The Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (GEMS/Water) provides quality controlled data on fresh water quality globally to support the UN-Environment mandate to keep the global environment under review, through scientific and thematic assessments and decision-making on the subject. It is a key mechanism identified by Members globally to assist countries in monitoring and reporting to meet the global water quality and pollution challenge.
Surface and ground water quality monitoring data collected from the global GEMS/Water network is shared through the GEMStat information system. In the UN Environment Freshwater Strategy, it is the operational arm addressing water quality targets in Sustainable Development Goal for Water (SDG 6) providing methodology support, metadata, data management, quality assurance, indicator calculation and capacity development. This is embedded in the UN-Water coordinated Integrated Monitoring Initiative.
GEMS/Water work comprises:
- Collecting and sharing freshwater quality monitoring data
- Maintaining the global water quality information system GEMStat
- Capacity development and training to empower countries to deliver authoritative and reliable data
The GEMS/Water Data Centre, coordinated by the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change and hosted by the Federal Institute of Hydrology in Koblenz, Germany, maintains GEMStat.
The GEMS/Water Capacity Development Centre is hosted by Environmental Research Institute of University College Cork, Ireland.
The GEMS/Water Regional Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the Group of Portuguese-speaking African countries, is based at the National Water Agency of Brazil (ANA).
Partner: UN Environment
Target Segment of the Conference: Hydrological Services - Product Delivery
Relationship to other Conference Segments:
The programme links equally close to Target Segments a) and b):
Data acquisition, quality control, metadata standardization and alignment of regional monitoring efforts such as in Europe or Africa are core activities. The same applies to capacity development in countries, regionally and globally. Modules are provided online, including a fully-fledged diploma course. Countries express requirement of accelerated capacity building with focus on data management, monitoring system design and quality control, including performance evaluation.
Advancing products and addressing gaps in time and space require new data sources such as Earth Observations (e.g. SPONGE project, Monocle and Compass links) and Crowd sourcing (Citizen science). GEMS/Water is in the process to expand services towards water/climate and technology embedded in a world water quality assessment and products programme to start in 2018 (also requested by UNEA).
Geographical coverage:
Global in general and capacity development special focus on Africa (with earmarked support from Ireland).
Connection to the development and delivery of a hydrological service for prosperity:
GEMS/Water, with its currently 87 connected countries with identified focal points, aims to expend geographical, parameter and time coverage for improved analysis and services. Partnership is critical to address technology innovation, mobilizing, informing and maintaining data flows and to align existing reporting mechanisms. Contributing the water quality and pollution focus also requires access and analysis of legacy information accommodated in other initiatives and to work collectively on target hydrological service products. GEMS/Water in its required evolvement to a broader service platform seeks to contribute to and realize co-benefits in light of SDG interlinkages (nexus focus) and climate drivers and service. This includes transboundary and ground water systems and private sector requirements.