Member responsible for thematic area Data Operations and Management

1. 
   Whether or not to endorse the WMO Hydrological Observing System;
   

2. 
   Whether or not to recommend to the WMO Executive Council that WaterML 2.0: Part 1 and Part 2 be adopted as WMO standards for information exchange for use by National Hydrological Services; and
   

3. 
   Whether or not to support ongoing adoption by WMO of further WaterML 2.0 standards.
   

1. 
   CHy representative now co-chairs the Project Steering Group;
   

2. 
   Greater relevance of river hydrological aspects in the project, e.g. a strategy for the river hydrological component was developed, improvements to every subproject were proposed, system developers for river hydrology system were appointed (for CIFDP-Fiji).
   

30. A more coherent hydrological contribution to this project will help describe coastal processes in their full extent and thus improve inundation forecasting in coastal zones.

1. 
   Championing the WMO FFI main objective: to improve the capacity of meteorological and hydrological services to jointly deliver timely and more accurate products and services required in flood forecasting and warning;
   

2. 
   Review of the Guidance Document for the “Assessment of Flood Forecasting Services” and associated “Draft Instruction Manual”;
   

3. 
   Capacity-building: training on “operational flood forecasting and warning” for two African countries, namely Benin and Uganda. Other countries have expressed interest in the training. WMO manuals and guidelines supplemented the knowledge used in the training;
   

4. 
   Presentations made on “An effective flood forecasting and warning system in Kenya”.
   

37. With respect to the interaction with the WMO Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme, the following should be mentioned:

1. 
   Review of the “Peril classification and hazard glossary”, prepared by the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) Working Group on Disaster Loss Data(DATA) Report No. 1, March 2014;
   

2. 
   Comments on the WMO DRR Roadmap.
   

38. Finally, the following were activities undertaken in the area of responsibilities of a general nature:

1. 
   Presented, jointly with others, a country status report on “Development of a National Policy on Drought”, one of the few published in the final report;
   

2. 
   Participated in the design of the NILE BASIN hydrometeorological monitoring network;
   

3. 
   Initiated the development of a National Design Storm Database in Kenya;
   

4. 
   Participated in all CHy-AWG sessions and related activities.
   

1. 
   The present document contains a brief report of the activities undertaken in the last intersessional period (2013-2016) under the framework of the Hydrology and Water Resources Programme, which Cg-17, through Resolution 18 (Cg-17), decided to maintain as described in the Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Sixteenth World Meteorological Congress (WMO-No. 1077), Annex II – WMO Programme descriptions. The focus of this document is on those issues not reported by the president of the Commission (see CHy-15/Doc. 2) or by the AWG members (see CHy-15/INF. 2.2).
   

2. 
   The president of CHy, together with the Secretariat, developed a proposal for a Global Hydrometry Support Facility (GHSF), which the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will support for the 2017-2020 period, in particular by financing three professional project positions.
   

3. 
   The GHSF is designed to consolidate national monitoring capabilities and their regional and global integration, and is a support to the WHYCOS programme through the development and application of innovative monitoring and database technologies. GHSF includes WHYCOS, WHOS, a global Innovation Hub, a Hydrological Services Information Platform and a Help Desk.
   

4. 
   There is a need for a new paradigm in hydrometry for an effective decision-support to integrated water resources management, particularly in areas where resource scarcity, fragile conditions, conflicts, highly variable supplies, and rapid demand growth overlap with underfunded agencies.
   

5. 
   Recent assessments continue to show a decline of monitoring networks, related to lack of financial resources and qualified staff, and generally speaking a low visibility and recognition of Hydrological Services by national authorities. A new paradigm in water monitoring is required.
   

6. 
   Coordination and innovation are needed to propose new approaches that:
   

1. 
   Build, enhance, and maintain national and regional hydrological observing systems where they are weak and where knowledge gaps are threatening sustainable development;
   

2. 
   Promote regional and global coordination and integration of monitoring systems and dissemination of their products/benefits notably in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG);
   

3. 
   Support quality control, processing, exchange, and storage of data from observing systems;
   

4. 
   Foster evidence-based policy and decision-making in support of integrated water resources management from political, financial and operational standpoints by generating derived products and develop information systems;
   

5. 
   Support the development of new data acquisition methodologies including and combining technology and community-based approaches;
   

6. 
   Foster joint analysis of data in order to catalyse and improve transboundary and regional cooperation and support stakeholders in their capacity development, in order to improve sustainable and secure water management and avoid tensions and conflicts.
   

