December 2019

UNECE, in collaboration with a number of partners, organised a successful  “Global workshop on exchange of data and information in transboundary basins” in Geneva, 4-5 December 2019. In the workshop, IGRAC was engaged in addressing  experiences and specifics of groundwater data exchange with representatives  of countries and international organisations. There is still insufficient attention to groundwater but awareness and interest to change this is growing.   

Groundwater monitoring is one of the core activities of IGRAC, and the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network (GGMN) Programme continues with its mandate of improving quality and accessibility of groundwater monitoring information. The year 2019 started with a new development in this matter: the release of the GGMN app.

From 10 to 15 November, Claudia Ruz Vargas attended the WMO 1st Technical Workshop and 3rd Task Team Meeting of HydroSOS at the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) in Nanjing, China.

On October 30 and 31, IGRAC carried out the International Training Course on Monitoring for Regional and Transboundary Groundwater Management at the UNDP Azerbaijan Country Office in Baku, Azerbaijan. This training was co-organised with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a kind support of the Governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia and within the framework of the UNDP-GEF Kura Project. 

Governments and international committees must recognise the crucial contribution of groundwater to climate resilience and sustainable development, urges a group of international scientists and practitioners in the Global Groundwater Statement. 

Over 900 scientists from over 85 countries around the world have already signed the statement, including IGRAC groundwater specialists.