24 datasets found

Applications of AI for Water Management

The Reference Observatory of Basins for INternational hydrological climate change detection (ROBIN) project established a new long-term collaboration of international experts to establish and sustain a global reference hydrological network (RHN), through common standards, protocols, indicators, and data infrastructure. ‘Reference Hydrometric Networks’ (RHNs), consist of gauging stations whose catchments are relatively undisturbed and record high quality data and little missing data. The concept of RHNs, their history and evolution are described in (Whitfield et al., 2012) previously and many countries have already established RHNs, however this is the first initiative to bring them together at a global level. The ROBIN Full Dataset consists of 3,060 stations in 30 countries, however the dataset described here is the ROBIN Public Dataset which contains metadata records for all 3,060 stations and daily streamflow data for a total of 2,386 stations. This tiered approached was due to data sharing restrictions in some countries. More information about the ROBIN Network and dataset can be found on the project website: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/robin

These maps, developed by Deltares, creat the flood impact of flood hazards expected in the Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts, Zimbabwe and are evaluated at 30m resolution.

Natural disasters frequently damage or destroy school infrastructure, jeopardizing educational opportunities and putting school children's lives in danger. This was experienced by children and staff members in Zimbabwe, Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in particular during cyclone Idai which hit eastern Zimbabwe in 2019 and the cyclones that followed. More than 140 schools were affected by the floods and the land slides. The situation at St. Charles Lwanga High School, where 200 children, teachers and support staff were stranded for two days and had to face the cyclone, shows the importance of safe school infrastructure. To better prepare for such eventualities, UNESCO through the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project funded by World Bank and managed by UNOPS collaborated with the University of Udine and the University of Zimbabwe to implement the VISUS (Visual Inspection for Defining the Safety Upgrading Strategies), a multi-hazard school safety assessment methodology that help policymakers decide where to focus risk reduction efforts based on available resources and scientific evidence. The VISUS methodology helps assess schools using a holistic, multi-hazard approach that considers five aspects: site conditions, structural performance, local structural criticalities, non-structural components, and functional aspects. The methodology has also been improved to consider outbreak of disease such as COVID-19. The VISUS methodology was conceived as an effective decision making tool for planning risk mitigation actions. The project helped mainstream school safety components into the UNOPS’ School Rehabilitation Program and could contribute to the Civil Protection Unit’s School Disaster Education Programme. The team’s efforts also assisted in making investments decisions to strengthen the safety of schools efficiently and economically.

Reports and datasets generated as part of the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) implemented in the Chimanimani Districts, in response to Cyclone Idai and to build resilience of local communities to climate change impacts.

Zimbabwe is exposed to multiple weather-related hazards, suffering from frequent periodic cyclones, droughts, floods, and related epidemics and landslides. On 15 March 2019, tropical Cyclone Idai hit eastern Zimbabwe, and at least 172 deaths were reported, more than 186 people were injured and 327 were missing, while over 270,000 people were affected across nine districts, particularly in Chimanimani and Chipinge. Of those affected, 20,002 households (61.5%) or 100,106 people (74.2% of the 2012 population) were in Chimanimani. Meanwhile, ecosystem damage also occurred where boulders and mud were dumped downhill, affecting wildlife habitats, water quality, tourism activities and usability of land resources. The cyclone’s aftermath has therefore increased environmental risks, which will in turn affect local adaptation. Loss of vegetation cover means the natural defense against future flood waters and landslides is no longer available. Similar events in future are therefore likely to cause even more destruction. The overall objective of the initiative is therefore to reduce the vulnerability of communities in the Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts and landslides; and to enhance water resource management as well as ecosystem services in response to the uncertainty of future climate change. The project is designed to approach the water-related risk and vulnerability through an integrated strategy that targets several aspects of disaster risk reduction, and provides scalable implementation of the project through a modular pathway and the development of case studies in target flood and landslide prone areas.

