Fresh Water

‘Water resources and ecosystems’ is the principal priority in UNESCO’s Natural Sciences Sector in 2002-2003, reflecting the widely held view that freshwater resources and their integrated management is one of the most critical environment and development issues of the coming decades.

The primary focus for UNESCO’s work on freshwater resources is the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), with a long term objective of developing approaches for sound water management. In its present phase (IHP-VI, 2002-2007), the focus is on ‘Water interactions: systems at risk and social challenges’ and on a people-oriented approach to the management and development of water resources. Priority themes include: Global changes and water resources; Integrated watershed and aquifer dynamics; Land habitat hydrology; Water and society; Water education and training. There are also two cross-cutting themes: Developing understanding of hydrological variability and similarity across different regions (FRIEND, Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data) and an integrated long-term programme with process hydrology undertaken at larger drainage basin scales (HELP, Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy). more