ICIWaRM Holds Inaugural Advisory Board Meeting
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA – December 21, 2012. The International Center for Integrated Water Resources
(left to right) Dr. Michael E. McClain, Head of Department and Professor of Ecohydrology UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education; Mr. Dhesigen Naidoo, CEO, South African Water Research Commission; Dr. Blanca Jimenez Cisneros, Secretary, UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) UNESCO Division of Water Sciences; Prof Dr. Ibrahim Gurer, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Gazi University; Dr. Verne R. Schneider, Executive Secretary, U.S. National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme ; Robert A. Pietrowsky, IWR-ICIWaRM Director
Management (ICIWaRM), under the auspices of UNESCO, held its inaugural advisory board meeting on December 4-5, 2012. The meeting was held in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. ICIWaRM is an international water resources technical center at USACE IWR and is the only UNESCO International Hydrological Programme Category 2 water center in the United States.
The advisory board reviewed the center’s accomplishments from 2009 through 2012 and offered advice regarding its strategic direction. The feedback from the board was uniformly positive, particularly with regard to the center’s collaborative approach to capacity development in Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions. The meeting included a presentation about IHP’s next phase, known as IHP-VIII, as well as discussion of a proposed strategy for ICIWaRM moving forward in the context of IHP-VIII.
ICIWaRM is officially affiliated with the United Nations’ global water network through a 2009 U.S. Government international agreement executed by USACE. The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), attended the meeting as the ex-officio chair of the board, along with State Department officials from their Office for International Organizations, the head of the United Nation’s International Hydrological program, and Dr. Blanca Jimenez from Mexico. Also attending were scientists and engineers from the U.S. Geological Survey and ICIWaRM’s partners, as well as participants from the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Water Resources Association, Oregon State University, Colorado State University, Florida International University, University of Arizona and the Institute for Water Education (IHE) in Delft, Netherlands. Other Advisory Board Members appointed by the United Nations include water resources specialists from South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Brazil and Hungary.
- U.S. Department of State, Office for International Organizations
- Meeting Agenda (pdf, 329 KB)
- Advisory Board By-Laws (pdf, 40 KB)
- ICIWaRM Accomplishments 2008-2012 (pdf, 171 KB) | About ICIWaRM and Accomplishments
- DRAFT ICIWaRM Strategic Plan (pdf, 182 KB)
- Executive Summary of IHP VIII (pdf, 421 KB)
More about the Participants