Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater
The Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (GEMS/Water) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was established in 1978 to collect world-wide water quality data for assessments of status and trends in global inland water quality. The twin goals of the GEMS/Water Programme are to improve water quality monitoring as well as assessment capacity in participating countries.
GEMS/Water encourages a standardized approach to data generation through providing guidance and training on all aspects of monitoring, assessment and quality control and assurance. Workshops, online courses and training materials are tailored to specific capacity needs at national and regional levels and delivered globally.
The UN Environment GEMS/Water Data Centre was established within the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre hosted by the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG, by its acronym in German) in Koblenz. Its objectives include collecting, controlling and providing water quality monitoring data and products for regional and global water quality assessments. The Data Centre maintains the global water quality database and information system GEMStat. Data for GEMStat is received from GEMS/Water's global network of National Focal Points. These are government institutions and agencies with the official mandate to monitor freshwater quality data in their countries.
Data related activities of GEMS/Water include:
- Collecting water quality monitoring data: The Data Centre compiles environmental water quality data from the GEMS/Water Global Network of governmental and collaborating organisations covering more than 80 countries.
- Controlling and assuring data quality: A global dictionary of Analytical Methods for Environmental Water Quality (AMD) and state-of-the-art checks ensure the provision of quality-controlled datasets and derived products.
The Global Environment Monitoring System for freshwater (GEMS/Water) encourages a standardized approach to data generation through providing guidance and training on all aspects of monitoring and assessment and quality assurance. GEMS/Water provides appropriate support, based on capacity needs at national and regional levels, and develops training for delivery in countries all over the world. To maximize impact and availability of training material, various approaches are being used.
The world is facing a water quality challenge due to serious and increasing water pollution, both in developed and developing countries. This poses a growing risk to public health, food security, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. It is urgent to assess where water quality is inadequate or under threat and to incorporate the need for good water quality into the concept of water security.
Observational data, as it is provided by GEMS/Water, is required to assess and understand the global and regional patterns of water quality, both in the past and in the present. The knowledge derived from such assessments is essential for developing, monitoring and evaluating sustainable water resources management strategies that will help decision makers to implement policies to protect vital ecosystem services and work towards the achievement of the many water-related targets in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. These evidence informed policies include source control, waste treatment, ecosystems management and new forms of local and global government.
GEMS/Water was established in 1978 to collect world-wide water quality data for assessments of status and trends in global inland water quality. In 2014, after more than 30 years of being successfully operated by the Department of the Environment of Canada, the GEMS/Water mandate was renewed and strengthened by the first universal United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). With new donors the Programme was restructured into its current form.
The WWQA represents a voluntary, flexible and global, multi-stakeholder network that advocates the central role of freshwater quality in achieving prosperity and sustainability. It explores, monitors, analyses and communicates water-quality risks at global, regional, national and local levels with the aim of identifying solutions for the maintenance and restoration of the health and well-being of both ecosystems and humans. The WWQA serves countries throughout the lifetime of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond. It provides a participatory platform for water-quality assessment and the co-design of tailored and demand-driven services at all levels with a special emphasis on the involvement of local communities and the younger generations whose future is at risk
The WWQA focuses on improving the quality of water around the world by working as a genuine partnership. Everyone, no matter their qualifications or expertise, has an important role to play. The efforts of the WWQA are currently divided into 16 active workstreams to ensure the involvement of society as a whole.
Further Resources
Kilian Christ
