United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• The International Hydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO's intergovernmental scientific co-operative programme in water resources, is a vehicle through which Member States can upgrade their knowledge of the water cycle and thereby increase their capacity to better manage and develop their water resources.
It aims at the improvement of the scientific and technological basis for the development of methods for the rational management of water resources, including the protection of the environment.

World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

• This UN-wide programme, with its secretariat provided by UNESCO, seeks to develop the tools and skills needed to achieve a better understanding of those basic processes, management practices and policies that will help improve the supply and quality of global freshwater resources.
Its goals are to: assess the state of the world's freshwater resources and ecosystems; identify critical issues and problems; develop indicators and measure progress towards achieving sustainable use of water resources; help countries develop their own assessment capacity; and to document lessons learned and publish a World Water Development Report.