PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

Transcription

1 Paris, 7 April 2015 English only International Hydrological Programme 52 nd session of the IHP Bureau (Paris, 1-2 June 2015) PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION Item 4 of the provisional agenda. Summary This document provides a summary of the implementation of the Programme, in particular: A brief account of implemented activities of the eighth phase of IHP (IHP-VIII, ). Regional perspectives on IHP. Report on the implementation of the resolutions and decisions adopted at the 21 st session of the Intergovernmental Council. Follow-up to the external evaluation of IHP-VII. Cooperation with other UNESCO programmes. Actions expected by the Bureau: 4.1 Takes note of the report and encourages implementation of the eighth phase of IHP. 4.2 Takes note of the report and encourages further regional cooperation. 4.3 Takes note of the report and encourages further implementation of the resolutions. 4.4 Takes note of the follow-up to the external evaluation of IHP-VII. 4.5 Takes note and encourages further cooperation with other UNESCO programmes.

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3 Page 1 IHP-VIII IMPLEMENTATION (Agenda item 4.1) Theme 1: Water-related disasters and hydrological change 1. Several activities undertaken through different initiatives are contributing to addressing Water Security challenges by providing a scientific platform through the Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data (FRIEND), IFI (International Flood Initiative), IDI (International Drought Initiative), ISI (International Sediment Initiative) and the snow and glacier networks. In order to improve the scientific understanding of hydrological processes from a regional to a global scale, several scientific meetings and seminars were organized in collaboration with UNESCO s water networks. 2. From 6 to 7 November 2014, an International Workshop on Climate Change Impacts on Snow, Glacier and Water Resources: Multidisciplinary Network for Adaptation Strategies was organized in Koblenz, Germany, in collaboration with the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change Koblenz (UNESCO Category 2 Center). A set of recommendations were proposed to enhance the recently launched project: Addressing Water Security: Climate Impacts and Adaptation responses in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. An inception meeting under the same name of the above mentioned project was organized from 9 to 10 February 2015, Paris. One of the outcomes of the meeting was the suggestion to create a knowledge forum. 3. IHP and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) are convening two sessions on freshwater to contribute to the scientific dialogue concerning COP21. The sessions a) State of Knowledge and b) Shaping the Future will take place during the International Scientific Conference Our Common future under Climate Change, to be held at UNESCO headquarters from 7 to 10 July UNESCO in partnership with the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the International Flood Initiative (IFI) organized, from 22 to 27 February 2015, an international seminar to link science and society for multi-hazards management in Manila, Philippines, under the topic of Enhancing Resilience against Multi-hazards through Effective Mitigation Systems and Adaptive Strategies. 5. An international workshop was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 10 to 12 March 2015 to discuss Challenges and Opportunities for Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) and Ecohydrology as tools for Customizing IWRM (International Water Resources Management) Guidelines for Water Security in Asia and the Pacific. The workshop was held in collaboration with several UNESCO Category 2 Centers and Chairs, such as: the Regional Humid Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Center for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (HTCKL); the Asian Pacific Centre for Ecohydrology (APCE); the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM); the UNESCO Water Chair in Hydroinformatics; the Network of Asian River Basin Organization (NARBO); as well as the International Drought Initiatives (IDI) and the International Flood Initiatives (IFI). UNESCO Jakarta, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) organized a Master Class on Network-enabled Collaboration on Water Related Disasters and Water Security on 23 January A collaboration agreement was signed between the directors of the centers. 6. Training and course materials were produced for the first workshop on the seasonal forecast of floods within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa. This workshop took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 18 to 22 August 2014, and it was co-organized with the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), with the support

4 Page 2 of an expert from the regional centre AGRHYMET (Agrometeorology, Hydrology, and Meteorology). 7. The ISI governing mechanism was restructured during the ISI core group meeting organized at the International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES, Category 2 Centre) on August As a result, an Advisory Group and an Expert Group were established to provide: a) scientific expertise and advice; b) institutional support; and, c) to enhance networking to support the implementation of ISI s activities. 8. IHP, UNESCO Beijing Office and IRTCES are organizing the International Sediment Initiative (ISI) Programme Planning Workshop to be held from 25 to 28 May 2015 in Beijing, China. The workshop will bring together members of the ISI advisory and expert groups, representatives of relevant UNESCO Category 2 Centers and Chairs and other partner organizations, as well as other stakeholders to discuss an action plan for the future. 9. The SIDA project African Drought Early Warning System Expansion to Southern Africa has been approved and preparations are underway for implementation in partnership with UNESCO regional offices in Nairobi and Windhoek, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Climate Services Centre, SADC countries meteorological and hydrological services and the University of Princeton. An inception workshop will be held in Windhoek from 19 to 21 May 2015 to identify capacity building needs and gaps so as to be able to develop recommendations and plans of actions for drought monitoring in Southern Africa, in view of improving national policies for drought management in the region. 10. Four policy briefs where finalized: Mapping of Vulnerability of Water Resources to Global Changes in the Andean Region ; Policy needs for Adaptation Strategies in Water Resources Management ; Education and Curriculum Needs ; Climate Change Adaptation Local Practices in the Andean Region. 11. As part of the outreach activities, during the World Mountain Forum held from 23 to 24 May 2014, in Cusco, Peru, IHP presented the exhibition Climate change impacts on mountain regions of the world and organized a session on Climate and Water. Another exhibition was organized on the occasion of the 20 th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 20) in December 2014, featuring satellite images of different mountain regions worldwide, highlighting the implications of climate change on mountain ecosystems, water resources and livelihoods. 12. During the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) held in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan, IHP in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) organized a working session on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). 13. During the 7 th World Water Forum, IHP and K-water organized a high-level panel on Water Security and Sustainable Development: Co-operation among Disciplines and Stakeholders on 16 April This event commemorated the 50 th anniversary of UNESCO s water programmes and the 40 th anniversary of IHP. A session under the theme of Enhancing resilience through robust water policies and appropriate water management was organized on 13 April 2015, a set of recommendations emerged from the session regarding new solutions to enable the practical implementation of climate adaptation of water resources.

