UNESCO and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) signed an agreement establishing the International Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) as a UNESCO Category 2 Water Centre.
About the Agreement
Signed: October 29, 2009
Signing Parties:
- Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, UNESCO
- Major General Don T. Riley, Deputy Commanding General, USACE
Purpose: The purpose of the Agreement is to define the terms and conditions governing the establishment and operation of the Centre, as well as collaboration between the Parties with regard to the Centre and also the rights and obligations stemming therefrom for the Parties to the Agreement.
Objectives and Function: The overall mission of ICIWaRM is the advancement of the science and practice of integrated water resources management (IWRM) to address water security and other water-related challenges by regional and global action, through new knowledge, innovative technologies, collaborative interdisciplinary scientific research, networking, training and capacity development. The overall scope of activities to be undertaken by the Centre includes:
- Focusing on practical science, applied research and technology development embodied in the IHP programme that can be readily transferred to improve IWRM through USACE Civil Works activities for developing countries
- Partnering with, and providing or exchanging technical support for, existing UNESCO IHP programmes which serve to implement IHP objectives related to attaining IWRM objectives
- Collaborating on join, applied research, capacity-building and training programmes through other UNESCO IHP centres and established programmes, initially with emphasis on the Western Hemisphere (Central America, South America and the Caribbean) and Africa.
The objectives of ICIWaRM are focused on its principal purpose - to develop, promote and infuse sound practices for integrated water resources management around the globe. They include:
- To contribute to the development and advocacy of IWRM principles and best management practices, focusing on issues of governance (institutional frameworks), engineering, planning and evaluation
- To foster research, technological development, and technology transfer, as appropriate, of models and methods that enhance IWRM, and to effectively disseminate "toolkits"
- To undertake capacity-building effort in accordance with Commission/Committee guidance and IHP programmes, focusing on training for implementing IWRM at both watershed and national levels, particularly in Latin America and Africa, and to enhance collaboration among UNESCO centres towards joint problem-solving
About UNESCO-IHP
IHP is UNESCO's international scientific cooperative programme in water research, water resources management, education and capacity-building, and the only broadly-based science programme of the United Nations system in this area.
Learn More