UNESCO, IHP and the Panama Canal invite international community for participation in HELP International Symposium 2011 “Building Knowledge Bridges for a Sustainable Water Future”

The UNESCO, the International Hydrological Program (IHP) and the Panama Canal invite individuals to participate in the Hydrology for the environment, Life and Policy (HELP) International Symposium 2011. HELP has been regularly organizing various workshops and conferences for past few years and is working to raise issues related to management of water resources through these workshops and conferences. The HELP Global Symposia is organized every four years.

The 2011 Symposium at Panama offers the world community a great opportunity to exchange and take a close look of ground-breaking, exceptional lessons, putting forward wise and experienced worldwide knowledge on water-related issues for the betterment of mankind.

About HELP

HELP is a cross-cutting and transdisciplinary initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) led by the International Hydrological Programme (IHP). HELP is creating a new approach to integrated catchment management through the creation of a framework and the provision of a platform for water law and policy experts, water resource managers and water scientist to work together on water-related problems. The HELP initiative has established a global network of catchments to improve the links between hydrology and the needs of society.

Objectives

- Provide a forum to facilitate knowledge exchange, based on real experiences and innovation from river basins across the world.

- Support international efforts to ensure sustainable and integrated management of hydrological resources by highlighting and documenting lessons learned.

- Evaluate experiences from the HELP initiative network of basins around the world.

- Set new directions for research, knowledge and capacity building needs related to water security.

Language

Official language of the Symposium is English. Simultaneous translation to Spanish will be available at the conferences.

Sponsors

The symposium is held under the patronage of UNESCO –IHP and its programs HELP and Ecohydrology- and the Panama Canal Authority. It is co-organized by the National Environmental Authority, the National Committee of the International Hydrological Program, the International Center for Sustainable Development, and the Interinstitutional Commission for the Canal Watershed.