Data
Synthesis System for World Water Resources
The
Data Synthesis System for World Water Resources (DSS) is an initiative of the
World Water Assessment Program supported through the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s International Hydrological
Programme (UNESCO/IHP). The DSS is an
operational, digital information system for water resource assessment cast
within a geographic information system framework accessible via the World Wide
Web. The system includes a broad suite
of spatial and statistical data encompassing point scale and gridded
socioeconomic and biogeophysical products for data exploration and
download. This data is organized
according to water indicator themes and is presented in the spatial context of
the river basin to analyze the changing nature of water in relation to human
needs and activities at the global, regional and case study scales.
The
DSS provides tools for analyzing river basin, sub-basin and grid cell characteristics
for rapid retrieval of tabular and thematic data. Interactive navigation maps are provided for easy geographic
access to spatial data. In addition,
full on-line help and documentation is available to aide the user in navigating
the system. All data is integrated with
a meta-data system to identify, share and assemble DSS data sets in
collaboration with other UNESCO and WWAP partners. A more detailed description of the data layers and statistical
information contained in the DSS is given in the Citations section organized by
indicator theme.
Background on the World Water Assessment Programme
The
WWAP, building on the achievements of the many previous endeavors, focuses on
assessing the developing situation as regards freshwater throughout the world.
The primary output of the WWAP is the periodic World Water Development Report
(WWDR). The recommendations from the
WWDR will include capacity building to improve country-level assessment, with
emphasis on developing countries. This will include the building of capacity in
education and training, in monitoring and database science and technology and
in assessment-related institutional management. The Programme will identify
situations of water crisis and will thus provide guidance for donor agencies
and will provide the knowledge and understanding necessary as the basis for
further capacity building.
The
Programme focuses on terrestrial freshwater, but will link with the marine
near-shore environments and coastal zone regions as principal sinks for
land-based sources of pollution and sedimentation and as areas where the threat
of flooding and the potential impact of sea level rise on freshwater resources
is particularly acute.
The
Programme, including the new WWDR, is undertaken by the UN agencies concerned
aided by a Trust Fund, donors providing support in cash and in kind either
through specific agencies or through the Trust Fund. UNESCO currently hosts the
WWAP Secretariat and manages the FUND at its Headquarters in Paris.
The
Programme serves as an "umbrella" for coordination of existing UN
initiatives within the freshwater assessment sphere. In this regard it will
link strongly with the data and information systems of the UN agencies, for
example GRID, GEMS-Water, the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) of
UNEP, the Global Runoff Data Center (GRDC) of WMO, AQUASTAT of FAO, the
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) being established
by WMO and UNESCO, the water supply and sanitation databases of WHO and UNICEF
and the databases of the World Bank system.