Governance structure
WMO’s governance structure comprises several bodies where representatives of UN Member States discuss proposed resolutions, decisions or recommendations. It also provides space for several technical and scientific committees, which are tasked with advancing scientific work in various domains.
- The Congress is the supreme decision-making body of WMO (link). Congress convene every four years, with an Extraordinary session in between. WMO Congress also includes a National Hydrological Assembly.
- The Executive Council implements adopted decisions (link)
- Six Regional Associations are responsible for the coordination of meteorological, hydrological and related activities within their respective Regions (link)
- Technical Commissions study and make recommendations to Congress and the Executive Council (link)
The WMO Secretariat, headed by Secretary-General Professor Celeste Saulo, provides administrative, technical and coordination capacity when it comes to implementing approved policies, programmes, and delivering WMO services. This includes, for example, providing weather and data services to national hydrometeorological organizations.
As of August 2025, the Secretariat has been reorganized. It now consists of two main departments: The Department of Earth System Data & Predictions (including a Hydrology and Cryosphere division), and the Department of Science, Services and Capacity Development. Details about the new organizational structure are communicated via the following link.
WMO Data Centers
WMO collaborates with several specialized Data Centres, including the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) at the German Federal Institute of Hydrology, the International Data Centre on Hydrology of Lakes and Reservoirs (HYDROLARE) in the Russian Federation, and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) located in the Netherlands.
Vision and Strategy for Hydrology
WMO does not implement a single water programme under one title. Rather, various water-related programmes and initiatives are being implemented in alignment to achieve WMO’s objectives. The Vision and Strategy for Hydrology and Associated Plan of Action serves as the umbrella strategic framework for hydrology and water management related initiatives. It was adopted in 2023. The Hydrology and Cryosphere division coordinates initiatives across the WMO organization.
The vision proposes the following key goals:
- No one is surprised by a flood
- Everyone is prepared for drought
- Hydroclimate and meteorological data support the food security agenda
- High-quality data supports science
- Science provides a sound basis for operational hydrology
- We have a thorough knowledge of the water resources of our world
- Sustainable development is supported by hydrological information
- Water quality is known
More information about the Vision and Strategy for Hydrology: link
The International Groundwater Resources Assessment Center
IGRAC (the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre) is the WMO Global Hydrological Data Centre on groundwater. IGRAC’s key contribution to the global water community is on groundwater research and knowledge sharing. UNESCO and the WMO took the initiative to establish the centre in 1999. Since its establishment in 2003 during the 3rd World Water Forum, IGRAC is hosted in Delft, supported by the Government of the Netherlands.
The organization publishes regular updates of the Map of Transboundary Aquifers of the World (last update September 2025) and maintains several global groundwater datasets as well as data and information sharing platforms. It contributes to the annual State of Global Water Resources Report.
More information: link
WMO’s water-related initiatives
WMO has collated its work on water on its WMO water site. Implementation activities take place in the context of the Vision and Strategy on Hydrology. As examples, WMO coordinates the Associated Programme on Flood Management, the Integrated Drought Management Programme and the Early Warnings for All initiative. Members of the Netherlands UNESCO WMO Water Committee contribute to these activities.
Early Warnings for All
The Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative aims to ensure universal protection from hazardous hydrometeorological, climatological and related environmental events. It assists national governments and their hydrology and meteorology services providers with developing early warning systems, issuing warnings, to work on disaster risk reduction increase disaster resilience. EW4All is a partnership between WMO, UN-DRR (the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction), ITU (the International Telecommunication Union) and the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies).
Associated Programme on Flood Management
The Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) promotes Integrated Flood Management (IFM) as an integrated approach towards flood management. It supports countries in the implementation of IFM within the overall framework of Integrated Water Resources Management principles. The IFM concept suggests flood risk reduction measures which simultaneously contribute to efficient use of floodplains, and minimization of loos of life and flood impacts.
Integrated Drought Management Programme
The Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) supports governments and other stakeholders at all levels on implementing Integrated Drought Management by providing policy, technical and management guidance and by sharing scientific knowledge and best practices. It provides, for example, an online HelpDesk were requests for assistance regarding drought management can be submitted. The programme is executed by WMO and GWP (Global Water Partnership).
State of Global Water Resources Reports
The State of Global Water Resources Report, published annually by WMO, provides a comprehensive quantitative overview of global water resources, with a focus on hydrological variability and trends. It supports countries, decision makers and stakeholders in understanding the current state of water resources, identifying hotspots and supporting effective water management strategies. IGRAC, Utrecht University and Deltares have contributed to the 2024 edition.
Key Dutch contributions to WMO’s water-related initiatives
Experts from the Netherlands have contributed to various water-related activities of WMO. Professor Buys Ballot (Utrecht University and general director of KNMI, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) was one of the founding fathers of the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) in 1879, which was reshaped into the World Meteorological Organization in 1950. During the past decades, experts working at organizations in the Netherlands have contributed to international studies, projects, programmes and (technical) committees in support of WMO’s role.
In 2025, a short brochure has been published with highlights from Dutch water-related contributions to WMO.
Read here
Key Dutch contributions to WMO’s water-related initiatives
The Netherlands UNESCO WMO Water Committee selected flood and drought Early Warning Systems (EWS) as a thematic priority in the water-related collaboration with WMO. The committee will advocate for the importance of the topic in the global water community, continue to provide and learn from expertise in the context of WMO HelpDesks, and will highlight past and current best practices. Effective flood and drought EWS are a national priority, essential in the context of transboundary river basin management including the Rhine, and align to WMO priorities through the EW4All initiative.
Members of the Netherlands UNESCO WMO Water Committee actively contribute to WMO:
- Besides acting as Permanent Representative to WMO, KNMI contributes to WMO’s SOFF (Systematic Observations Financing Facility), GBON (Global Basic Observing Network) and the Water at the Heart of Climate Action initiative.
- The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, through the National Hydrological Advisor, oversees and aims to promote new initiatives regarding operational hydrology.
- Deltares, IHE Delft, Wageningen UR and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam – IVM are WMO’s APFM Support Base Partners and provide publications and training materials on flood management to the programme.
- Deltares, IHE Delft and Wageningen UR are WMO’s IDMP Partners and contribute with expertise on drought management to the IDMP HelpDesk.
- The secretariat of the International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine basin (CHR) is hosted in the Netherlands at Rijkswaterstaat, the executive organization of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. WMO is a CHR observer.
- IHE Delft and WMO renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (which started in 2004). It supports joint scholarships, the organization of capacity development activities, and technical support to WMO.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports the Water at the Heart of Climate Action initiative.
Water at the Heart of Climate Action
A key contribution on the topic of flood and drought EWS, is the Water at the heart of Climate Action initiative. This 5-year programme that aims to accelerate and scale up action to reduce water-related risks, and increase climate resilience of communities. This initiative contributes to the EW4A ambition. This project focuses on Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda – all part of the White Nile basin where people face high levels of food insecurity due to a combination of climate extremes, conflict, unstable livelihood systems, urbanization, and a greater reliance on imports.
The initiative will deliver climate and hydrological products and services along the whole hydro-meteorological value chain (‘from satellites to sandbags’) to support national and local disaster management actors. It is financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Netherlands Red Cross/IFRC in collaboration with WMO and UN-DRR.
More information: link
