From Scientific Frontiers to Water Action - 50th Anniversary of the IHP Side Event

‘From Scientific Frontiers to Water Action’ – one of the 50th Anniversary of the IHP Side Events – held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on June 12, 2025. This side event, organized by the People’s Republic of China in partnership with UNESCO and Water Family members, highlighted achievements and explore scientific frontiers to identify emerging challenges, opportunities, and prospects in hydrology science. These discussions contributed to the implementation of IHP-IX Phase. The main objective of this side event is to assess and identify the scientific challenges and frontiers of water sciences, as well as the translation of science into practical applications, including the way forward for IHP. The event also examined available data and national capacities for conducting scientific assessments of hydrology in Member States.

Ms. Lidia Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO; and Ms. YANG Xinyu, Chinese Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the People’s Republic of China to the UNESCO attended the event and delivered opening remarks. Ambassador Representatives from Austria, Luxembourg, Myanmar, DPRK, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Morocco and other member states participated in the events and made remarks. Over 130 participants from UNESCO member states, UNESCO IHP National Committees, UNESCO Category II centers and Chairs, other international organizations, institutes, and universities. The Opening was moderated by Mr. Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative, UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia.

Keynote speeches includes:

Science of Hydrology: From Scientific Frontiers to Application through IHP, Mr. Anil Mishra, Chief of the Hydrological Systems, Climate Change and Adaptation Section, UNESCO IHP;
Frontier of Water Sciences in China, Ms. PENG Jing, Director General of IRTCES, President of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR);
Water Science for Resilience and Sustainability, Mr. Matja? Miko?, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia;
History and Development of China Hydrology, Mr. LIU Zhiyu, Director General of Department of Hydrology, Ministry of Water Resources, Chair of UNESCO IHP National Committee of the P. R. China

The Panel Discussion with topic of ‘Frontier in water sciences and way forward towards water action, water education, and water culture’ was moderated by Mr. Abou Amani, Director, Division of Water Sciences Secretary, UNESCO IHP. Mr. Helmut Habersack, UNESCO IHP Chairperson, President of WASER, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna; Mr. Harald Koethe, Director of International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC); Mr. David Hannah, University of Birmingham, UNESCO Chair in Water Science; Mr. Toshio Koike, Director, UNESCO International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM); and Mr. Omogbemi Omoloju Yaya, Director of Regional Centre for Integrated River Basin Management participated in the discussions.

The side event was organized by China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR); International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES); UNESCO IHP; Chinese National Committee for the IHP of UNESCO; UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia; National Key Laboratory of Water Cycle in River Basin and Water Security; Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI); and Hohai University, and co-organized by International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM); Regional Centre for Integrated River Basin Management; International Centre for the Integrated Management of Watershed and Bio-Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions (ICIMWB); International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR); and World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research (WASER).