This dataset contains the official materials from the launch event of the IHP-WINS (International Hydrological Programme – Water Information Network System) platform, held on 28 April 2023. It includes the launch brochure, the presentation delivered during the event, and the full recording of the webinar. These resources provide an overview of the platform’s objectives, functionalities, and relevance in supporting data sharing, open science, and collaborative water resources management. The dataset serves as a reference for stakeholders, partners, and contributors interested in learning about the vision and practical applications of IHP-WINS.

Overview of the IHP Phase VIII Achievements

The CRIDA approach provides a crucial framework to enable water managers and policy makers to assess the impact of climate uncertainty and change on their water resources and work towards effective adaptation strategies. This multi-step process embraces a participatory, bottom-up approach to identify water security hazards, and is sensitive to indigenous and gender-related water vulnerabilities. By engaging local communities in the design of the analysis, the information provided by scientific modeling and climate analysis can be tailored and thus provide more useful answers to the challenges they are facing. They are also providing a more informed starting point to assess the different options for adaptation, and design robust adaptation pathways, in line with the local needs.

This publication aims to bridge the gap between climate and disasters, in the face of the uncertainties that climate change poses to water managers and policymakers. Composed of a compilation of worldwide case studies, it provides examples of innovative water management and climate risk assessment approaches. The publication also highlights the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) with the aim of identifying links between these high-level frameworks, DRR and water issues, and describing how the policy-practice linkages can be turned into action.

This publication has laid out a strategic framework to integrate Open Science into hydrology, illustrating its true potential to enhance research transparency, collaboration, and accessibility within water management practices. The six pillars — open data, open source, open publishing, open infrastructure, open education, and open participation — constitute the structure of the Open Hydrology framework designed to promote transparency and reproducibility.

This publication reviews the current state-of-the-art of AI and Machine Learning (ML) applications within water management, introducing some of the main concepts and providing the reader with a general understanding of different technologies and concepts. Further, it features examples of the most influential applications of AI within water management and highlights the ethical challenges when streamlining AI for water resources management.

The FRIEND/Nile project, implemented in two phases (2001-2006 and 2007-2013), aimed to enhance water resources management in the Nile Basin through regional cooperation, capacity building, and applied hydrological research. Initiated under the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and funded by the Flemish Government of Belgium, the project engaged key institutions across five Nile Basin countries—Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. The project focused on improving understanding of the river's hydrological regime through collaborative research and data sharing.

Phase I (2001-2006) established technical and institutional cooperation, emphasizing four key research components: Rainfall-Runoff Modeling, Sediment Transport and Watershed Management, Flood Frequency Analysis, and Drought and Low Flow Analysis. Over 20 training workshops and technical meetings were conducted, enhancing the capacity of researchers and institutions within the region. The project facilitated data acquisition, model development, and technical publications, laying the foundation for improved transboundary water governance.

Phase II (2007-2013) expanded on these efforts by addressing new challenges such as eco-hydrology, stochastic modeling, and erosion and sediment transport. It introduced advanced hydrological models, improved performance monitoring, and evaluated climate change impacts on water availability in the Nile Basin. The project contributed to enhanced scientific cooperation, strengthened institutional frameworks, and provided policy-relevant insights to support sustainable water resource management.

Hydrodiplomacy, legal and institutional aspects of water resources governance: from the international to the domestic perspective: training manual

These datasets and maps present the landslides observed and landslide susceptibility of the Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts of Zimbabwe. The maps provide a qualitative assessment of the likelihood of a landslide occurrence in an area depend on the terrain condition, and knowledge of prior landslides in the region. These maps have been prepared with the recording of 20 000 landslides, that have been identified in the region, particularly those as a result of the Cyclone Idai that occurred in 2019.

Factsheet “Impact of Floods- Adaptation and Mitigation in the Buze, Pungwe and Save basins”

This dataset contains the communication and promotional material from the Be-Resilient South Africa

This dataset contains the Newsletters from the Be-Resilient BuPuSa Project in Zimbabwe and Mozambique

This dataset contains communication and promotional material from the BuPuSa project in Mozambique and Zimbabwe

This dataset contains the Policy Briefs resulting from the Be-Resilient BuPuSa Project in Zimbabwe and Mozambique