UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

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UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
UNESCO decided to give Priority to Water
Resources
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UNESCO focus on Groundwater Resources From
the Decade 1965-1975 to the IHP 1975 -2007
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UNESCO and IAH Groundwater Protection
As results of the last cycle of the IHP-V
programme (1996-2001) 3 guidebooks will be
published in 2002 1-Groundwater Contamination
Inventory 2-Strategy for early warning
groundwater quality monitoring systems 3-Urban
Groundwater Pollution
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WATER INTERACTIONS SYSTEMS AT RISK AND SOCIAL
CHALLENGES

• Plan for the
• International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO
  Phase VI
• (2002-2007)

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• IHPVI -Examples of Interactions
• Surface water and ground water
• Atmospheric and terrestrial part of hydrologic
  circle
• Fresh water and salt water
• Global watershed and river reach scales
• Water bodies and aquatic ecosystems
• Science and policy
• Water and civilization

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Theme 1 (T1) Global Changes and Water
Resources Theme 2 (T2) Integrated Watershed and
Aquifer Dynamics Theme 3 (T3) Land Habitat
Hydrology Theme 4 (T4) Water and Society Theme 5
(T5) Water education and Training Two
cross-cutting programme components FRIEND (Flow
Regimes from International Experimental and
Network Data) and HELP (Hydrology for
Environment, Life and Policy) have been
identified which, through their operational
concept, interact with all themes.
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Theme 1 Global Changes and Water
Resources Focal Area 1.1 Global estimation of
resources water supply and water quality ()
() Focal Area 1.2 Global estimation of water
withdrawals and consumption () Focal Area 1.3
Integrated assessment of water resources in the
context of global land-based activities and
climate change ()()
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Theme 2 Integrated Watershed and Aquifer
Dynamics Focal Area 2.1 Extreme events in land
and water resources management () Focal Area
2.2 International River Basins and Aquifers
() Focal Area 2.3 Endorheic Basins () Focal
Area 2.4 Methodologies for integrated river
basin management ()()
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Theme 3 Land Habitat Hydrology Focal Area 3.1
Drylands ()() Focal Area 3.2 Wetlands
() Focal Area 3.3 Mountains ()() Focal
Area 3.4 Small islands and coastal zones
() Focal Area 3.5 Urban areas and rural
settlements ()
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Theme 4 Water and Society Focal Area 4.1
Water, civilization and ethics Focal Area 4.2
Value of water Focal Area 4.3 Water conflicts -
prevention and resolution () Focal Area 4.4
Human security in water-related disasters and
degrading environments ()() Focal Area 4.5
Public awareness raising on water interactions
()()
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Theme 5 Water Education and Training Focal
Area 5.1 Teaching techniques and material
development ()() Focal Area 5.2 Continuing
education and training for selected target groups
() Focal Area 5.3 Crossing the digital divide
() Focal Area 5.4 Institutional development
and networking for WET ()
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Groundwater Component of the IHP-VI. A total
of 45 activities distributed over the first four
Themes
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A particular focus will be given to -groundwater
protection - groundwater natural
recharge, -artificial recharge, -groundwater in
arid and semi-arid areas -the equitable sharing
of transboundary aquifer systems
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Eight activities have been identified to have the
highest priority in IHP-VI
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• 1-Guidelines for delineation of protection zones
  around public groundwater supplies and management
  policy.
• 2-Development of groundwater policy and
  management for wetlands protection and
  biodiversity conservation.

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• Effects of global changes on groundwater
  recharge, especially in arid and semi-arid
  regions in relation to water resources
  management.
• Methodologies for risk assessment of wastewater
  re-use on groundwater quality.

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• Development of methodology (data acquisition and
  analysis) for studying responses of aquifers to
  extreme hydrological events.
• Study of the dynamics of groundwater flow and
  chemistry in closed basins including long-term
  effects, especially in arid zones.

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• Evaluation of the impact of land-based sources of
  pollution on coastal zone resources.
• Methodology for enhancing communication between
  water specialist, decision makers and communities
  to strengthen public participation in groundwater
  protection.

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• IHP VI initiatives
• International Groundwater Resources Assessment
  Center, IGRAC (UNESCO-WMO)
• Joint International Isotopes in Hydrology
  Programme, JIIHP (UNESCO - IAEA)
• Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources
  Management, ISARM (IAH- UNESCO-FAO-UNECE)
• Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy,
  HELP (UNESCO-WMO)

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• Joint International Isotopes in Hydrology
  Program Harnessing Synergy Between IAEA and
  UNESCO/IHP

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• The aim of the joint IAEA-UNESCO/JIIHP initiative
  is to facilitate the integration of isotopes in
  hydrological practices through
• development of tools for better understanding of
  specific hydrological processes and improving
  assessment, development and management of water
  resources
• support of national, regional and international
  programmes in water resources
• incorporation of isotope hydrology as part of
  hydrological curricula in universities worldwide
  and
• integration of isotopic data in hydrological
  databases at national, regional and global
  scales.

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HELP Hydrology for the Environment, Life and
Policy

• To deliver social, economic and environmental
  benefit to stakeholders through sustainable and
  appropriate use of water by directing
  hydrological science towards improved integrated
  catchment management basins

• Catchments are nominated by national
  institutions, based on HELP catchment criteria
• in a range of bio-climatic zones, socio-economic
  / cultural activities, catchments representative
  of a wider region
• CATCHMENTS ( up to 104 -106 km²) WORLDWIDE

IAEA
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The World Water Assessment Programme
The World Freshwater Assessment Programme, is a
joint coordinated initiative of the United
Nations system The WWAP aims to assess the
state of the Worlds Freshwater Resources
Indices and Indicators for Measuring Ground Water
Condition and Vulnerability Ground Water Quantity
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At ACC/ SWR meeting in Tokyo (April, 2001)
UNESCO was given the coordinating role for
development of groundwater resources indicators.
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Ground water indicators should provide
diagnostics to evaluate ground water condition
and vulnerability and provide a means to appraise
the ground water situation.
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Fostering a long-term perspective to the
management of ground water resources is perhaps
the most important attribute to the concept of
ground water sustainability. So, how can we view
ground water sustainability? Conceptually,
looking at the ground water system through time,
a long-term approach to sustainability may
involve frequent temporary withdrawals from
ground water storage that are balanced by
intervening additions to ground-water storage.
However, the concept of ground-water
sustainability and its application to real
situations is multifaceted and complex.
Discussions of groundwater sustainability need
to focus on the ability of the resource to
produce key services (including environmental
services) plus the economic costs and impacts on
equitable access that loss of those services
would entail.