5 Page 3 Theme 2: Groundwater in a changing environment 14. IHP and the Australian National University (ANU)-UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance launched the Food, Energy, Environment and Water (FE²W) Network in November 2014 at UNESCO HQ. The network includes individuals from academia, the private and public sectors, and the civil society to facilitate dialogue between disciplines and sectors. 15. After four years of work, a High-Level Consultation was organized in February 2015 at UNESCO HQ to validate main recommendations of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)-funded project Groundwater Governance: A Framework for Action, implemented by UNESCO-IHP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). The final results were presented at the 7 th World Water Forum and a joint call for urgent action was launched. 16. UNESCO Bangkok office is working on the development of a groundwater programme for the Mekong River Basin in partnership with the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programme in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM). A planning workshop with all relevant stakeholders will be organized in May 2015 to design a strategy for the Greater Mekong basin region. 17. The Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) initiative has been implemented through several activities and the following contributing programmes: the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP); the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer System project (DIKTAS); Groundwater Resources Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA); and Syr Darya. 18. IHP carried out the global assessment of 166 transboundary aquifers and 56 groundwater systems in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) together with a network of partners at national, regional and international levels. The projects results, including projections for 2030 and 2050, were presented during a meeting held on March 2015 at UNESCO HQ. 19. The project Groundwater Resources Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) is being implemented with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. It consists of case studies on the detailed assessment of three transboundary aquifers: the Trifinio (Central America), the Pretashkent (Central Asia) and the Stampriet (Southern Africa). The applied methodology includes for the first time a gender-based component. 20. Technical meetings and trainings, and capacity building exercises aimed at paving the way to proposals for multi-country cooperation mechanisms were organized for the above mentioned case studies. In the Trifinio case study, the preliminary assessment and the platform to initiate multi-country dialogue will be presented in a regional meeting in Guatemala in June In the Pretashkent case study, a training course on Preventive Diplomacy for Transboundary Water Management was organized by UNESCO-IHE in September A tailor-made training on groundwater monitoring and analysis was organized for experts from Kazakhstan in February 2015 at UNESCO-IHE, combined with a workshop to discuss the findings of the assessment of the Kazakh national segment of the Pretashkent aquifer. For the Stampriet case study, they were held in October 2014 (Pretoria, South Africa) and February 2015 (Johannesburg, South Africa). The outcomes of the integrated assessment and options for the establishment of a multi-country consultation mechanism will be presented at a regional workshop to be held in May 2015 in Gaborone, Botswana.

6 Page IHP is leading the GEF-funded Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer System (DIKTAS) project, the first initiative globally attempted to introduce sustainable integrated management principles in a transboundary karstic freshwater aquifer. The Dinaric Karst Aquifer System, shared by several countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro), is one of the world s largest. Important milestones of the project include the international conference Karst without Borders celebrated in June 2014 and a number of recent workshops. 22. IHP is finalizing the preparation of the GEF-funded project Enabling Countries of the Transboundary Syr Darya Basin to make sustainable use of their groundwater potential and subsurface space with consideration to climate variability and change. The main goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the joint assessment, monitoring, protection and sustainable exploitation of their groundwater resources, and to promote the conjunctive management of surface and groundwater. 23. In cooperation with several partners, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), particular efforts have been devoted to the promotion of international law and conventions. Different seminars and workshops were organized (Tunis, June 2014; World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden, September 2014; Geneva, February 2014; Amman, Jordan, March 2015; Beirut, Lebanon, October 2015, among others) to promote the benefits of the UN Watercourses Convention, the UNESCO-UNILC (UN International Law Commission) Draft Articles of the Law on Transboundary Aquifers, and the UNECE Water Convention and its Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwaters. 24. IHP is responsible for the GRAPHIC (Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change) scientific network on groundwater and climate change, that promotes sustainable groundwater management considering climate change and linked human effects. GRAPHIC results will be presented at the World Water Congress in May 2015 in Edinburgh; at the Our Common Future Under Climate Change conference (which is the largest forum for the scientific community to come together ahead of the COP21 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015) to be held on July 2015 at UNESCO HQ in Paris; and at the 42 nd International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) International Congress AQUA2015 in September 2015 in Rome, Italy. The GRAPHIC Steering Committee will meet in May 2015 to prepare for its involvement in the COP21. Future activities include applying innovative tools (i.e. satellite data from the NASA s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment GRACE mission) for evaluating groundwater resources storage and uncertainty trends in regions where data access is very limited, either because of data scarcity or accessibility (geography, conflicts, among others). 25. Within the GEF International Waters (IW) portfolio, IHP contributed to the 3 rd phase of the International Waters Learning, Exchange and Resources Network (IW: LEARN) project. Two online tools, developed for the IWLEARN project, have facilitated the exchange of knowledge and experience on groundwater resources management: the Groundwater Community of Practice, and the Global Groundwater Forum. The regional component of the Integrated Nature Resources Management in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENARID) portfolio involved the organization of a learning workshop: Scaling-up Integrated Natural Resource Management, furthering knowledge on groundwater resources management and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems (Beirut, June 2014). IHP, in coordination with the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), continued its series of online exchanges about groundwater issues with the webinar Beyond karst without borders: understanding and managing transboundary karst, lessons learned from the 2014 conference in June 2014 and Moving with the Momentum: Reviewing Lessons for Groundwater from 2014 and a Looking Ahead to 2015 in January 2015, allowing experts from various organizations to share their views and experiences

