Freshwater
- International Hydrological Programme
- UK IHP National Committee
- Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science
Freshwater for Life. Freshwater for Sustainable Development.
Freshwater is a key resource for human health, prosperity and security. UNESCO’s work to protect this precious resource is primarily undertaken through its International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the UNESCO Institute for Water Education (Delft, Netherlands), and 12 regional and international centres on water established around the world under the auspices of UNESCO.
UNESCO also plays a leading role in UN-Water, the official coordination mechanism for all UN activities related to freshwater. Among other activities, UNESCO leads the flagship World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) which produces the World Water Development Report every three years, providing a comprehensive, authoritative picture of the state of the world’s freshwater resources.
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
How do we address problems of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation in an age of rapid urbanisation?
How do we ensure water resources are shared peacefully? How can we reduce the social, environmental and economic risks of floods?
UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) is the only intergovernmental programme in the UN system devoted to water research, water resources management, and water capacity building, education and training.
IHP aims to improve our understanding of the hydrological cycle and processes. It works to improve water management and to stimulate cooperation and dialogue in water science and management. IHP also assesses the sustainability of vulnerable water resources and increases awareness of global water issues.
UNESCO IHP was ranked as the most influential international organization on freshwater issues by a recent independent survey of international water-related institutions.
Global Water Initiatives: What Do the Experts Think? 2009
Activities are conducted at the international, regional and local level and engage researchers, educators, practitioners and policy makers. These activities address pressing hydrology issues such as flood management, shared water resources and aquifer resources management, sediment transport and erosion, ecohydrology, isotope hydrology, hydrogeology, arid and semi-arid zones, urban water management, integrated catchment management and flow regimes.
For further information about IHP, visit the freshwater pages on UNESCO’s website.
UK and IHP
The UK is actively involved in IHP through its scientists and researchers, policymakers, education and research institutions and natural sites including river basins.
The IHP programme is governed by an Intergovernmental Council composed of 36 rotating UNESCO Member States. The UK is was most recently on the Intergovernmental Council from 2006 to 2009.
UK IHP National Committee
The UK Committee for National and International Hydrology acts as the UK IHP National Committee and is the main coordinating body for UK input to IHP. It comprises representatives of relevant UK government departments and agencies, research centres, learned societies and members of steering committees of major UNESCO IHP initiatives and centres.
The UK IHP National Committee is independent of, but works closely with, the UK National Commission for UNESCO. The UK National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat regularly attends IHP National Committee meetings.
To contact the UK IHP National Committee email its Secretary at harr[at]ceh.ac.uk
Pages in this section
- UNESCO-IHP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at University of Dundee
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- The Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science is building a new generation of water leaders through excellence in research and teaching. It is the the UK's first ‘category II’ centre under the auspices of UNESCO.
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