Hydrology and water management in the humid tropics: proceedings ...

Second International Colloquium on
Hydrology and Water Management in the Humid Tropics
Some Introductory Comments
to the
Second Colloquium
UNESCO and the Humid Tropics
Programme of the IHP
Michael Bonell
Chief of Section: Hydrological Processes and Climate
Division of Water Sciences UNESCO
1 rue Miollis, 75015 Paris, France
m.bonell@unesco.org
One of my first tasks when I took up my position in June 1992 as Programme
Specialist responsible for the global co-ordination of the Humid Tropics Programme
in UNESCO Headquarters was to oversee the protracted passage of the Agreement for
the establishment of CATHALAC between UNESCO and the Republic of Panama in
November 1992. I recall that this was no straightforward task because as with all
legal matters, attention to even minor details was crucial, compounded by the need for
precision in translation between English and Spanish. Despite such an early initiation,
I was never able to make a visit to CATHALAC until now. Consequently it gives me
great pleasure to be here and see at first hand the result of the financial and
infrastructure support of the Government of the Republic of Panama and the
continued support from the United States and the Netherlands to CATHALAC that
has provided the basis for the organization of these joint meetings.
The Director-General of UNESCO briefly made reference to some of the
major achievements in the Humid Tropics Programme over the last ten (10) years.
These achievements – which I will further elaborate - are eve n more remarkable when
one considers the dramatic changes that have taken place in the UN system since the
First Colloquium in Townsville, Australia. One of the issues my colleague and friend
Jack Gladwell has raised, is why several of the recommendations from the First
Colloquium still need attention. One explanation is that the earlier Colloquium
determined a programme of research gaps that would require more than 20 years to
address (a wish list). Another is that subsequent to 1989, new directions in
international development co-operation emerged which emphasized more of an
“upstream” emphasis and role in the UN system, whilst letting “downstream”
activities (e.g. country projects) be increasingly taken care of by the developing
countries themselves. Furthermore, the policy of UNDP funding (or backstopping) to
the specialized UN agencies such as UNESCO, WMO, FAO, declined from 1990
with the establishment of UNDP/OPS for the provision of equipment and expertise.
The latter was particularly critical because it forestalled the continued intense use of
the IHP scientific network in the field through UNESCO. Of particular importance to
this Colloquium is the fact that there was also a significant change in the policies of
donors that placed greater reliance on the social content and benefits of activities that
they support. In other words, not just a scientific or technological response per se. I
would like to revisit this issue shortly.
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