Hydrological Sciences and Water Security: Past, Present and Future

This colloquium is the continuation of a series of biennial international scientific meetings organized jointly by the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) in the most challenging fields of water resources research. These meetings commemorate the late George Kovacs, an established authority on hydrology, who served as Chairman of the Intergovernmental Council of IHP and as Secretary General and President of IAHS.

This Kovacs Colloquium will be jointly organized by UNESCO IHP and IAHS and will take place at UNESCO's Paris headquarters prior to the 21st Session of the Intergovernmental Council of IHP in June 2014. The Colloquium will run from 9 am Monday 16 June to 1 pm Tuesday 17 June and will comprise several invited lectures, an interactive panel session plus a poster session.

Water Security is defined by IHP as "the capacity of a population to safeguard access to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality for sustaining human and ecosystem health on a watershed basis, and to ensure efficient protection of life and property against water related hazards floods, landslides, land subsidence and droughts". (IHP VIII (2014-2012) Strategic Document, Water Security: Responses to Local, Regional and Global Challenges).

The Colloquium will address the emergence and development of water security concepts over the past decades, the state of present day ideas and opinions, and will look to likely developments in the future. Of particular importance will be inclusion of the new IAHS decade of research Panta Rhei - Change in Hydrology and Society and its relevance to Water Security.

All interested hydrologists are invited to participate; registration is free of charge. The abstract submission will open soon with detailed instructions for oral as well as poster sessions.

ABSTRACT DEADLINE: 15 April 2014.

Contact: Ms Barbara Lwanga Kavuma, IHP Secretariat, [email protected]