7 Page 5 regarding the topics of Sustainable Development Goals, Groundwater, Developments in International Law Applicable to Groundwater and Assessing Transboundary Aquifers. IHP is preparing and finalizing the preparatory phase for the new 4 th phase of the project which is expected to start in June-July IHP, in the context of the GEF-UNEP/MAP conservation and protection of coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean region project (MedPartnership), is working to conserve and protect coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean region and also to demonstrate the role of groundwater in sustaining important ecosystems. IHP conducted two regional consultations in November 2014 and January 2015 to bring together 10 Mediterranean countries to discuss the regional assessments undertaken to characterize the main coastal aquifers in the MedPartnership countries and to analyze the legal, policy and institutional aspects of their management in view of the preparation of a regional action plan on coastal aquifers that will be finalized in June This regional action plan will be informed by three sub-regional consultations IHP is conducting in May 2015, and will provide scientific, management and policy recommendations along with considerations for climate change and variability. IHP also completed a regional assessment of a number of representative groundwater-related ecosystems in the region, and furthermore prepared a map of these ecosystems that demonstrates the ecosystem type, its hydrogeological setting and dependence on groundwater and also the ecosystem services provided. Finally, IHP organized a joint regional training workshop in February 2015 to bring together nine Mediterranean countries to build capacity on the use of aquifer vulnerability mapping and also remote sensing applications to groundwater management. 27. The report Fifty years of (Hydro)geological mapping under the auspices of UNESCO, Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGWM), the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and BGR was released in November The Global Map of Groundwater Vulnerability to Floods and Droughts was finalized in February 2015 in partnership with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and was presented at the 7 th WWForum. It is the result of the joint efforts of the Groundwater for Emergency Situations (GWES) programme and the World-wide Hydrogeological Mapping and Assessment Programme (WHYMAP). 29. UNESCO-IHP and the Category 2 Center IGRAC prepared an animated video entitled Groundwater, the Hidden Resource. This video was part of a web-based campaign to increase awareness about the importance of groundwater that resulted in a social reach of 7.3 million people. 30. During the 7 th WWForum, IHP organized nine scientific sessions on groundwaterrelated topics: governance, cooperation for conflict reduction, transboundary water management and integrated joint management of rivers, lakes and aquifers at basin level. 31. Within the framework of the Focal Area 2.5, activities related to Water Diplomacy and conflict prevention have been undertaken in coordination with Focal areas 3.3 and 6.5. In the framework of the Groundwater Resources Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) Project, IHP built capacity on technical issues and water diplomacy among experts of different regions during The trainings, organized with the contribution of the Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential programme (PCCP), addressed alternative dispute resolution aspects (litigation, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, consensus building and examples of traditional conflict resolution). The trainings were also focused on the details of the negotiation processes (main concepts, skill building and practice) and the transformation of conflicts and innovative methodologies for nurturing cooperation among various stakeholders, as well as the general status of transboundary waters in the world, legal tools and their advantages. In this context, IHP supported the participation of experts

8 Page 6 from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the course Tailor-made Training on Preventive Diplomacy for Transboundary Water Management held in September 2014 in Delft, the Netherlands. In Central America, a five-day training in hydro-diplomacy was delivered, in cooperation with the UNESCO offices in Montevideo and Costa Rica in November It addressed representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and academic institutions from Central American countries, including the three countries of the Trifinio aquifer. In Southern Africa, a training was organized during a regional workshop held in South Africa in October 2014 and further activities will take place in May In the framework of the GGRETA project, a training toolkit on Transboundary Groundwater Management Toolkit is in preparation. 33. Several other programmes executed by IHP aim at fostering water cooperation for the sustainable management of water resources and include institutional and legal components: the global Transboundary Water Assessment Programme (TWAP), the regional DIKTAS (Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer) Programme and the regional MedPartnership programme (conservation and protection of coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean region). Several projects, focused on Central Asian and African shared water resources, are currently under preparation. 34. IHP supported the publication of Public participation in International Law: where do we stand, in partnership with the University of Geneva. This is a contribution to a better understanding of the challenges of water governance addressed by the Geneva Water Hub s Education and Knowledge platform. 35. IHP, based on its leading role on water cooperation, started the preparation of a Programme on Science Diplomacy for Water Security, a large initiative including subjects such as transboundary cooperation, conflicts prevention and resolution, governance of water resources and water ethics, among others. This initiative will be undertaken with a broad spectrum of partners and will also involve the UNESCO Water Network, in particular the International Center on Water Cooperation in Sweden. Theme 3: Addressing water scarcity and quality 36. The South East European (SEE) Global Network on Water and Development Information for Arid Lands (G-WADI) was launched in a meeting hosted by the Jaroslav Černi Institute for the Development of Water Resources, Belgrade, Serbia Water for Sustainable Development and Adaptation to Climate Change (WSDAC) with a thematic conference Data tools and methodologies to address floods and droughts in the Member States from 17 to 18 December 2014 in Belgrade. Within the framework of G-WADI several capacity building workshops and meetings were organized during the reporting period. The third workshop on Conservation of Soil and Water in Andean Countries (COSWAND) was organized in Ayacucho, Peru, in September Advances have been made with the design and implementation of the climate data library of Chile ( and several training courses were organized to implement the data library in Peru and Chile. An international workshop Development of near-term climate scenarios ( ) for vulnerable watersheds to climatic variability at the inter-annual, decadal and climate change time scales was held in La Serena, Chile, in August The improved online database was further developed to strengthen the drought expert network. The Latin American and Caribbean Drought Atlas was finalized, resulting in 26 countries of the region that now have access to drought frequency maps. 37. UNESCO in partnership with HELP Davao Network organized from 22 to 23 October 2014 in Davao City, Philippines, a Forum on Integrated Water Resources Management for Peace and Development.

