World Meteorological Organization Commission on Hydrology
Geneva Switzerland
23-26 October 2004
Summary
I [Gerry Allen] attended the WMO Commission on Hydrology
(CHy) from 23-26 October on behalf of HMEI including the sessions/agenda items
below. I have summarized the discussion
and highlighted any points I believe are of particular interest to HMEI (in red).
Anyone who would like more detailed information on any of these discussions
are encouraged to contact me directly. [gerry.allen@lmco.com]
Saturday
23 October: Agenda Item 9; Capacity
Building in Hydrology and Water Resources
1.
There was a lot of discussion on Agenda Item 9.2; Strategy
on Education and Training in Hydrology.
It was pointed out that the WMO training organization supports
meteorology, hydrology, climate and other environmental issues and that 11% of
fellowships are in hydrology and water management. It was recommended that “WMO Regional Meteorological Training
Centers” be renamed to “WMO Regional Training Centers” to recognize the
non-meteorological scope of some centers.
2.
Agenda Item 9.3
Public Awareness; The themes for World Water Days in 2005 and 2006 are
“Water for Life” and “Water in Culture” respectively. The World Water Decade will be from 2005-2015 reflecting the UN’s
increasing focus on this issue.
3.
Agenda Item 16 Long Term Planning for the Commission; There
was a separate working group devoted to this issue which I was unable to attend. The WMO spends about $ 50 M USD per year of
which $ 2.7 USD per year is spent on the CHy.
It was stressed several times (particularly by the more developed
nations) that the CHy establish quantitative performance measures to measure
performance against their objectives. I urged the CHy, on behalf of HMEI to continue to involve the
private sector in their activities. I
believe that this sector has been underutilized in the past and that we can
make a significant and productive contribution.
Monday 25
October:
Agenda Item 10; Cooperation with Water-related Programs of
Other Organizations
1.
The WMO has a longstanding relationship with UNESCO on water
resource management, particularly the Joint Committee on Floods. Everyone agreed that there were a global
lack of resources available to adequately address the issue. There is a trend toward a more integrated
approach top water resource management involving all of the stakeholders and
greater regional/international cooperation.
Agenda Item 11; Cooperation With Other WMO Major Programs
1.
In the Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Program
there is a shift to focus on prevention and risk assessment on all levels.
2.
Hydrological data is a critical component of the Global
Climate Observing System.
3.
HMEI was specifically invited by the session
Chairman to provide a written statement concerning the Commission on Methods of
Observation (CIMO) standards for hydrological observations.
Agenda Item 13; Future Program of the Work of CHy
The following principles were established with respect to
the future of CHy
1.
Meet the needs of national services
2.
Prioritize activities and establish realistic expectations
3.
Redirect activities as appropriate through an adaptive
structure
4.
Use extra-budgetary resources as whenever possible
Tuesday 26
October:
World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) Working
Group
This was the session that I believe was most relevant to
HMEI’s interests. The WHYCOS program was
originally envisioned to be an integrated worldwide set of hydrological sensors
and processing system providing real time or near-real time database of
observations. Because of several issues
including lack of resources and the practical challenges of implementing such a
program, the goal has evolved into a loosely integrated network of regional
networks of Hydrological Observing Systems (HYCOS). The WMO admitted that currently only about 70% of the regional observing
platforms installed are operational due to lack of logistics support, vandalism
or environmental damage. Future
regional networks will require the host nations, which are responsible for
operating and maintaining the equipment, to sign an MOU with WMO committing the
budget resources required to operate the system over the life cycle. A draft version of
the WYCOS Guidelines has been published including annexes on detailed standards
for equipment and systems. HMEI has an
opportunity to review and comment on these documents before they become final.