Mandates of the IHP Working Group on Northern Research Basins

 

The IHP Regional Working Group on Northern Research Basins (NRB) is established under the general aegis of the International Hydrological Program and its cooperating agencies. The regions include those watersheds where snow, ice, and frozen ground have a dominant role in the hydrologic regime.

Membership of the Working Group is open to all countries with land territories lying north of the Arctic Circle. Each member country can send up to ten delegates to an NRB meeting, and the host country can nominate additional attendants as observers. Attendance is open also to observers from non-member countries. The chief delegate of the host country acts as the Chair for the interval from the conclusion of the previous meeting until the end of the meeting hosted by his country.

The objectives of the Working Group are as follows:

•  to gain a better understanding of hydrologic processes, particularly those in which snow, ice, and frozen ground have a major influence on the hydrological regime, and to determine the relative importance of each component of the water balance;

•  to provide data for the development and testing of transposable models which may be applied to regional, national and international water and land resource programmes;

•  to relate hydrologic processes to the chemical and biological evolution of northern basins;

•  to assess and predict the effect of Man's activities on the hydrologic regime in northern environments;

•  to encourage the exchange of personnel (technicians, scientists, research officers and others) among participating countries;

•  to provide information for the improvement and standardization of measurement techniques and network design in northern regions;

•  to encourage exchange of information on a regular basis and

•  to set up task forces to promote research initiatives on topics of special interest to northern research basins;

Meeting of members of participating countries should be held at regular intervals (minimum once every two years).

 

Appendix A: Mandates of the IHP Working Group on Northern Research Basins. 9 th International Northern Research Basins Symposium/Workshop. Canada, 1992. NHRI Symposium No. 10, T.D. Prowse, C.S.L. Ommanney, and K.E. Ulmer (editors), p. 885-886.