Who We Are

IGRAC (International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre) facilitates and promotes international sharing of information and knowledge required for sustainable groundwater resources development and management worldwide. Since 2003, IGRAC provides an independent content and process support, focusing particularly on transboundary aquifer assessment and groundwater monitoring. Read more about IGRAC mission and objectives and organisation at the following pages.

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IGRAC team - December 2023

IGRAC’s staff is a team of enthusiast professionals eager to contribute to a better management of global groundwater resources through cooperation and knowledge sharing. But IGRAC is also our partners (organisations and individuals), making together a strong network of groundwater-related professionals and stakeholders worldwide. Perhaps you would like to keep informed about IGRAC activities or to work with us? Please let us know. 

Missions and objectives

IGRAC’s mission is to contribute to world-wide availability of relevant information and knowledge on the groundwater resources of the world, with particular emphasis on developing countries, in order to support sustainable utilisation and management of the groundwater resources, to promote the role of groundwater in integrated water resources planning and elucidate the impact of groundwater on the ecosystems of the Earth. 

Under the general objective of “promoting sustainable groundwater resources utilisation and management by means of global exchange of knowledge”, IGRAC is developing a global  information system, conducting groundwater assessment at transboundary and global level, assisting in better monitoring of state of groundwater resources and supporting informed knowledge management and governance. 

Organisation

IGRAC is UNESCO Global Groundwater Centre, it also works under the auspices of WMO, it is a corporate IAH partner and it is financially supported by the Government of the Netherlands. Our office is located in Delft, the Netherlands and we are happy to be in-house partner of the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. 

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Agreement UNESCO and Dutch government
Agreement UNESCO and Dutch Government

The IGRAC story began in 1999, when UNESCO and the WMO took the initiative to establish an international groundwater resource assessment centre. In 2000, the Government of the Netherlands expressed interest in hosting the centre and IGRAC was launched in March 2003, during the third World Water Forum in Kyoto. Initially, IGRAC was hosted by Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and financed by the Government of the Netherlands through the Partners for Water Programme.

In January 2011, the Government of the Netherlands reaffirmed its commitment to IGRAC and in June 2011 IGRAC was registered as a legally independent foundation. Becoming an independent organisation facilitated IGRAC’s recognition as a UNESCO centre. The agreement between UNESCO and the Kingdom of the Netherlands regarding IGRAC was signed in November 2011. Not much later, in October 2012, the WMO and IGRAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work under its auspices.

During the closing session of the ISARM2021 conference in Paris, France, a new partnership agreement was signed. This new agreement became effective on 1 January 2022 and will last for six years. IGRAC receives this core funding through the IHE Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Water and Development Partnership programme

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Water and Development Partnership programme
Water and Development Partnership programme

The Water and Development Partnership programme envisions a world where inclusive and diverse partnerships and marginalized knowledges transform the ways we know, use, share and care for water. To achieve this, the programme funds bold, creative and transdisciplinary projects that combine research, education and capacity strengthening activities aimed at creating a peaceful, just and sustainable world.

Staff Profiles

Senior Groundwater Specialist
Senior Groundwater Specialist
Senior Groundwater Specialist
Junior Groundwater Specialist
Senior Communications Officer

Groundwater Correspondents

Groundwater Correspondent - Algeria
Groundwater Correspondent - Argentina
Groundwater Correspondent - Brazil
Groundwater Correspondent - Cameroon
Groundwater Correspondent - DR Congo
Groundwater Correspondent - France
Groundwater Correspondent - India
Groundwater Correspondent - Kenya
Groundwater Correspondent - Madagascar
Groundwater Correspondent - Malawi
Groundwater Correspondent - Nepal
Groundwater Correspondent - Netherlands
Groundwater Correspondent - Niger
Groundwater Correspondent - Palestine
Groundwater Correspondent - Spain
Groundwater Correspondent - Togo
Groundwater Correspondent - Uganda