9 Page G-WADI Geoserver and the Precipitation Estimation from Remote Sensing Information using Artificial Neural Network (PERSIANN) technical training session Satellitebased Rainfall for Planning and Management for Natural Disasters in Monsoon Asia was organized as part of the International Conference on Climate Change and Water & Environment Management in Monsoon Asia on 29 January In 2014, the G-WADI Arab network co-organized a special session highlighting its achievements and potential links with other regional networks and launched its website, which is hosted by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources of Oman. Within the framework of G-WADI Arab network, the Arab Strategy for Water Security ( ) was discussed with the network partners. G-WADI Arab Regional Kick-off Workshop on Climate Change Mainstreaming Capacity Building for Water Resources Management Strategies and Action Plans Formulation was organized in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 16 to 18 November A G-WADI side event on Data and Products to Address Flood and Drought Challenges in Semi-Arid Regions: Case Studies from Different Regions, was organized during the 7 th WWForum to present last results and to organize the forthcoming activities of the network. The new brochure was also launched. 40. Within the IHP-VIII Theme 3, the scientific knowledge base on water quality monitoring and pollution control/attenuation has been strengthened through a number of scientific and technical meetings. IHP organized five technical sessions on water quality and wastewater management at the 5 th Africa Water Week, held in Dakar in 2014, which enhanced the sharing of scientific knowledge and experience among African countries on cooperatively addressing water quality issues. 41. IHP contributed as Lead Convener of the Academia Stakeholder sessions to the UN- Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference Water and Sustainable Development, held in January It organized four sessions on water quality and access to water and sanitation, which brought together researchers from Spain, South Africa, Vietnam, the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. IHP convened two scientific sessions on integrated approaches to water quality and wastewater management within an IWRM framework as part of the Dresden Nexus Conference 2015 on Advancing a Nexus Approach to the Sustainable Management of Water, Soil and Waste, held in Germany, in March 2015, namely: Session on The water quality dimension of the water-soil-waste nexus ; and Session on Promoting safe and sustainable wastewater use. As part of IHP activities on water quality, IHP organized as theme and session coordinator 15 thematic and scientific sessions on access to safe water, water quality, water pollution and wastewater issues under Theme 1.1 Enough Safe Water for All of the Thematic Process and Main Focus 2 Resource recovery from water and wastewater of the Science and Technology Process of the 7 th WWForum. 42. To promote scientific research and knowledge on water quality monitoring, IHP is organizing international scientific meetings on the topic. These scientific and technical meetings will contribute to enhance the scientific knowledge base and capacities on water quality issues. A new extra budgetary project on Emerging Pollutants in Wastewater Reuse in Developing Countries will be implemented with funding from SIDA, Sweden. Water quality and wastewater issues have been identified as the highest priority for the region during the Expert Group Meeting on Future Water Collaboration in the Arab region, organized by UNESCO Cairo Office in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in September All IHP activities on water quality are implemented under the overall umbrella of IHP s International Initiative on Water Quality.

10 Page 8 Theme 4: Water and human settlements of the future 43. IHP has been working on the preparation of a stakeholder session on Urban water services & climate change: a necessary adaptation for the international conference Our Common Future under Climate Change, scheduled in Paris for July The International Conference Water, Megacities and Global Change, the first conference devoted to the theme of water in megacities, will be hosted by UNESCO in its HQ, from 1 to 4 December 2015, during the first week of the COP21. The conference will bring together scientists, public and private operators, elected officials, and representatives of international institutions and NGOs. IHP is one of the main partners and participates in the Organizing and Scientific Committees. 45. The book Urban water Challenges in the Americas, a perspective from the Academies of Sciences, co-published by UNESCO-IHP and IANAS (InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences) will be printed and disseminated in April This book is the result of a collaborative work of 94 authors presenting water issues, state and perspectives in 20 countries of the Americas and the Caribbean, with the financial support of IHP. 46. The Global Water Pathogen Project (GWPP) has been undertaken by Michigan State University, and will be funded in particular by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through UNESCO-IHP. The GWPP aims at rewriting a reference book on sanitation, published in the 1980s, and which has profoundly marked scientists and practitioners all over the world. GWPP will come to an end in The preparation of the book Impact of Urban Floods on Water Quality was started in 2014, authors have been selected and first drafts of chapters are expected in July 2015; the publication of the book is scheduled for The Sanitation Briefs for Settlements project, a series of short articles written by specialists on specific water related issues for educating decision makers, is ongoing with several briefs already received and reviewed. 49. A cooperation process has been started between IHP and the International Water Association (IWA), focusing on the UNESCO theme Water and Human Settlements and the IWA Programme Cities of the Future ; a coordination meeting took place in The Hague, the Netherlands, in March A group of experts in urban water-related issues is being gathered by IHP to advise, guide, support and disseminate IHP s work on Theme 4. A first meeting of this group is being organized early July in conjunction with the international conference Our Common Future under Climate Change. Experts from France, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Philippines and Australia have already agreed to join this group and meet twice a year; confirmations from experts from Africa, Arab States, South America, Europe and Asia are expected soon. Theme 5: Ecohydrology, engineering harmony for a sustainable world 51. From 8 to 11 July 2014, UNESCO organized a series of events on sustainable landscapes management in Australia. The first event organized in partnership with the University of Western Sydney, was the PERI-URBAN 2014 International Conference Sydney under the topic Peri-Urban Landscapes; Water, Food and Environmental Security from 8 to 10 July The second event was the Sustainable Landscape Futures International Conference which took place at the University of Canberra on the theme Sustainable