7. 
   The elements of the implementation strategy for each GHSF component are described in CHy-15/Doc. 4.1(2). What follows is a brief description of the status of each component at the time of writing this report.
   

8. 
   The World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) is the long-standing initiative dedicated to water monitoring networks, including planning and installation of monitoring stations (water quantity and quality, surface and groundwater), strengthening transboundary and international cooperation and promoting the free exchange of hydrological data. Started in 1993, WHYCOS is implemented through regional HYCOS projects. The current status of the different projects can be found under http://www.whycos.org/whycos. As of December 2016, approximately 15 projects have been developed, three are on-going (Arctic, IGAD and Niger-HYCOS), and five are in the preparation phase, looking for funding (Congo, Lake Chad, Senegal Basin and phase 3 of SADC and Niger). Pacific HYCOS and Niger-HYCOS are also considering starting a new phase.
   

9. 
   Numerous HYCOS projects have been considered in other regions (Amazon, Black Sea, Danube, South-East Asia, etc.), but haven’t been implemented mainly due to a lack of interest of financial partners, but also from now and then to a lack of interest of country partners. Other regions, having recognized the benefit of WHYCOS, have shown interest, as for instance the island countries of the Indian Ocean, Aral Sea, Oyapock basin, etc.
   

10. 
    Starting new projects according to country requirement and priorities is crucial, but it is even more essential to guarantee the sustainability of the implemented HYCOS projects, in terms of operation and maintenance of hydrological stations, data management and hydrological products and services delivery. A long-term financial and technical strategy must be put in place.
    

http://www.whycos.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/GHSF-concept-note.pdf).

12. 
    A pilot study called “the innovative monitoring and modelling approach” (iMoMo) that the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been promoting since 2012, has recently achieved proof-of-concept status in different countries of the World. iMoMo is a practicable example of what the Innovation Hub of the GHSF can develop in the future.
    

12. 
    The WMO Hydrological Observing System (WHOS) envisions being a services-oriented framework linking hydrologic data and users. It should fulfill the long sought goal of hydrologists and water resources specialists worldwide to have simple access to hydrological information from those NMHSs around the world that make their data freely and openly available.
    

12. 
    In 2014 the president of CHy, with the support of the AWG, proposed the establishment of WHOS. After working on the concept, the president presented his proposal to Cg-17 in 2015. Congress welcomed the effort and urged the president of CHy to continue guiding WHOS to full implementation. WHOS was conceived as the hydrological input to WIGOS to be implemented in two phases, the first, launched in July 2015, consisting of an online portal for accessing existing near real-time and historical hydrological information, and allowing NHSs to publish their data and other hydrological information (see the WHOS homepage for further information).
    

12. 
    The second phase aims at developing a complete services-oriented hydrologic information system that enables data registration, discovery and access, in compliance with WIS and WIGOS. WHOS will support storage of hydrological information, its publication on the Internet via web-services, combining it with hydrological data published by multiple sources, and search across the various data holdings within a network. Some developments could be combined with those of the GEOSS Common Infrastructure of the Group on Earth Observations, which has similar objectives. CHy-15 will set up a process to develop an implementation plan, including a timetable, for the phase II of WHOS.
    

12. 
    It is to be noted that providers will remain the owner of their data; WHOS is facilitating their visibility and access for national, regional and global needs. One requirement will be to use standardized data exchange formats. WHOS will form a specialized hydrological registry within WIS, will be open to all users and institutions from any country or level of government, and will apply to any type of hydrological information.
    

12. 
    In 2013, concerned that hydrological information and services systems in developing countries were deteriorating, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the Water Partnership Program (WPP) from the World Bank Group and the Hydrology and Water Resources Department (HWRD) of WMO embarked on an assessment of the state of hydrological services in developing countries. The GFDRR, WPP and WMO believe that there is an increasing demand for hydrometeorological and climate information and services around the world.
    

12. 
    Phase 1 of the assessment commenced with a rapid global assessment based on available literature, including, inter alia, the Hydrological Information Referral Service (INFOHYDRO).
    

