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I
nternational
C
ooperation
on
W
ater
S
ciences
and
R
esearch
In light of this dearth of information there is a pressing require-
ment to address the inadequacies in river gauging networks and
improve hydrometric practices to ensure flows are accurately
recorded. Around the world, monitoring of rainfall, river flow,
groundwater and other water stores remains lacking in many water-
stressed catchments. While targeted investment of international aid
financing has helped to expand monitoring programmes in many
regions where they were previously deficient, there is a need to
support the ongoing maintenance of networks and development of
local expertise to ensure the longevity of such initiatives. Long-term
political, institutional and financial support for water monitoring
must be established and fostered around the world.
Notwithstanding this need to improve the underlying monitor-
ing, the opportunity currently exists to significantly advance global
water science and management through improving cooperation
on existing water data at all levels. At this time of both enhanced
demand for river flow data and increasing financial pressure on the
organizations tasked with maintaining networks, methods of coop-
eration which maximize the societal benefits of current hydrometric
monitoring are of crucial importance.
The interconnected nature of freshwater systems, widespread
implications of water management decisions and the often complex
web of stakeholders mean that river flow data can rarely be collected,
analysed and utilized within one single organization in isolation.
Information on river flows in one location may impact upon water
resource management decisions required under a separate jurisdic-
tion at another, geographically remote location. Furthermore, data
can often be used to help understand and manage freshwater issues
besides those for which they were originally collected. For example,
river flow data collected by a local landowner to inform the design and
operation of a small-scale hydropower scheme may be of significant
value to researchers investigating the implications of changing land
management practices on run-off generation in order to inform policy
development. Readily accessible, interchangeable hydrometric data
are therefore highly valuable not only to the initial monitoring body,
but also to a wide community of users.
Maximizing the value gleaned fromdata that is collected, and ensuring
that freshwater decisions are based on all available monitoring informa-
tion, demands more open data policies, standardization of
monitoring practices, efficient data management and effec-
tive data sharing. Cooperation at institutional, national and
international scales is central to providing such access to
coherent, high-quality river flow information.
Two examples of water data sharing which have deliv-
ered significant advantages to water management are
outlined in the case studies on these pages. They are:
• the United Kingdom’s experiences of cooperation
between organizations operating with differing
responsibilities across geographical and political
divides to ensure coherent access to national-scale
hydrometric information
• the European Water Archive, which provides
hydrological researchers working under the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) umbrella with the access
to pan-European river flow information required to
answer continental-scale scientific questions.
Both case studies highlight the benefits and opportu-
nities in relation to cooperation between individual
hydrologists, organizations and governments on the
issue of water data. By bringing their monitoring data
and expertise together, the various stakeholders are able
to benefit from a richer shared information source and
enhance the value of their individual operations.
Nationally, there is an underlying need to support
improved hydrometric data management and dissemina-
tion. These are crucial to the success of state-scale water
management and underpin international initiatives to
combat global water problems. Internationally, while
achievements to date should not be overlooked, further
improvements on hydrological data sharing are needed.
Where data is collected, data policies, security concerns,
commercial considerations and a lack of agreed protocols
for sharing were all identified byWWDR3 as issues which
often hamper the sharing of hydrological information.
Intergovernmental support for data sharing is an impor-
tant foundation for improving cooperation and to this end,
in 1999, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Congress adopted Resolution 25 (Cg-XIII) –Exchange of
Hydrological Data and Products – establishing the policy
and practice for international exchange of hydrological data
and products. Regionally too, in some of the over 260 trans-
boundary river basins that exist worldwide, international
agreements have been reached over the free exchange of
data to aid navigation, flood protection, pollution preven-
tion and power production. In doing so, the international
community recognized the potential benefits of enhanced
exchange of hydrological data, and adopted a commitment
to broaden and enhance, whenever possible, the free and
unrestricted exchange of such information. To realize these
benefits, national and organizational data policies must also
be reviewed to ensure that they recognize the high utility of
water data beyond its initial intended use and the benefits
and efficiencies enabled by greater cooperation.
Aside from government-funded freshwater monitor-
ing, opportunities to improve cooperation on water
Water
information
services
Monitoring and
network design
Data validation
and archival
Data sensing
and recording
Information usage
and decision making
Data synthesis
and analysis
Information
dissemination
An integrated system of hydrological data sensing, manipulation
and use to transform locally collected monitoring data into
comprehensive information for managing freshwater systems
Source: Dixon, Hannaford and Fry, 2013
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