Working Group Monitoring and Assessment UNECE , IWAC Helsinki Finland

1. Working Group Monitoring and Assessment UNECE, IWACHelsinki Finland Peter Rončák Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Bratislava

2. What IWAC is IWAC is a joint platform for scientists and policy makers to respond to new challenges in water policy and implementation at national, transboundary and international levels. It builds on a network of leading European water institutions.

3. The main tasks of IWAC are to Assist in the development and implementation of tailor-made monitoring and assessment systems in the UNECE region Assist countries, in particular countries with economies in transition Provide guidance on the design and operation of monitoring networks, including the optimization of existing networks for transboundary waters Organize training courses and workshops Act as a clearing house Act as a coordinator Promote the exchange of experts

4. IWAC structure Representatives of leading European Water Management Institutes are the driving force for IWAC and are united in the IWAC Core Group:Environment Agency, United Kingdom Portuguese Institute for Water INAG, Portugal Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment RIZA, Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and Environment RIVM, Netherlands Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute SHMU, Slovak Republic Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Finland

5. Expectations to revitalize its role and activities, to widen the basis of support of IWAC and the members of its Core Group, to open discussion on the IWAC members, to increase fundraising activities (mainly on EC) and make contacts with similar organisations (UNESCO, UNDP, OSCE,GWP, WMO, WHO, etc.)

7. Thank you