2025: 50/60 year anniversary IHP
The year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme and 60 years of UNESCO’s dedication to water sciences. Since its inception, UNESCO has contributed to advancing water research and management, addressing global water challenges through international cooperation and scientific excellence. The IHP, as UNESCO’s flagship water science programme, has played a pivotal role in fostering scientific knowledge, technical innovation, and education in water resources management. This anniversary represents not just a celebration of past achievements but also highlights UNESCO’s ongoing commitment to ensuring water security for future generations in an era of unprecedented environmental change and growing water demands.
On this occasion, a short movie was produced: link
Governance structure
The Division of Water Sciences at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) hosts the IHP Secretariat. On behalf of UN Member States, the IHP Secretariat coordinates the implementation of IHP together with its UNESCO Water Family network, IHP National Committees, UNESCO Category 1 and 2 Centres, UNESCO Water Chairs, and other partners. Flagship Initiatives and working groups are in the lead of implementing key activities. The IHP Bureau and IHP Council are the main monitoring and decision-making bodies.
IHP-IX Strategic Plan
The IHP-IX Strategic Plan, titled “science for a water secure world in a changing environment,” outlines thematic priorities and implementation activities between 2022 and 2029. IHP-IX was formally approved by UN Member States in 2022, and builds on the previous eight phases of the programme. The current IHP Strategic Plan identifies key water priority areas to support Members States to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially water related SDGs and other water-related global agendas.
The key Priority Areas are:
- Scientific Research and innovation
- Water education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution including Sustainability
- Bridging the data-knowledge gap
- Integrated water management under conditions of global change
- Water governance based on science for mitigation, adaptation, and resilience
The World Water Assessment Programme
UNESCO established the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) in 2000 in response to a call from the UN Commission on Sustainable Development to produce a UN system-wide periodic global overview of the status, use and management of freshwater resources. WWAP, with its office located in Perugia, Italy, produces the annual World Water Development Report, as well as coordinates UNESCO’s Water and Gender programme.
More information: link
Implementation structure
The Strategic Plan is translated into to an Operationalization and Implementation Plan (OIP), which specifies activities at the level of Outputs. As part of the OIP, working groups were launched to coordinate implementation activities. There are five thematic working groups in line with the five Priority Areas. Each group is coordinated by a Council Member. They are expected to develop an annual implementation plans, a roadmap, communicate with the network of partners, and report on progress.
In addition to the five thematic working groups, there are three crosscutting groups:
- Hydrological Systems, Rivers, Climate Risk and Water-Food-Energy Nexus
- Groundwater and Human Settlements
- Ecohydrology and Water Quality
Most of the implementation activities are based on voluntary or already on-going efforts. Implementation consists of a mix of organizations and initiatives having specific tasks or mandates to implement such activities.
Flagship Initiatives
When it comes to implementation activities, IHP Flagship Initiatives play an important role. Flagship Initiatives are major initiatives, long-term collaborations or platforms in support of IHP-IX priorities. A Flagship label also recognizes the longstanding efforts of partners in driven a certain initiative. At the moment, the following Flagships are in place:
| Flagship Initiative(s) | Host Institution(s) |
| Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data (FRIEND) | International Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Water Systems Dynamics (ICIReWaRD-Montpellier), France |
| Global Network on Water and Development Information in Arid Lands (G-WADI) |
The International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM), USA |
| Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) | Dundee Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science (CWLPS), United Kingdom |
| International Drought Initiative (IDI) | Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM), Iran |
| International Flood Initiative (IFI) | International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), Japan |
| International Initiative on Water Quality (IIWQ) |
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| International Sediment Initiative (ISI) | International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), China |
| The Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-Net) | Global Water Museum Network Association (WAMU-Net), Italy |
| World’s Large Rivers Initiative (WLRI) | UNESCO Chair on Integrated River Research and Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria |
| CRIDA | The International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM), USA |
Key contributions of the Netherlands to UNESCO IHP
Experts from the Netherlands have contributed actively to IHP. Professor Adriaan Volker (TU Delft) chaired the first Council meeting, referred to ‘Council Zero’ which launched the International Hydrological Decade in 1964. Since then, support from the Netherlands has varied from providing scientific expert contributions, chairing of Council or Working Group meetings, the facilitation of new initiatives and the organization of numerous knowledge sharing events.
Highlighted contributions of the Netherlands to IHP
UNESCO Global Geoparks
UNESCO Geoparks are landscapes where geology, nature and history align. There are two geoparks in the Netherlands: De Hondsrug and Schelde Delta. They are part of a global network of over 200 geoparks in 45 more than 45 countries.
- De Hondsrug is located in the North of the Netherlands. It was created 150.000 years ago under the influence of land ice which pushed forward and created hills, valleys and creeks in the landscapce. The area is rich in dolmens, burial mounds and other traces of historical use of the landscape.
- Schelde Delta is the estuary, located in the Netherlands and Belgium. It shows millions of years of land subsidence, sedimentation, and interaction between tides and the landscape. There are also striking examples of human influence: extraction site of clay and peat, restored flooding practices, and the construction of the hydraulic engineering works of the Deltawerken.
The Netherlands Commission for UNESCO has prepared a webpage with a visual impression and more background about these geoparks: link
UNESCO IHP Ecohydrology Demonstration Site
The first UNESCO IHP Ecohydrology Demonstration Site was awarded to the Speulderbos. The site was established in 1985 and has since resulted in discoveries about: rain chemistry (acid rain), deposition, nitrogen and carbon budget of forest, rainfall interception, and soil micro-biology, microwave remote sensing in forests, and the advance of isotope discrimination methods in hydrology. Since 2019, the site is used as the key fieldwork site for students of Twente University – ITC.
More information: link
Global Network of Water Museums
The Netherlands was one of the driving forces in the establishment of the Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-net). After its establishment in 2019, the network received the IHP Flagship Initiative status in 2023, which means an additional boost in exposure and growth of the network. WAMU-net now has more than 80 members from all over the world, comprising a network of museums, information centres, heritage sites and even collections linked to water history and culture. IHE Delft is president of the network.
More information: link