11 Page 9 Landscape Futures: Solving complex problems through sustainability science on 10 to 11 July These two events were concluded by the Sydney Declaration titled Expanding Cities Sustainably and the Canberra Statement which concluded that sustainability is a way of living that requires a holistic approach, and have highlighted the key role of IHP in these processes. 53. UNESCO HQ and UNESCO Office in Jakarta jointly organized the International Training course Ecohydrology: a tool for IWRM implementation at the River Basin level, on 8 to 9 November 2014 in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, which was attended by 29 participants from the region (China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan). 54. The International Conference on Ecohydrology (ICE 2014) on the theme Ecohydrology Approaches Facing the Global Water Environment Challenges was organized from 10 to 12 November 2014, in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, to synthesize information and knowledge gaps for addressing issues related to critical water environment systems; and how ecohydrology and eco-technology could provide low cost environmentally sound technology for sustainable water management, especially in the Asia Pacific region. 55. Since January 2015, UNESCO HQ is working with the Centre of Hydroinformatics of Itaipu (Brazil and Paraguay) on the design of the web platform for the ecohydrology programme of IHP. The platform, which will include ecohydrology demonstration sites information and related links to databases, publications, guidelines, etc. will be launched at the International Conference Ecohydrology 2015; Measuring, Modeling and Managing of the natural processes related to water flows, Social values of the linked ecosystem services jointly organized with the Institut National de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l Environnement et l Agriculture (IRSTEA), in Lyon, France, on 21 to 23 September Theme 6: Water education, key for Water Security 56. During the reporting period, IHP continued to strengthen water-related capacities at all levels. Capacities for gender mainstreaming in the water sector were reinforced in collaboration with the five UNESCO Chairs devoted to this topic through collaborative actions and a training workshop for water sector professionals, government officials and NGOs of four countries (Dominican Republic, December 2014). Integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into Water Education processes and vice-versa was fostered through a workshop at the UNESCO Conference on ESD (Japan, November 2014). The project Water Education to Implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), was concluded, leading to the customisation of the UNESCO guidelines on IWRM to include regional perspectives in managing climate extremes (floods and droughts), urban water management issues and linking environmental sustainability with consumptive water demand and the development of education material and implementation of workshops on IWRM training at the river basin level. Along the Volga Basin, youth and communities awareness were strengthen through the joint UNESCO/Coca-Cola HBC Eurasia programme, including seminars, youth meetings, concerts, environmental games and educational materials. Collaboration with CODIA (Conferencia de Directores Iberoamericanos del Agua) is being strengthened through a Memorandum of Understanding and training courses with the support of AECID the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. Water education sessions were conducted at the 7 th WWForum, with UNESCO also integrating the design group for the water education theme of the Forum and involving youth groups. The project on knowledge based and capacity building on water resources within the framework of One UN in Rwanda was concluded and follow-up will continue with the Rwanda IHP committee to produce policy briefs on the project findings. Six new water-related chairs were established and the agreements for ten chairs were reviewed for potential renewal.

12 Page Educational tools were improved for the teaching of water issues in the K-12 curriculum in five African countries. With the support of private donors, a contract was signed with the Cape Verdean National Commission to reinforce water education and the supply of drinking water in schools. In francophone Africa, a manual to be piloted in Cameroon was revised with a local NGO and IHP is working to mobilize funds and in-kind contributions for a water education and infrastructure project in West Africa. 58. Regarding the strengthening of institutional capacities, a regional sensitization workshop was organized with a focus on transboundary Water Security and cooperation in the West African Sub-region (November 2014, Nigeria) with the presence of 48 IHP National Committee members, policy makers and researchers. An educational toolkit on Changing Perspectives on Water Management is ready for distribution to ASP-NET schools in India. Advocacy for youth was supported at the 3 rd World Conference on SIDS (Samoa, September 2014), through a side event on Career Prospects in the Sciences, including the water sector. In Latin America and the Caribbean, two workshops were conducted in Uruguay for training teachers, applying the methodology developed by IHP and Project WET. Three courses on hydrological modelling were held for the Caribbean, Central America, and South America and a course on water diplomacy was implemented in Central America. IHP also contributed to the Ibero-American Symposium on Water Education and Culture (Mexico). 59. ISARM (Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management) and PCCP programmes organized several capacity building exercises on water and groundwaterrelated technical issues and on water diplomacy, conflict prevention and negotiations for national experts and decision-makers from different regions. The Bureau may wish to take note of the report and encourage implementation of the eighth phase of IHP. REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES (Agenda item 4.2) 60. In Africa, the regional meeting of IHP National Committees was held in June 2014 just before the IHP Council with the theme of Water Security in Africa where each participating country produced and presented a country report. These presentations allowed the identification of regional priorities including water access and sanitation, water-related disasters, groundwater knowledge gaps and need for capacity building at all levels. The next regional meeting will be in 2016 in Swaziland. At the next meeting, the role of water and its monitoring in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework will be fully discussed. In the meantime, water-related post-2015 SDG documents will be shared with IHP National Committees and be uploaded on the Regional IHP Africa water portal established for information and knowledge sharing. 61. Awareness has been raised on addressing Water Security challenges in Africa and on post-2015 and the need to adopt science-based tools and guidelines for sustainable water resources management during various events, including the 5 th Africa Water Week (26-30 May 2014 in Dakar) where IHP convened various sessions, the 5 th Africa IHP committees regional meeting (5-7 June, Kinshasa), the Africa Water forum (12-14 June 2014, Ouagadougou), Kenya National Water Summit (9-10 October 2014), 1 st IGAD Water Dialogue (8-10 December 2014, Nairobi), the 38 th and 39 th Editions of the Climate Outlook Fora for the Horn of Africa in August 2014 and February 2015 and the High-Level Policy Roundtable on Water for Sustainable Development on the occasion of the launching of the world water development report 2015 in Nairobi on 20 March The partnership with key stakeholders in Africa has been strengthened, including with the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), the African Network for Basin Organizations ANBO, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African

