The papers from the 8th Global UNESCO FRIEND Water Conference ‘Hydrological Processes and Water Security in a Changing World’ are now available open access as PIAHS Volume 383.

https://piahs.copernicus.org/articles/383/index.html 

The 8th Global FRIEND conference was co-organized by UNESCO and Government of China, with the focus on the theme of hydrological processes and water security in a changing world, under which eight thematic topics were discussed during the conference:

(1) hydrological observations under the changing environment and scarcity;

(2) river regimes and hydrological extremes under the changing environment;

(3) simulation and prediction of surface water and groundwater processes under the impact of human activities;

(4) urban hydrology and sponge city;

(5) multi-objective water resources allocation and operation;

(6) integrated watershed management including eco-hydrology and socio-hydrology;

(7) water quality and sediment transport; and

 (8) river health and ecological baseflow under changing environment.

The conference explored how society, water systems and the environment interact under changing conditions. It highlighted the advance in hydrological science and innovation in water management, as well as the solutions to improve this relationship, particularly in view of contributing to the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. For the first time the two IHP programs FRIEND and Ecohydrology jointly organized a side event about the importance to bring ecological solutions to hydrological problems.