12. 
    The rapid global assessment (World Bank Group, December 2014) identified the following issues with respect to hydrological information and services systems:
    

1. 
   Low visibility and recognition by national authorities;
   

2. 
   Lack of financial resources for operation and maintenance activities;
   

3. 
   Decline of monitoring systems, obsolescence of equipment;
   

4. 
   Lack of qualified staff;
   

5. 
   Defective communication and data management system;
   

6. 
   An inability for National Hydrological Services (NHSs) to meet current user demands.
   

12. 
    The rapid assessment recommended the implementation of a number of targeted case studies to review the status of hydrological information and services systems in developing countries and proposed the establishment of National Hydrological Data Users Groups (NHDUG) to assist and support NHSs in establishing their roles and responsibilities in national development planning as part of the review process.
    

12. 
    These case studies were requested to address the following proposals:
    

1. 
   Improved assessment of the status of NHSs globally is necessary;
   

2. 
   Support is necessary to help NHSs raise their profiles and evolve into demand driven, service oriented organizations. Establishment of a national hydrological services user group;
   

3. 
   Countries should develop National Action Plans for Operational Hydrology, within the Framework of National Development Strategies.
   

12. 
    As a result, Phase 2 of the project (the case studies) was conducted over the period 2015 to 2016. Phase 2 has seen targeted initiatives aimed at assessment of the state of hydrological services and recommendations for their improvement in selected countries, namely in Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal, St. Lucia, Tanzania and Uruguay.
    

12. 
    Based on the outcomes from these targeted studies and information collected from approximately 60 other studies covering 43 developing countries, some specific findings have been drawn, including the following:
    

1. 
   70% (31) of the countries had some (albeit limited) level of understanding of the uses and users of hydrological information and services. For 30% (12) of countries, information on the uses and users was lacking;
   

2. 
   Whilst the information provided is not consistent, the status of hydrological networks can be defined as:
   

• 
  7% (3) of countries described their networks as adequate and in relatively good shape;
  
• 
  19% (8) of countries have recently been provided with funds to upgrade networks that were in a significant state of decline;
  
• 
  26% (11) of countries had networks that were in a significant state of decline (less than 25% operational);
  
• 
  30% (13) of countries had networks that were in a poor state (less than 50% operational);
  
• 
  12% (5) of countries provided specific evidence of declining networks;
  
• 
  7% (3) of countries had no information on which to make an assessment.
  

3. 
   With respect to data management, 70% (30) of countries are in need of upgrades to their data management systems, 9% (4) of countries are in the process of upgrading their data management systems, 9% (4) of countries expressed a level of satisfaction with their current database, whilst 12% (5) countries had no information on which to make an assessment;
   

4. 
   Information on hydrological services delivered was inconsistent and insufficient to draw specific conclusions, but in the main, apart from a small number of targeted services (such as flood forecasts) and some basic hydrological statistics, there was little evidence of provision of adequate hydrological services in the majority of countries;
   

5. 
   The greater majority of countries identified staff numbers and staff training/capacity-building as inadequate and therefore requiring attention;
   

6. 
   Limited information was available on the levels of user satisfaction with the hydrological services provided in the countries.
   

12. 
    The above assessment is consistent with the findings of the 2014 World Bank Group assessment which reported that 72% of water professionals surveyed had stated that their country was in need of more water monitoring stations and that 78% of Developing Countries and 86% of Least Developed Countries consider that their networks do not meet the current needs.
    

12. 
    The World Bank Group (GFDRR and WPP) and WMO are now implementing Phase 3 of the project which is aimed at further evaluation of the information collected and the provision of guidance to international organizations, non-governmental organizations, donors, development partner agencies, governments and NHSs on how to develop business case-based approaches for the operations and management of NHSs, so that they can better contribute to National Development Strategies.
    

12. 
    In particular, information on funding of NHSs is being sought so that baseline government contributions to the public good activities of NHSs can be established.
    

12. 
    The World Bank Group (GFDRR and WPP) and WMO are seeking guidance and support from CHy-15 in moving forward with Phase 3 of the project. In particular, they would like to know:
    

1. 
   Are GFDRR, WPP and WMO correct in their assessment?
   

2. 
   Can NHSs support the approach proposed?
   

3. 
   What can NHSs contribute in the way of supporting information?
   

4. 
   How can GFDRR, WPP and WMO help NHSs?
   

5. 
   What can be done by WMO?
   

6. 
   What can be done by donors/development partners?