International
Hydrological Programme
The success of the
International Hydrological Decade (1965-1974), which aimed to find solutions to
the specific water resources problems of countries with different geographical
conditions at different levels of technical and economic development, led to
the founding of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in 1975.
Realizing that water resources are often one of the primary factors limiting
harmonious development in many regions and countries of the world, governments
and the international scientific community saw the need for an internationally
coordinated scientific programme focusing on water.
The first three phases of the Programme (IHP-I: 1975-1980; IHP-II:
1981-1983; IHP-III: 1984-1989) implemented over 70 projects of scientific and
practical interest, guided by a number of international conferences. The
hydrological cycle, water balance, surface and groundwater phenomena remained
the main subjects of research, with the emphasis on the impact of people on
water resources. In line with the recommendations of the 1977 Mar del Plata UN
Conference on Water, the programme continued to evolve in this direction and
increasingly directed its activities towards practical solutions of emerging
water resources problems.
In 1984, it was decided that each Programme phase would be planned around
one general unifying theme. The third phase of IHP focused on ‘Hydrology and
the Scientific Bases for the Rational Management of Water Resources for
Economic and Social Development,’ and began the process of questioning and
analysing the role of hydrology as a scientific discipline, the potential
unions between theoretical and applied aspects of hydrology, and the future
interconnectedness of natural processes vis-à-vis human interventions in the
field of environmental management.
In 1991 it was
already clear that water would become a critical issue of global importance.
Numerous indices of climatic and socio-economic development were complicating the
tasks of planning and managing water resources systems: multiple objectives had
to be defined, conflicting interests reconciled, and ecological, cultural and
other constraints identified in order to attain the sustainable use of water
resources. At this time, the focus at IHP shifted towards environmental
evaluation and the interaction of water resources with ecology, society and
culture. This led to a close cooperation of hydrology with the earth sciences
and the social and human sciences. The former acted as the basis of water
resources management, and the latter as tools of water resources management to
better support planning and policy formulation.
IHP’s fifth phase set out to stimulate a stronger interrelation between
scientific research, application and education, and identified groundwater and
arid and semi-arid zone hydrology as priority areas. The emphasis was on
environmentally sound integrated water resources management and planning,
supported by a scientifically proven methodology within its overall theme. Its
results continue to influence research and practice.
Finally, the current phase, IHP-VI
(2002-2007) emphasizes the societal aspects of our water resources while also
emphasizing the study of the occurrence and distribution of water within the
natural environment. The addition of the social dimension underlines the need
for an improved, more efficient assessment and management of our water
resources, which in turn requires a much more accurate knowledge of the
hydrological cycle.
As a result, the development of IHP-VI has
been based on the fundamental principle that freshwater is as essential to
sustainable development as it is to life, and that water, beyond its
geophysical, chemical and biological functions in the hydrological cycle, has
social, economic and environmental values that are inter-linked and mutually
supportive. The launching of this effort coincides with what is seen by many
water planners and managers to be a genuine shift in society’s approach to
water development and management.
The strategies and themes of the next
phase of IHP (IHP-VII: 2008-2013) are already being considered in light of the
UN Decade of Action, ‘Water for Life’.
Link
The IHP page on the website of UNESCO.
Related subject
International
Hydrological Decade
Stamp catalogue
Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics
last revised: