U.S. National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme

The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) international scientific cooperative program in water research, water resources management, education, and capacity-building. In April 2006, the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO established the U.S. National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme to support IHP activities. The functions of the Committee shall be to provide advice on hydrological issues to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO in accordance with the Bylaws.

Functions of the Committee include:

• Making recommendations on U.S. participation in the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme and assisting upon request in the formulation and review of other UNESCO international water resources activities.
• Providing advice on domestic and international activities related to UNESCO programs that advance research, education, or training in water resources sciences or the application of water resources sciences to specific problems.
• Recommending U.S. programs for participation in the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme.
• Providing advice to organizations involved in U.S. participation in UNESCO international water resources activities.

For additional information about the program, see UNESCO IHP. For information specific to IHP's Urban Water Management efforts, see the Announcements page. For information about National Committees of other countries, see the IHP National Committee page. For information about applying to become a UNESCO IHP Category II Water Center, see the UNESCO International Hydrological Program (IHP) Category II Water Center Proposal Application Process; applications are considered on a biennial basis.

The U.S. National Committee includes members of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, U.S. government agencies, and external organizations with expertise in water resources. U.S. National Committee IHP members serve terms of 1-3 years, with the responsibility for chairing the Committee rotated among the Federal agencies. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is chairing the Committee for the first two years. For additional information, please contact: Verne Schneider, National Committee Executive Secretary (vrschnei@usgs.gov) Ross B Corotis, Science Liaison and IHP Coordinator, State Dept. (CorotisRB@state.gov) or Matthew C. Larsen, Chair (mclarsen@usgs.gov).

Of Current Interest...

2008 Water Sciences Forum on Cutting-Edge Technologies for Water Services - The June 27, 2008 Water Sciences Forum hosted at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., brought together more than 100 participants, including U.S. government water and water policy technical experts, academics, and representatives from UNESCO’s International Hydrological Program (IHP), the U.S. National Committee for the IHP, NGO's, and foreign embassies. The Forum’s purpose was to review water-related technologies and identify areas where U.S. expertise is applicable to the freshwater challenges facing African countries.