13 Page 11 States (ECCAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) towards addressing Water Security challenges and promoting water cooperation in Africa. 62. In the Arab region, the capacity of Arab States to implement the 2014 action plan for the Arab Strategy for Water Security ( ), which was approved by the Arab Ministerial Water Council in 2011, is being raised through partnerships between the UNESCO Cairo Office (UCO) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Arab Water Council (AWC). This collaboration led to launching the Arab G-WADI Network capacity development project on Capacity building for Water Security in response to water scarcity of the Arab region and adapting to climate change and climate variability. Within the project s framework, UCO and its partners held a Regional Kick-off Workshop on Climate Change Mainstreaming Capacity Building for Water Resources Management Strategies and Action Plans Formulation in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on November The participants identified key capacity development actions focusing on the development of a training manual on how to formulate water management strategies and action plans (at national level) taking into consideration the possible climate change impacts. UCO in partnership with AWC and GIZ will undertake the development of the manual and the training of trainers during As a follow-up to the recommendation of the last Arab IHP National Committees meeting (Rabat, Morocco, October 2013) with special focus on enhancing the coordination and cooperation among them, the Arab IHP National Committees Coordination initiative was launched, including the development of a coordination facility led by Sudan. The preparation of a comprehensive technical study on gender mainstreaming in the implementation of IWRM in rural areas, including agriculture, sanitation and water reuse in Morocco, was supported as well as the organization of a regional training workshop on assessing climate change impacts on Biosphere Reserve (BR) sites, from 29 April to 3 May 2014 in Socotra Island, Yemen. 64. The Water Science and Technology Association s 11 th Gulf Water Conference on "Water in the GCC: Towards Efficient Management", was held in Muscat, Oman (20-22 October 2014). The regional workshop "Towards Effective Groundwater Governance in the Arab Region", took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (19-21 September 2014); and an Expert Group Meeting on "Future Water Collaboration in the Arab region", was held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (17-18 September 2014). The main objectives of the meeting were to identify a regional water project responding to the priorities of the Arab region, based on the Arab Water Security Strategy, and develop a joint resource mobilization for addressing these priorities. Based on the discussions of this meeting, a draft proposal was prepared covering the 3 highest rated priorities: non-conventional water resources with special focus on desalination, brackish water, wastewater treatment, irrigation water, industrial water, water harvesting, inter-alia; IWRM and integrated planning; and water (use) efficiency with special focus on water use in agriculture, industry, water supply, including reuse and flood management. 65. In the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, the regional biannual meeting is planned for the second semester of Significant advances have been made in the implementation of IHP-VIII in the region in most of its themes and focal areas. Moreover, UNESCO has been involved in the regional process towards the World Water Forum, and has strengthened partnership with relevant institutions at region and global levels. 66. The LAC network continues its expansion towards incorporating new members both individually and institutionally. In this regard, the work on water and culture has been crucial

