aims at providing knowledge on:

  • River sediment measurement and monitoring techniques
  • River sediment data analysis methods
  • Transferring river sediment monitoring results to management solutions

Furthermore, we offer participants the opportunity to work on a sediment-related issue from their own region, supported by a senior expert. This workshop will concentrate on monitoring and management of sediment in rivers, and will not include topics such as hillslope erosion and soil conservation. The workshop is organized in collaboration with the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), UNESCO-IHP and the International Research and Training Centre for Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES, Beijing, China).

Contact:

Further events