ESTABLISHING A CATEGORY-2 UNESCO CENTRE AT NIH
NIH is having a secretariat of UNESCO IHP. It is proposed to establish category II centre at NIH. The water-related centres under the auspices of UNESCO (category II) work on relevant thematic and geographic priorities in their areas of expertise. Category II centres under the auspices of UNESCO are a modality without precedence in the United Nations system: they are provided and funded by Member States and are committed to engage in support of UNESCO’s strategic programme objectives.
The centre will promote regional research, education and capacity development in the various fields of hydrologic modelling. The activities of the centre will contribute to achieving the strategic objectives of UNESCO’s IHP. A regional centre on Water and environment to deal with the following topics is proposed at NIH.
- Water management planning for urbanizing areas.
- IWRM for water security at different scales.
- Climate resilient water management.
- Rejuvenation of rivers and small water bodies.
- Hydrological behaviour of ephemeral streams.
- Hydrology for ecosystem services.
- Environment flow assessment.
- Water quality and management.
- Groundwater in a Changing Environment.
- Awareness creation and capacity building of stakeholders.
The institute will get following benefits from the proposed centre:
- Enhance the visibility of the institute.
- Recognition of R&D studies carried out in India.
- Technical expertise of UNESCO will be accessible to NIH.
- Training and capacity building programs in India and neighbouring countries.
The preliminary discussion with the concerned official in UNESCO, New Delhi have been made. In order to establish the centre, before sending the proposal to Ministry, guidance and suggestions from TAC are required.