On 3 July 2024, several international centres based at the BfG (linked webpage in German) celebrated their anniversary with a “BfG-Intern”. Dr Stephan Dietrich hosted the two-hour programme, which provided an overview of the work of ICWRGC and the data centres since their inception. Around 100 colleagues celebrated with the jubilarians.
In her opening speech, BfG president Dr Birgit Esser emphasised the importance of the international (data) centres for the BfG. At the international level, ICWRGC makes active contributions to the Federal Government’s water policy on behalf of the Federal Institute and on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the Federal Foreign Office. BfG and ICWRGC also operate several global databases whose products are available worldwide, in particular for research purposes but also for politics, administration and other users. The acting head of ICWRGC, Dr Stephan Dietrich, emphasised: ‘In the course of the event, we will present our long-term and joint approach as a contribution to a global water information system. Our aim is to make existing knowledge more usable so that sustainable decisions can be made on the subject of water.’
The UNESCO (IHP) and WMO (HWRP) water programmes were already established at the BfG 50 years ago. In addition, the GRDC has been operated at the BfG for 36 years. Ten years ago, in 2014, ICWRGC was re-established as a UNESCO Category 2 Water Centre, and the GEMS/Water Data Centre for Global Water Quality has also been located at ICWRGC and BfG for 10 years. Since 2022, ICWRGC and BfG have also taken over the management of ISMN from the University of Vienna.
Dr Anil Mishra, Head of the Department of Hydrological Systems, Climate Change and Adaptation at IHP, and Dr Stefan Uhlenbrook, Director of Hydrology, Water and the Cryosphere at WMO, then explained the importance of hydrological databases in the scientific community and the important role played by ICWRGC and BfG. Reliable data and information on freshwater resources in particular are becoming increasingly important as global change progresses.
After the greetings and congratulations, Philipp Saile, Head of the GEMS/Water Data Centre, gave an overview of the history of the GEMS/Water project of the United Nations Environment Programme. At the end of the first lecture block, Dr Johannes Cullmann, who is responsible for international networking at BfG, reported on the founding and establishment of ICWRGC at the BfG.
A look at the present
The second part of the event presented the current activities at ICWRGC and the relevant international data centres. Stephan Dietrich began by explaining ICWRGC’s new strategy, which is based on the three pillars of science and training, operational services, and advising policy and other decision-makers. Dr Luna Bharati then gave an overview of research and teaching activities at the ICWRGC. The Head of Education & Research introduced the projects in which the Centre is either actively involved or in an advisory capacity, presented the ongoing doctoral programmes for students from Southern and Western Africa, and described the teaching activities of ICWRGC. Philipp Saile then presented the work of the GEMS/Water Data Centre, from the development of the GEMStat database to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by coordinating work on SDG indicator 6.3.2 ‘Proportion of water bodies with good water quality’. Next, Dr Matthias Zink introduced the work of the ISMN. He gave an overview of the current status of data availability and data use, and reported on the history of the network, from its establishment at the Vienna University of Technology in 2009 to its migration to ICWRGC and BfG in 2022. Dr Claudia Färber then gave an overview of the work of the GRDC at the BfG. She showed the current status of data availability and emphasised the role of the web portal, which has significantly increased the number of enquiries since 2020. Finally, Elke Rustemeier from the German Weather Service spoke about the work of the GPCC, the fourth international water data centre operated in Germany. Her presentation covered the current status of data availability, the centre’s quality assurance processes and future plans. Incidentally, GPCC was also celebrating its anniversary in 2024 – it was founded 35 years ago..
A look ahead
The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Stephan Dietrich with Johannes Cullmann, Dr Ralf Busskamp (Head of BfG Unit M4), Dr Lars Düster (Head of BfG Unit G4) and Dr Elmar Fuchs (BfG Unit U3). The discussion centred on the current cooperation between the various units and ICWRGC as well as future problems and opportunities. The discussion showed that despite the different areas of work, which range from federal waterways to global climate and water monitoring, there is a high potential for synergy. Examples from the areas of data management, quality assurance of monitoring data and the integrated treatment of the water-food-energy nexus were discussed. Johannes Cullmann called for the existing expertise in capacity development activities of the various UN agencies to be strengthened wherever possible: ‘We need more people in key positions who understand the importance of water holistically and across sectors.’ Stephan Dietrich added that experts are also needed in the committees of UN organisations. The demand for reliable information on the quantity and quality of water resources and their utilisation is becoming increasingly important both nationally and internationally against the backdrop of global change. According to Stephan Dietrich, the BfG could position itself even more strongly in this area.
At the end of the event, there was no shortage of champagne to toast the anniversaries of the IHP/HWRP Secretariat, ICWRGC, the GEMS/Water Data Centre and GRDC.
To the next 50 years of international engagement in and at the BfG!
The original version of this text in German was developed by the public relations team of BfG and published in the internal pages of BfG.
