2 February 2018: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed a tool to monitor water quality using Earth Observation. The tool – the International Initiative on Water Quality (IIWQ) World Water Quality Portal – fosters understanding of the impacts of climate- and human-induced change on water security. The Portal provides water quality information, facilitates science-based, informed decision-making for water management, and supports efforts by countries to implement the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). It also supports achievement of other SDGs and targets directly related to water quality and water pollution, such as Goals on health and life on land.

The tool, inter alia, enables users to visualize satellite-derived water quality information for the world’s lakes and rivers. It allows for interactive browsing of water quality products, allowing users to select water quality parameters and specific regions of interest, set desired virtual sampling stations, and gather values and time series information. The Portal was developed in the framework of UNESCO-International Hydrological Programme’s (IHP) IIWQ.

The IIWQ promotes scientific collaboration to address water quality issues through joint research activities, knowledge generation and dissemination, and sharing of solutions, technologies, policy approaches and best practices in developing and developed countries. [UNESCO Press Release] [IIWQ World Water Quality Portal] [IIWQ Website]