The World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) seeks to equip water managers and key decision-makers with the information, data, tools and skills necessary to enable them to effectively participate in the development of policies and associated decision-making. This UN-wide programme wants to assist leaders in government, civil society and private sector, so that their policies and decision-making that affect water promote sustainable social and economic development at local, national, regional and global scales.
The Programme's objectives are:
- Helping Member States to assess their water resources and the efficiency and effectiveness of their water policy decisions and programs, and monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation and other water-related goals;
- Producing the WWDR series on the global water situation with regard to water availability (both in terms of quantity and quality) and its uses, and on the likely future changes of water availability and use in relation to global drivers, in order to provide early warning to avoid potential water related conflicts;
- Assisting Member States to build and improve their capacities to collect and analyze data of relevance to their water policy initiatives;
- Developing conceptual and methodological frameworks for internationally comparable data and indicators for water resources;
- Analyzing data in partnership with policy-makers and researchers, and promoting wider and more informed use of data for policy purposes at different scales;
- Disseminating WWAP messages and results by producing various means of effective communication tools and public education material; and
- Developing regional, sub-regional and national case studies and best practices as well as regional water development reports underpinned with regional data sets.
Partner: UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
Target Segment of the Conference: Hydrological Services - Product Delivery
Relationship to other Conference Segments:
The annual World Water Development Reports (UN-Water report coordinated by WWAP) rely extensively on the hydrological data and products produced by National Hydrological Services. WWAP coordinated also the production of the SDG 6 Synthesis Report for Water and Sanitation in 2018 (also a UN-Water report), that is, among others, also based on data provided by Hydrological Services.
Geographical coverage:
Global with regional close-ups and showcasing of countries/regional/local case studies.
Connection to the development and delivery of a hydrological service for prosperity:
Analyzing and synthesizing hydrological and other data to understand water systems behavior and derive policy recommendations for sustainable development of countries in all its three dimensions (economically, socially and environmentally). Therefore, informing policy and decision makers to ensure development and implementation of policies and strategies for prosperity.