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The U.S. National Committee for the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme has issued a Monograph on the «Science and Practice of Integrated River Basin Management: Lessons from North and Central American UNESCO-HELP Basins». The report is the product of the North American - UNESCO HELP workshop held at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 10–12 May 2010. 

Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) is a cross-cutting component of the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP). The goal of HELP is to facilitate dialogue among hydrologists, social and economic scientists, water resource managers, water lawyers, policy experts, and river basin stakeholder communities in setting a physical and social science research agenda that is driven by local management and policy issues. HELP seeks to improve the benefits to society by applying the principles of integrated water-resources management (IWRM) to complex, interdisciplinary issues within catchments.

This Monograph is the product of a workshop held in 2010 in which the managers from six North American basins participating in HELP (San Pedro, Willamette, Upper Washita, Lake Champlain, Iowa-Cedar, Luquillo) and a Central American basin participating in HELP (Panama Canal), met to exchange ideas and ‘lessons learned’ in various applications of IWRM.

Three major themes were examined:
1. Climate change: Creating watershed resilience
2. Use of social learning in IWRM
3. Knowledge and information management for IWRM

These themes are explored and enhanced with case studies of IWRM applications from the participating North and Central American HELP basins.

 Science and Practice of Integrated River Basin Management : Lessons from North and Central American UNESCO-HELP Basins

» USA National IHP Committee