Regional consultation on groundwater resources governance

News & Media 27 March 2013

The Hague, 19 – 21 March 2013. A consultation conference organized by UNESCO IHP upon the occasion of World Water Day discussed the regional issues of groundwater resources governance. Andreas Scheidleder, chairperson of the Groundwater Task Group, and other ICPDR representatives ensured a strong focus on the Danube River Basin.

Participants at 2013 UN International Year on Water Cooperation event

Scientific and technical consultation is a fundamental component of the project on Groundwater Governance that the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the World Bank are executing jointly.

The consultation event can be seen as part of increased efforts to address water management issues in 2013, which was declared the “UN International Year on Water Cooperation”.

The event around World Water Day was organized in cooperation with the UNECE Secretariat and supported by the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO and the Netherlands IHP National Committee. Several representatives of the ICPDR attended the event: Andreas Scheidleder, chairperson of the Groundwater Task Group, gave a presentation (see photograph above) as well as Ruxandra Balaet, Miodrag Milovanovic and Johannes Grath.

The overall objective of the project to which the consultation contributed is to increase the awareness of the paramount importance of developing a sound groundwater resources governance in order to prevent and reverse the global water crisis.

The project is conducting 5 regional consultations. The first four consultations were already organized in Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub‐Saharan Africa region, Arab States and Asia and the Pacific. The results of the Regional Consultations will contribute to the preparation of a Global Groundwater Governance Diagnostic. On the basis of this Diagnostic, the project will develop a global “Framework of Action”, consisting of a set of effective governance tools and recommendations for the sustainable management of groundwater resources.