14 Page 12 in bringing to the discussion experts outside water sciences. The regional work on water and gender, and water education is also incorporating to the network experts from other disciplines. Special effort is being made in order to provide updated information through the webpage in order to address the general public that could be interested in joining the LAC network. 67. In the Asia-Pacific region, the 22 nd UNESCO-IHP Regional Steering Committee Meeting for Southeast Asia and the Pacific was held from 13 to 14 November With continuous support from Japan Funds-in-Trust, Indonesian Funds-in-Trust and Kyoto university, the meeting provided a platform for hydrological network in the region to implement IHP regional and local activities such as Asia Pacific (AP) HELP and Ecohydrology. The meeting was attended by 49 participants from 16 countries. It discussed possible cooperation commitments in the region for the implementation of IHP-VIII in several strategic strategic areas; IWRM, AP HELP, AP Ecohydrology, Water Security, Water related disasters, Water Education, and the region s contribution to the upcoming 7 th World Water Forum. During the 7 th WWForum, the region convened a side event on Post 2015 Waterrelated actions in Asia Pacific. 68. A regional process session was held on Water and Cities entitled Water & Cities: Ecotechnologies and Ecohydrology for Urban Water Security in Asia Pacific. Of all regions, Asia and the Pacific has the greatest number of urban population and also the largest number of people without access to safe water supply and sanitation, and Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world. Also, a regional conference on Ecohydrology Approaches Facing the Global Water Environment Challenges was held from 10 to 12 November 2014, in Indonesia. The conference was attended by approximately 150 participants (scientists, practitioners, and academia with various field of expertise) and discussed relevant Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 69. On September 2014, a national Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) training workshop was jointly organized in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, by the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM Category 2 Centre) and its host organization (the Institute for Water Resources of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), the Mongolia Ministry of Environment & Green Development (MEGD), UNESCO Beijing, and the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO. The Bureau may wish to take note of the report and encourage further regional cooperation. REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTIONS AND DECISIONS ADOPTED AT THE 21 ST SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL (Agenda item 4.3) RESOLUTION XXI-1: Financial Support to the International Hydrological Programme 70. As stated in document IHP/Bur-XLII/3, the IHP extrabudgetary activities and projects are summarized, representing a total of approximately USD $ 41,967,000 over the different executing periods (not limited to the June 2014 to June 2015 reporting period). Out of 42 projects, 9 were fully implemented at the end of March 2015 (for about USD $ 3 million), while 33 are ongoing (representing an amount of about USD $ 39 million). Among the major donors to IHP (excluding Institutes and Centres) are the European Union (EU), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. 71. In addition, in line with the recommendation of the external evaluation of IHP-VII, the Division of Water Sciences is hiring a consultant for fundraising who will have different tasks, such as setting a strategy for IHP to raise funds in line with IHP s general eighth phase and

15 Page 13 related Themes in order to implement activities with the support of the UNESCO Water Network (Category 2 Centres, Chairs and UNITWIN networks), among others. 72. As stated in document IHP/Bur-XLII/3, three sections are currently operational within the Division of Water Sciences: Section on Hydrological Systems and Water Scarcity (SC/HYD/HSS), Section on Groundwater Systems and Settlements (SC/HYD/GSS) and Section on Ecohydrology, Water Quality and Water Education (SC/HYD/EQE), in addition to the Office of the Director and the WWAP Secretariat. Regarding its staffing, the Division currently counts with 1 D1 post, 8 professional posts and 5 assistant posts, including 3 vacant positions and excluding extrabudgetary posts and secondments. In the Field Offices, 7 professional and national professional officer posts in Africa (providing funds from 17 to 100% per post), 3 posts in the Arab States (funds from 17 to 100% per post), 8 posts in Asia Pacific (funds from 8 to 63% per post), 4 posts in Latin America and the Caribbean (funds from 33 to 100% per post) and 4 posts in Europe and North America (from 17 to 50% per post) are covered from the water Expected Results (ERs) budget. RESOLUTION XXI-2: Implementation of a Communication and Outreach Strategy 73. The implementation of a Communication and Outreach Strategy has been initiated but then put on stand-by due to the ongoing recruitment process for a communications professional. RESOLUTION XXI-3: Proposal for the Establishment of the World s Large Rivers Initiative (WLRI) 74. The IHP Secretariat and the UNESCO Chair on Integrated River Research and Management established a Working Group on the World Large Rivers Initiative (WLRI), mandated with the elaboration of the scope, the activities and desired outputs of this initiative. They asked Member States to nominate a national expert with particular knowledge on questions related to Large Rivers to participate in a Working Group Meeting, which will be held from 25 to 26 June in Vienna Member States have nominated experts and 29 Member States will send their representatives to the meeting. RESOLUTION XXI-4: Proposal for the Establishment of Water-Related Centres under the Auspices of UNESCO (Category 2) 75. The DG has been requested to authorize the feasibility studies for the Category 2 Centres and the respective field offices have made contacts with the national authorities and they will conduct the feasibility studies and prepare the relevant documents for the upcoming Executive Board and General Conference in RESOLUTION XXI-5: Proposal for the Establishment of UNESCO-HIDROEX International Institute for Education, Capacity Building and Applied Research as a UNESCO Category 1 Institute 76. Generic information on the establishment of Category 1 Institutes and Centres was provided. RESOLUTION XXI-6: Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals 77. UNESCO-IHP is part of the UN-Water Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of the post-2015 Agenda. The working group has elaborated on indicators related to target 6.1 to 6.6 of the water Goal 6 Ensure availability and sustainable

