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IHE Delft and FAO launch online course on Environmental Flow requirements

Global Environmental Flow Information System Screenshot

IHE Delft partners with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to launch a new open online course on Environmental Flow requirements in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.4.2. The self-paced course is free of charge and available in English, French and Spanish.

The FAO Land and Water Division has partnered with IHE Delft to develop an open online course making the case for environmental flow requirements globally, explaining the science, highlighting the elements of good assessment approaches and examining international examples of environmental flow implementation in the operation of dams and management of water at basin scales.

The course focuses especially on the global approach of FAO to assessment environmental flow requirements for indicator 6.4.2 using the Global Environmental Flow Information System.

Course background

Excessive human alterations to the natural flows of rivers and levels of lakes, wetlands and aquifers strongly impact the health of aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity on a global scale.

A global response to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss is underway in the actions of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and of course Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. IHE Delft is also committed to support bending the curve of biodiversity loss and protecting ecosystems in the pursuit of just and equitable sustainable water resources development.

Environmental flow requirements to protect aquatic ecosystems appear in indicator 6.4.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which monitors the level of water stress at national levels. FAO is responsible for this indicator and for helping to develop capacity among countries to monitor it.

Michael McClain

Professor of Ecohydrology

Michael McClain

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