The Sub-Saharan regional network of UNESCO IHP’s G- WADI programme met in Windhoek, Namibia from May 18-20. The meeting had two themes: continued expansion of the African Drought Early Warning System Expansion to Southern Africa, and meeting of the G-WADI/ International Drought Initiative (IDI) Africa Expert Group.

About 50 water scientists and engineers attended a technical training session on “Satellite-based Rainfall (PERSIANN) for Planning and Management for Natural Disasters in Monsoon Asia”.  The session was held on 29 January 2015 during the Thai Hydrologist Association's (THA) 2015 conference.

ICIWaRM hydrologist, and G-WADI team member, Dr. Kristin Gilroy recently completed a one-month Embassy Science Fellow Position through the U.S. State Department in N’Djamena, Chad. Dr. Gilroy was selected for the Embassy Science Fellow (ESF) position to conduct a comprehensive assessment of current research efforts and opportunities for engagement toward finding science-based solutions to the disappearance of Lake Chad. While in Chad, Dr. Gilroy worked to identify the current status of various research projects as well as key gaps in research and critical analytical information on the disappearance of Lake Chad.

Satellite-derived products are often the only timely precipitation estimates available to support decision-making in developing regions with a limited number of on-the-ground rain gages. G-WADI, has taken a leadership role in efforts to make such estimates for applications to floods and droughts in developing countries.

With the great support from Asian G-WADI Secretariat, we have published the G-WADI Special issue under Sciences and Cold Arid Regions Vol.5 No.1. On behalf of G-WADI we would like to thank all the contributors as well as the reviewers for their efforts. You will be able to access the online version from the journal page as well Asian G-WADI webpage.

G-WADI LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) held its second organizational meeting in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, on July 1. G-WADI LAC was created in December 2010 at a special session of the International Conference "Arid and Semi Arid Development through Water Augmentation" in Valparaiso, Chile. At that meeting, the Water Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC) was proposed as the regional secretariat, and preliminary terms of reference for the regional network were developed.

On the initiative of UNESCO’s Tehran Office and IHP Iran, the Regional G-WADI Training Workshop on Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones was held in Tehran, Iran from 20 to 21 June 2011 with the presence of Chair of IHP Intergovernmental Council, Prof Soontak Lee; Chairman of the Iranian National IHP Committee and Deputy Minister of Water and Waste Water Affairs, Ministry of Energy, I.R. of Iran, Mr Attarzade; Secretary General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Saeidabadi; Deputy Minister of Jihad Agriculture, Dr Salajaghe; Director of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office, Mr. Qunli Han; members of the Iranian National IHP Committee and representatives from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

The UNESCO G-WADI programme in conjunction with UNW-DPC is launching a capacity development activity focused on the semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The primary goal of this programme is to enhance the communication between scientists and those engaged in policy and management of (mainly) groundwater resources, as outlined in the attached document. It will also serve as a forum to launch G-WADI activities in semi-arid regions of SSA.

Dr. Soroosh Sorooshian of the U.S. won the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Water Prize for Management and Protection of Water Resources for 2008-2010. Prof. Soroosh Sorooshian is the Director of the Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing (CHRS) and Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science Departments at UC Irvine. His area of expertise is hydrometeorology, water resources systems, climate studies and application of remote sensing to earth science problems with special focus on the hydrologic cycle and water.