World Water Day: Leaving No one Behind

WMO promotes inclusive and innovative hydrological solutions

WMO joins the international community in celebrating World Water Day 2019, under the theme “leaving no one behind.”

According to the recently released United Nations World Water Development Report, Leaving No One Behind, over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress—a problem that will be magnified as the demand for water rises and the effects of climate change intensify.

“It is more crucial than ever to continue the important work of supporting sustainable water resource management, and to make early warning information and products available to minimize loss of life and property from floods and droughts,” says Johannes Cullmann, Director of the WMO Climate and Water Department, on the occasion of World Water Day 2019.

Innovative and inclusive solutions

We cannot manage what we cannot measure, yet 60% of countries report declining numbers of observing stations, due in part to high costs. These observing stations are the source of the climate, weather and water information we need to design and operate robust agricultural systems, and ensure food and water security. A variety of low-cost and crowd-sourced solutions have been developed, but the operational uptake by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) has been low.

To seek out innovative and cost-effective hydrological monitoring technology, and help ensure that solutions are fit-for-purpose for NMHSs, the WMO Global Hydrometry Support Facility (WMO HydroHub) opened its first Innovation Call last year.

The winning entry was submitted by Andrew D. Wickert from Northern Widget, a Minnesota, USA-based start-up. The proposal focused on inexpensive, open-source data loggers and sensors for water-level and hydrologic measurements in least-developed countries. The 100 000 CHF seed funding provided through the Innovation Call will help Northern Widget scale up, building on work done over the past seven years of developing open-source instruments for field scientists to deliver, build and maintain operational hydrological monitoring stations with partners in Afghanistan and Bhutan. More importantly, the project focuses on knowledge transfer. By creating and providing concise manuals in English and in local languages, NMHSs will be empowered to build data loggers and sensors themselves. The aim is to instigate local service provision and reach independence from foreign aid.

The Innovation Call winners were awarded during an Innovation Workshop held from 11–13 March 2019 in New York, which brought together researchers, users, and instrumentation developers to discuss how to overcome barriers and improve the uptake of innovative approaches.

“We hope that this will serve as a springboard for collaborative integration of open-source technologies, manufactured and co-developed in least developed countries, for widespread distribution to improve hydrological monitoring worldwide,” said Mr Wickert.

Long-term ambitions

WMO HydroHub’s Innovation Call is just one of the many initiatives WMO contributes to the global water agenda. As the United Nations entity responsible for operational hydrology, WMO’s work spans the hydrological value chain. At the Extraordinary session of the WMO Commission for Hydrology held last February 2019, hydrological experts from all over the world reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening operational hydrology to address global water challenges. WMO’s vision for the future of hydrology were captured by the Executive Council Task Force on Water in eight long-term ambitions:

1. No one is surprised by a flood.
2. Everyone is prepared for drought.
3. Hydro-climate and meteorological data support the food security agenda.
4. High quality data supports science, operational hydrology and their products.
5. Science provides a sound basis for operational hydrology.
6. We know the water resources of our world.
7. Sustainable development is supported by hydrological information.
8. Water quality is known.

The Commission proposed convening a Water Assembly during WMO Congress to better integrate and elevate hydrology in the Organization, and to ensure that improved hydrological services will continue to be delivered, particularly to those most at risk of being left behind.