New assessment tool supports water management
A new tool to help ensure the sustainable and effective management of water resources was launched today at an international symposium on the Dynamic Water Resources Assessment Tool held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
A new tool to help ensure the sustainable and effective management of water resources was launched today at an international symposium on the Dynamic Water Resources Assessment Tool held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
The Dynamic Water Resources Assessment Tool (DWAT) is designed to help water resource managers and policy specialists identify current and future water management challenges, and compare those with current and past water resources availability. The aim is to improve understanding of the impacts of past and present water management practices on water resources, as well as the interactions between climate, water and landscape. Its use can contribute to providing nationally and regionally consistent water resources information and data, including for surface water, groundwater, and urban and agricultural water supply and use.
The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea has been working closely with the World Meteorological Organization to enhance water resources assessment and management capacities at the global level. The tool can be used to assess water resources at the operational level in all WMO Member countries.
Mr Chunkyoo Park, Vice-Minister of Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, said the symposium provided an opportunity to showcase the functionalities and practical applications of DWAT in WMO Member states such as Bhutan, Argentina, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Russian Federation. “Through this event, we hope to share meaningful opinions from various sectors and achieve practical outcomes that can contribute to improving DWAT and to globalizing water assessment technology developed by Republic of Korea."
The Symposium is also the first step towards signing a proposal for technical cooperation between WMO and the Han River Flood Control Office of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea.
“This cooperation is aimed at advancing practices and procedures on water resources assessment, hydrometry, end-to-end flood forecasting and warning systems, hydrological forecasting and prediction, Integrated Flood Management, and Integrated Drought Management,” said Johannes Cullman, WMO Director of Climate and Water Department.
Learn more about the Dynamic Water Resources Assessment tool here.
