While maintaining respective programmes in line with their fields of competence, the two Organizations recognized the necessity of close cooperation between their work on freshwater, and expressed their common determination to maintain and develop this collaboration in water sciences and water resources.
UNESCO and WMO have had one of the longest partnerships in the UN system, with the first agreement signed in 1954. The two organizations have the longest running UN hydrology programmes, and the renewal of their agreement shows the long-standing joint interest in collaboration on technical and scientific matters.
The WMO Hydrology and Water Resources Programme (HWRP) is concerned with the assessment of the quantity and quality of water resources, the mitigation of water-related hazards like floods and droughts, and facilitates horizontal cooperation and transfer of technologies to strengthen the capacities of the hydrological services of the world. The WMO Commission for Hydrology, an intergovernmental body representing almost 150 countries, advises WMO Members on advances in science and technology, basic operations and provides guidance on operational hydrology and water resources management. WMO also co-sponsors integrated flood and drought management programmes in recognition of the need to manage these two major water-related hazards.
UNESCO is a partner of the WMO-led Global Framework for Climate Services and, through its International Hydrological Programme and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, a key contributor in the areas of observation and water resource management as well as a potential user of climate products and information services.
