Hydrology for the Environment, Life, and Policy (HELP)
Over the last decade much attention and many resources have been devoted to the documentation and prediction of climate variability and change. Simultaneously, there has been rapid development in advanced data capture and advanced data transfer technologies. Substantially less progress, however, has been made towards translating technical and scientific advances into information useful to water managers and policy makers world wide. Water resources and water resource systems are still generally managed under a “business as usual” framework.  HELP will complement the global data that will be provided by the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) and the Climate Variability and Predictability program (CLIVAR) of the World Climate Research Program by providing simultaneous, in situ hydrological observations in representative research catchments around the world. A particular focus of attention will be on extreme events (floods and droughts). An education program is also required, to promulgate the use of modern hydrological monitoring and data transfer techniques and to disseminate the understanding and application of the relationship between global processes and regional hydrology.

UNESCO Sector: Division of Water Sciences
Responsible Staff:  Siegfried Demuth, Guillaume Narnio
More information: http://www.unesco.org/water/ihp/help