International Hydrological Programme

Asia and the Pacific

IHP in Asia and the Pacific


Regional Hydrologists


The UNESCO Regional Offices are responsible for the implementation of IHP at the regional level. Regional Hydrologists are posted in the field and serve as IHP focal points for all issues relating to the Programme, both at regional and national levels. Two Regional Hydrologist posts have been set up to cover the Asia and Pacific region, one for Central and South Asia, based at the UNESCO New Delhi Office, and another for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, based at the UNESCO Jakarta Office:

Mr. Bhanu Neupane
UNESCO New Delhi Office
B 5/29 Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi 110029, India
Tel.: + 91 11 671 3000
Fax: + 91 11 671 3001 / 3002
E-mail: b.neupane@unesco.org

Mr. Giuseppe Arduino
UNESCO Jakarta Office
UNESCO House
Jalan Galuh (II), No. 5
Kebayoran Baru
P.O. Box 1273/JKT
Jakarta Selatan 12110, Indonesia
Tel.: + 62 21 739 9818
Fax: + 62 21 7279 6489
E-mail: g.arduino@unesco.org


National Committees


As a programme with scientific and educational goals, IHP is a cooperative effort, relying on the worldwide efforts of Member States and their designated IHP National Committees to function efficiently.

:: Access a complete list of IHP National Committees in Asia and the Pacific region


National reports


The National Committees present reports on their activities in the framework of the Programme. These national reports are submitted to the IHP Intergovernmental Council and cover the activities for the intersessional period between Council sessions.

Reports from the following countries in the Asia and Pacific region have been submitted for the current period (2006-2008) and are available online:


Water resources in Asia and the Pacific


The Asian continent has an area of 43.5 million km2 occupying one third of the land surface of the globe and supports a population of 3,445 million people.

It is a continent of great contrasts – contrasts in relief, climate, water resources, population density and standard of living, for example. There are also contrasts in the hydrological network: countries fringing the Pacific and Indian Oceans, such as Japan and Malaysia, have networks with high levels of capability and they contrast with those towards the centre of the continent where networks are generally deficient.

Asia’s geology and relief are very complicated and the climate is extremely varied, the monsoon dominating the south and east. Climatic differences are intensified by high mountain chains and plateaux, disrupting the pattern of precipitation that, in general, decreases from south to north and from east to west. High rates of evaporation occur across the southern half of the continent with areas of desert in the west and centre.

Some of the world’s largest rivers drain Asia to the Arctic, Pacific and Indian Oceans: the Ganges and the Brahmaputra (India); Yangtze (China); Yenisey, Lena, Ob, Amur (Russian Federation); and Mekong (South-East Asia) for example, but there are large areas draining to the Aral and Caspian Seas and further areas of inland drainage in western China.

The mean annual runoff from Asia for the period 1921 to 1985 is estimated to be 13,500 km3, about half of which originated in South-East Asia, in contrast to the Arabian Peninsula with an estimated 7 km3.

There are large aquifers and many lakes in Asia, such as Lake Baikal in the Russian Federation. China, India, Russia and Pakistan have a large number of reservoirs, primarily used for irrigation.

The continent faces serious flood problems and sedimentation problems, particularly in China, as well as pollution of surface water and groundwater in densely populated areas. However, the water problems of the basin of the Aral Sea are the most acute.

Australia is the smallest continent with an area of 7.6 million km2 and a population approaching 20 million. However, the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea, those of New Zealand and those comprising the remainder of Oceania add a further 1.27 million km2 and some 10 million additional people.

Australia and New Zealand are developed countries with advanced hydrological networks but they are less advanced over the rest of the region.

Australia is a large ancient plateau, raised along its eastern fringe, but the structure and geology of much of the remainder of Oceania is more varied and recent.

Australia is the driest continent with a mean annual precipitation of 200 to 300 mm over much of the country, with totals rising to 1,200 mm and more along the eastern fringe and to 1,000 mm in the south-west corner. By way of contrast, many of the islands have much higher rainfalls: for example along the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island 5,000 mm a year is recorded. Evaporation rates are high over Australia and over the rest of the region.

The rivers of Oceania are short and fast-flowing and produce an average annual runoff of about 2,000 km3. The average runoff from Australia is only some 350 km3 a year: except for the Murray Darling, most of the rivers are short and drain the eastern coast.

There are considerable quantities of groundwater, but there are problems of salinity, some induced by irrigation.

There are relatively few lakes in Australia and many of them are ephemeral.


PUBLICATIONS
Final Report of the 12th Meeting of IHP Regional Steering Committee for Southeast Asia and the Pacific; Adelaide, Australia [PDF format - 7.81 MB]
This volume contains the proceedings, reports, documents and conclusions of the 12th IHP Regional Steering Committee Meeting held in Adelaide, Australia, from 25-26 November 2004.

Hindu Kush – Himalayan FRIEND 2000-2003 [PDF format – 3.72 MB]
This report describes the main achievements of the FRIEND Hindu Kush – Himalayan project. These include developing a strategy for a Regional Hydrological Data Centre which will share data from across the region, the creation of two Focal Nodal Agencies in Nepal and Pakistan, the development of prototype IWRM software for estimating dry season flows in Nepal and the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh, and a range of training activities which have helped develop the hydrological capacity of the region.

Warping dams: construction and its effects on environment, economy, and society in Loess Plateau Region of China [PDF format - 683 KB]
This report presents the research conducted on the Yellow river basin, including the socio-economic impact of warping dams which were built to minimize soil loss due to erosion and provide economical benefits to the local community in the loess plateau region of China. The loess plateau is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin and covers an area of 640,000 km2 including seven provinces.

Water management in the Mekong Delta: changes, conflicts and opportunities [PDF format - 1.85 MB]
This report is a state-of-the-art monograph on the Mekong Delta which addresses: a succinct summary of past and present hydrology and water resource management activities; a critique of existing and past projects in terms of their success rate of implementation; recommendations for future inter-disciplinary and inter-agency projects in the broad field of land-use (water management) which require an integrated approach at the subregional level on water management issues.
PROJECTS
Asian Pacific FRIEND

Hindu-Kush Himalayan FRIEND


LINKS
International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) Located in Tsukuba, Japan, this centre deals with water-related disasters such as floods and droughts, which are major challenges that need to be overcome in order to ensure sustainable human development and poverty alleviation.

International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES)Established in Beijing, China, this Centre aims to promote an international exchange of knowledge and cooperation in the study of erosion and sedimentation problems.

Regional Humid Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Centre for South-East Asia and the PacificThis Centre aims to strengthen the bonds between scientific research, application and education in the field of humid tropics hydrology and water resources.