Hidrológiai Közlöny 2001 (81. évfolyam)
4. szám - Hajós Béla: Magyarok a nemzetközi szervezetekben és a határvízi együttműködések
248 HIDROLÓGIA I KÖZLÖNY 2001.81. ÉVF. 4. SZ. INFOHYDRO In 1977 WMO established a hydrological information system known as INFOHYDRO Its purpose is to collect information about the activities of Hydrological Services in order to answer questions such as: "What is the world total number of river gauges?", "How many countries in South America operate water quality networks?" and "Which Hydrological Services publish data yearbooks?" In 1987 WMO published WMO-No. 683, the INFOHYDRO Manual, containing all the information included in the system which had then been mounted on a personal computer. Subsequently Members have been asked to update their entries in INFOHYDRO and to add extra items. When the work on instrument network design involved in the BNAP and HYNET projects has been completed (see WMO Annual Report 1989), and the WMO recommended minimum network densities have been revised, INFOHYDRO data will be available for comparison with these density values. This will allow Services to judge how well their networks match the desired minimum network requirements. In its hydrological response to the Chernobyl accident, WMO continued to work with IAEA on the preparation of a report entitled "Hydrological aspects of accidental pollution of water bodies". It incorporated the experiences gained in the Soviet Union and in other countries. It includes a number of case studies about pollution incident. The publication provides guidance to hydrological services and water authorities on how to minimize the impact of accidental pollution. Expert consultation on water quality WMO, WHO and UNEP convened a meeting of experts (Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, August 1991) to assess information needs for water quality assessment and management. Thirty-five experts from 11 countries and four international organizations participated in the consultation. The consultation constituted part of the preparatory process leading to the International Conference on Water and the Environment (see above). Its purpose was to evaluate the information base required for the incorporation of sound water-quality assessment into integrated water management, taking into account the major concerns in agricultural, urban and industrial development and their environmental impacts. This called for a review of the entire process from data collection and monitoring, through issues related to the assessment of water quality, to the development of global strategies in water-quality management. The meeting focused on: (a) water quality and ecosystem integrity and health; (b) water quantity and quality aspects of water use and management; (c) water quality and environmental impacts; and (d) water quality assessment and monitoring programmes. It defined major problems, areas where knowledge was lacking, and formulated recommendations with proposed action for implementation on the national, regional and global scales. In order to develop information on climate change for water bodies, WMO organizes in every fourth year a workshop on water and climate change. Water resources assessment - declining capabilities of Hydrological Services in developing countries The WMO/UNESCO Report on Water Resources Assessment - Progress in the Implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan and a Strategy for the 1990s, was published in 1991. It contains a series of regional in-depth assessments undertaken under the aegis of the UN Intersecretanat Group for Water Resources. The project was initiated in 1990 and funded by UNDP. The following reports were prepared by the agencies indicated: progress on water-resource assessment (WMO/UNESCO), agricultural water use (FAO), water quality issues (WHO), and economic aspects (UN). These reports were considered during the twelfth session of the Committee on Natural Resources of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (New York, April 1991). They also constitute one of the basic inputs to the ICWE. WMO has also co-operated in the World Bank/UNDP Sub-Saharan Africa Hydrological Assessment Project which focused on the state of hydrological services in that region. Both the WMO/UNESCO report and the reports of the Africa Project show there is a serious decline in the ability of Hydrological Services to shoulder their responsibilities. They are less able in 1991 than in 1977 to assess their country's water resources - networks of instruments have dwindled, data processing is impaired, and the use of data for various purposes has diminished. Characteristic changes The development of the WMO activities in the field of hydrology and water resources continued during my two intersessional periods. The most characteristic changes were the following issues: - the growing membership of the Commission for Hydrology both in the number of counties, both in number individual members, - the introduction of the experts in the activities, particularly in the review of the rapporteurs technical reports, - the institutionalized use of rapporteurs for the renewal of certain publications like the technical regulations or the guide for hydrological practices, - the intersessional meetings of working groups and rapporteurs, - the follow-up of the work-plans of the rapporteurs and working groups, - the insisting efforts to finish the workplans within the intersessional periods, - the pressure on the rapporteur to prepare work-plans and to collect progress reports regularly, - to produce printed reports and disseminate them as soon, as possible, - to collaborate with other water-oriented organizations and programmes, in particular with UNESCO-IHP, - to organize joint ventures with other organizations and to plan future activities in accordance of the proposals of the joint ventures, - to publish common reports and to make specific suggestions and plans for joint activities,- to have simultaneous meetings of CHy-Advisory Working Group and the
