1. WMO/IAHR/IAHS International Courses on Stream Gauging
Claudio Caponi
Water and Climate Department
World Meteorological Organization
Co-authors: V. Sauer; M. Nolan; M.E. Smith; P.Pilon; R.Ranzi; J. Le Coz

2. World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Set up on 23 March 1950
Successor to International Meteorological Organization (IMO, created in 1873)
Specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
UN system’s authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

3. Role of WMO in the field of Hydrology and Water Resources
WMO Convention
"to promote activities in operational hydrology and close co-operation between Meteorological and Hydrological Services"
Art: 2(e):
Hydrology and
Water Resources Programme

4. Stream gauging - Background
In 2010 WMO issues the 2nd edition of the Manual on Stream Gauging (1st ed. is from 1980)
Mainly based on USGS material
Reviewed by USGS, WSC, European, Asian
and South American experts
Member States request the development of
training activities

5. Courses on Stream Gauging
The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and WMO agreed in 2010 to cooperate in the development of a course on stream gauging based principally on the 2nd edition of the WMO Manual of Stream Gauging.
In 2013, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) joined the initiative
WMO benefits from the scientific know-how of IAHR and IAHS experts
IAHR and IAHS are keen to interact with representatives of the National Hydrological Services (NHSs), to learn from their operational experience.

6. Courses on Stream Gauging
Intended audience:
For WMO: staff of NHSs of developing countries
For IAHR/IAHS: water engineers from public water authorities and private water services, as well as MSc and PhD students
In general, the WMO audience needs a more basic and detailed training, while IAHR/IAHS audience is interested in a more “managerial” sort of training  Development of two versions of the course

7. Courses on Stream Gauging
General course program developed
For the IAHR/IAHS version  3 days
For the WMO version  1 or 2 weeks
Training material developed for the ‟WMO version” by two USGS experts – consists of:
Presentations with notes for the instructor
Exercises
Assessments with suggested answers
Simple Software tools

8. Training material

9. Training material

10. Courses held and planned
IAHR/IAHS version:
Brescia, Italy (2011)
Andong, Korea (2013)
Hanoi, Vietnam (2014)
Planned: New Zealand (2015)
WMO version:
Bandung, Indonesia (2010) – regional (10 countries)
Sto. Domingo, Dominican Republic, Mexico City, Mexico (2011)
Accra, Ghana (2012) – regional (6 countries) – US and Canada instructors
Mexico City, Mexico (2013) – ToT for 12 countries – US instructors
Postponed: Cotonou, Benin (2014)

11. Training Plan
Decision to translate the training material rather than the Manual
Versions available in Eng, Fre, Rus, Spa
Goal: to form pools of instructors in the 4 languages
Focus on training local instructors for wider dissemination and adaptation to local conditions
Each course is tailored to the needs of the concerned country/region

12. Community of practice Recently launched Moodle site with:
Downloadable training material in 4 languages
Downloadable version of the Manual and other background material
Forum for exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, asking questions, uploading new material
Syllabi of courses held (in related sites)

13. Community of practice
WMO

14. Community of practice http://www.wmo.int/chy/communities/
Open to all interested instructors
All material is free to download and use, quoting the source
Comments, corrections, additions (especially pictures, videos and new proposed modules) are welcome!
If interested, you can be part of the WMO team of instructors in international courses

15. Final thoughts
The biggest gap between NHSs from advanced and developing countries is human capacity, not equipment
As regards developing countries:
In the use of traditional instruments and methods, ‟bad” practices slowly creep in and are much more diffuse that one would imagine
Modern instruments seem to give a false sense of security to hydrologists, even if for most NHSs they are really a ‟black box”
Unfortunately, most technical cooperation is focused on providing equipment and new technologies
Effective training is not a one-off exercise, proper and continuous follow-up is needed

16. Thank you for your attention
Claudio Caponi