16 Page 14 management of water and sanitation for all and on target 11.5 of the Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (see Agenda Item 6.4). RESOLUTION XXI-7: Monitoring of Water-Related Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Agenda 78. UNESCO-IHP is part of the Integrated Monitoring of Water and Sanitation Related SDG Targets, called the GEMI initiative, an inter-agency partnership comprising the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) under the UN-Water umbrella. This consortium of UN institutions (UNEP, UN-HABITAT and WHO) has initiated a consultation process, with support from the international cooperation agency of Switzerland (Swiss Development Cooperation SDC). RESOLUTION XXI-8: Reviewing and Monitoring of IHP s Programmes 79. The strategic plan for the eighth phase of IHP integrates elements of cross-cutting and associated programmes and succinctly summarizes on its Annex 1 their relationship with IHP. The two cross-cutting programmes, FRIEND and HELP, interact with all IHP themes through their operational concepts. IHP s associated programmes (GRAPHIC, G- WADI, IFI, IDI, ISARM, MAR, JIIHP, PCCP, UWMP, WHYMAP and IIWQ) cover projects and activities that contribute to the development and implementation of IHP themes, and are often interlinked with joint and interagency programme components. Through Resolution XXI-8, the IHP Council took several decisions aimed at strengthening the reviewing and monitoring of IHP cross-cutting and associated programmes. In particular, the Council decided to synchronize all IHP programmes and activities with the IHP programme phases and to develop to that effect a planning and evaluation framework with clear criteria for periodic review against Main Lines of Action and Expected Results. For this purpose, in the elaboration of workplans for 38 C/5, such programmes were assigned to specific themes of IHP-VIII as follows: FRIEND (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data), IFI (International Flood Initiative), International Sediment Initiative (ISI) and IDI (International Drought Initiative) were linked to Theme 1; GRAPHIC (Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change), ISARM (Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management), MAR (Managing Aquifer Recharge), JIIHP (Joint International Isotope Hydrology Programme) and WHYMAP (World Hydrological Map) were linked to Theme 2; G-WADI (Global Network on Water and Development Information in Arid Lands), and IIWQ (International Initiative on Water Quality) were linked to Theme 3; UWMP (Urban Water Management Programme) was linked to Theme 4; HELP (Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy) was linked to Theme 5; and PCCP (From Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential) was linked to Theme This option was preferred to the creation of specific workplans for each programme, as it would strengthen the linkages with IHP expected results and objectives, with direct linkages to C/4 and SDGs, avoiding also the propagation of workplan elements. These elements can be used to inform periodic reviews of the Programmes. In spite of the assignment to specific themes, some programmes are foreseen to continue contributing to several themes (as for example, ISARM that also contributes to theme 6) or operate as cross-cutting programmes (HELP and FRIEND). While strengthening the UNESCO Water Network, the Working Group for the Implementation of IHP-VIII may also suggest a framework aimed at implementing roadmaps. Such development depends however on the availability of extrabudgetary resources for the next meeting of the Working Group.

17 Page 15 The Bureau may wish to take note of the report and encourage further implementation of the resolutions. FOLLOW-UP TO THE EVALUATION OF IHP-VII (Agenda item 4.4) 81. The IHP Bureau requested an external evaluation of IHP-VII at its 49 th session and the results were presented to the 21 st session of the IHP Council (IHP/IC-XXI/Ref.2). The evaluation concluded that IHP-VII was overall successful despite limited means and obstacles, but also highlighted the need to urgently implement significant changes to ensure UNESCO-IHP s competitiveness and global prestige. 82. The first recommendation of the evaluation highlighted the need to strengthen the UNESCO Water Family as a global network of expertise on water. In response, a new strategy for Category 2 water-related Centres was developed and will be further extended as a Water Network Strategy, including a clarification of the existing entry and exit mechanisms. A communication platform was developed for Centres, Chairs, UNESCO-Institute for Water Education (IHE), World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) and the Secretariat. A proposal for an experts panel on water to support Member States was proposed, and, finally, a task force for empowerment of IHP National Committees was convened and activated and a survey of IHP National Committees was prepared. 83. The second recommendation highlighted the need to raise the profile of UNESCO- IHP, by developing strategies on communication, publication and branding, and ensuring their effective implementation. A web-designer and editor was consequently hired, and an action plan for the website was developed, as well as a proposal to strengthen the knowledge component of the science/policy nexus. However, it was not possible so far to hire a permanent communications professional. The Water Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones in the LAC region developed a new website and an online portal to visualize extreme drought events in the same region was developed. The Dryland Expert database was expanded; the G-WADI (Global Network on Water and Development Information for Arid Lands) and the International Network on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES) websites were updated and an Arab G-WADI website was developed. 84. The third recommendation was to clearly position UNESCO-IHP and the UNESCO Water Family in the global landscape of water institutions and strengthen collaboration with selected institutions. In that regard, UNESCO improved its leadership at the 7 th World Water Forum, in the post-2015 agenda and Water Cooperation events. UNESCO-IHP was present at COP20 held in Lima, Peru; it will hold an exhibition during COP21; it is a convener for two sessions at the conference Our Common Future under Climate Change to be held in Paris in July; and it worked in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to organize a working session on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the 3 rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, in Sendai, Japan. 85. The fourth recommendation was to develop mechanisms to facilitate the participation and consultation of all Member States in IHP decision-making mechanisms. The expansion of the UNESCO Water Network communication platform to IHP National Committees has thus been planned. 86. The fifth recommendation highlighted the need to strengthen the Secretariat. The SC/HYD units were thus reduced to 3 sections and the post descriptions and tasks of Secretariat members were revised and staff needs identified, highlighting the need for three more professionals at HQ in the short-term and four professionals at HQ and one in FOs in the medium-term. Requests for additional posts were proposed internally.

18 Page The sixth recommendation was to strengthen the financial sustainability of UNESCO- IHP. In response, it was noted that the allocation of UNESCO regular programme budget funds within the expected results that relate to water activities is done by the General Conference. Additional information will be in the report of the preparations for the 38 C/5 (agenda item 3.1) and presented by the Finance Committee in the report of its Chair (agenda item 3.6). Further clarification will be provided as UNESCO moves from RBM into RBB over the course of the current quadrennium. 88. Finally, the seventh recommendation suggested improving the design and implementation of UNESCO-IHP. In response, a draft intervention logic has been developed with the support of UNESCO s Internal Oversight Service (IOS), as attached for comments of the Bureau. The Bureau may wish to take note of the follow-up to the external evaluation of IHP-VII.

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