When :
from Monday 22 January, 2018 11:00 to Friday 26 January, 2018 17:30Type of event :
ВыставкаWhere :
UNESCO Headquarters, Salle des Actes, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75007, Paris, FranceContact :
Sima Taheri-Gauter, 8 08 05, s.taheri@unesco.orgThis Exhibition will mark the launch of the World Water Quality Portal under the International Initiative on Water Quality of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme. The Portal is a pioneering effort aimed at providing global water quality information and capacity building, using Earth Observation and satellite-based data on inland waters, and enhancing capacity on innovative water quality monitoring approaches.
The Exhibition presents preliminary results of the Portal and features a collection of selected Earth Observation images, demonstrating the state of water quality in inland freshwater resources in different parts of the world. It stresses the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and helps to improve understanding of the use and full potential of Earth Observation for global water assessment.
Water quality is one of the main challenges that societies will face during the 21st century, affecting human health, ecosystem, biodiversity, food production and economic growth. Improving water quality worldwide is essential for the achievement of the specific water quality Target of the Sustainable Development Goal on water and sanitation (SDG 6), as well as of several other Goals and Targets that are linked directly to water quality and water pollution. Moreover, the increasing relevance to understand climate and man-made changes and their impacts on the environment require global knowledge on water quality.
The World Water Quality Portal will be an important contribution not only to improve global water quality information, but also to the promotion of science-based, informed information decision-making on water quality. In view of scarce global water quality information, the Portal will be a valuable tool helping countries obtain water quality information, especially in remote areas and in developing country regions where water quality monitoring networks and laboratory capacity lack. Hence, it will support national efforts for the implementation of water quality related SDG targets as well as for monitoring progress towards their realization. It will contribute to sustainable water resources management toward the achievement of the SDGs.
The Exhibition will be opened on Monday 22 January 2018 at 11:00-12:30, in the presence of key experts and partner organizations from Germany and Japan. An experts meeting on “Water Quality Monitoring using Earth Observation and Satellite-based Information” will be held following the Exhibition Opening from 14:00 to 17:00 in Room VII.