Water Family Meeting and Symposium on Water Equity in South-East Europe and the Mediterranean 28-29 March 2019 Palazzo Zorzi, Venice (Italy) - Brankica Majkić-Dursun, Director, UNESCO category II Center for Water for Sustainable Development and Adaptation to Climate Change, Serbia

1. Center for “Water for Sustainable
Development and Adaptation to Climate
Change (WSDAC) 2nd Category Center
under the auspices of UNESCO, hosted
by the „Jaroslav Černi“ Water Institute
“Jaroslav Černi“ Water Institute
Center „Water for Sustainable Development and Adaptation to
Climate Change (WSDAC)“ under the auspices of UNESCO

2. Pre-accession activities and foundation of
Center
1. Pre-accession activities started in 2011. The first decision regarding
foundation of Center was taken at the 36th General Conference of UNESCO
in November 2011 in Paris, and the final decision was issued at the 190th
session of its Executive Board in October 2012.
2. A seminar titled “Climate Change and Its Impact on Water Resources and
Municipal Infrastructure”, organized by the Milutin Milanković Association
and the Jaroslav Černi Institute was held in Belgrade in September 2012.
3. At the end of October 2012, Institute organized an international
Symposium titled "Contemporary Issues of Adaptive Water Management"
under the auspices of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It was
organized to mark UNESCO's approval of the establishment of a Category 2
Center WSDAC which will be hosted by „Jaroslav Černi“ Institute in
Belgrade.
The conference was attended by many domestic and international
scientists, as well as representatives from international organizations:
UNESCO, UNDP, IWA, and IAWD.

3. Pre-Accession activities and foundation of
Center
4. UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova and Serbian Minister of
Education, Science and Technological Development, Žarko Obradović,
signed on April 24th 2013, in Paris, an agreement on founding a
UNESCO Centre „Water for Sustainable Development and Adaptation to
Climate Change“ within the Belgrade based „Jaroslav Černi" Water
Institute
5. Formal execution of an agreement between UNESCO and the
Government of Serbia and its ratification by the Serbian Parliament
was done in 2014.
6. Finally, Center was formally established on 4th April 2015 in
accordance with the Agreement between UNESCO and Government of
the Republic of Serbia and national Law on Companies.

4. Role of the Centre
The Centre promotes expert cooperation and exchange of information between different organizations
involved in sustainable water resources management. The Centre performs these activities as a part of the
relevant on-going UNESCO initiatives, particularly the International Hydrological Programme - IHP.
The overall scope of activities to be undertaken by the WSDAC are as follows:
1. foster scientific coordination and exchange of information among different organizations involved in
sustainable water resources management and the development of adaptation strategies due to climate change
in collaboration with partner institutions in Serbia and in South-East Europe;
2. disseminate, generate and provide scientific and technical information on water resources management
issues for the formulation of sound policies leading to sustainable and integrated water resources management
at the local, national, regional and global levels;
3. evaluate implications of global change and develop adaptation strategies through the design of new
indicators
4. promote the development of regional research programs, linking with regional and global initiatives,
particularly focusing on the problem of sustainable water resources management under climate change
conditions, within the framework of the relevant ongoing UNESCO initiatives, in particular, the International
Hydrological Program (IHP), Water Chairs and Centers;

5. Role of the Centre
The Centre promotes expert cooperation and exchange of information between different organizations
involved in sustainable water resources management. The Centre performs these activities as a part of the
relevant on-going UNESCO initiatives, particularly the International Hydrological Programme - IHP.
The overall scope of activities to be undertaken by the WSDAC are as follows:
1. foster scientific coordination and exchange of information among different organizations involved in
sustainable water resources management and the development of adaptation strategies due to climate change
in collaboration with partner institutions in Serbia and in South-East Europe;
2. disseminate, generate and provide scientific and technical information on water resources management
issues for the formulation of sound policies leading to sustainable and integrated water resources management
at the local, national, regional and global levels;
3. evaluate implications of global change and develop adaptation strategies through the design of new
indicators
4. promote development of regional research programs, linking with regional and global initiatives, particularly
focusing on the problem of sustainable water resources management under climate change conditions, within
the framework of the relevant ongoing UNESCO initiatives, in particular the International Hydrological Program
(IHP), Water Chairs and Centers;

6. Role of the Centre
5.undertake effective capacity-building activities at institutional and professional levels to enhance human and
institutional capacity in assessing the global change impact on water resources management by using advanced
methods and technologies including indicators;
6.organize an awareness-raising programme for various audiences like policy-makers and the general public at
the national and regional level on the adaptation strategies to climate change an impact on sustainable water
resources management;
7.disseminate results of research undertaken through seminars, workshops, training courses, conferences and
periodic publications to the wider scientific community and IHP networks.

7. Activities in 2012-2014 period
1. Our Centre organized workshop titled „Important processes for alluvial groundwater resources use and
protection“, chaired by Professor Milan Dimkic
2. In 2013 WSDAC was co-organizer of the international conference „Emerging Pollutants in Water’’ at the Serbian
Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU). Accepted papers were published in open-access Proceeding.
WE SHARE THE
KNOWLEDGE, LATEST
RESULTS AND UNDERTAKE
EFFECTIVE CAPACITY –
BUILDING ACTIVITIES

8. Activities in 2012-2014 period
1. International Conference “Climate Change Impact on Water Resources”, Belgrade, Serbia, 17‐
18. October 2013 The conference was organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), UNESCO's Category II Centre for "Water for Sustainable Development and Adaptation to Climate Change"
(WSDAC) and "Jaroslav Černi" Institute for the Development of Water Resources (JCI), together with the Serbian Ministry
of Education, Science and Technological Development, the "CCWare" international project for South East Europe, the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) and the ˝Milutin Milanković˝ Society.
WE SHARE THE
KNOWLEDGE, LATEST
RESULTS AND UNDERTAKE
EFFECTIVE CAPACITY –
BUILDING ACTIVITIES

9. Activities in 2012-2014 period
UNESCO Symposium: “Water Management in Transition Countries as Impacted by Climate and
Other Global Changes, Lessons from Paleoclimate and Regional Issues”, held in Belgrade from 3‐5.
September 2014.
1.
WE SHARE THE
KNOWLEDGE, LATEST
RESULTS AND UNDERTAKE
EFFECTIVE CAPACITY –
BUILDNG ACTIVITIES

10. Activities in 2014-2016 period
UNESCO IHP, IDI, and WSDAC organized a meeting in December 2014 in Belgrade. The meeting, attended by
representatives and experts from the region, launched the Southeast European secretariat for the G-WADI
Programme (Global Network on Water and Development Information in Arid Lands), as well as the
identification of gaps and needs of the member states.
Numerous case studies from the Southeast European region, as well as worldwide, were presented to
identify the gaps in data availability, tools, and methodologies to address floods and droughts in member
states.
Furthermore, the need for a capacity building component was identified during the meeting. The meeting
discussed products offered by the G-WADI network, linkages with the International Drought Initiatives (IDI)
and possible joint activities.
http://gwadi.org/technical-
secretariats/se-europe-gwadi

11. Activities in 2014-2016 period
- Center co-organized International Conference: “IWA Specialist Groundwater Conference”, Belgrade, in
June 2016.
IWA Specialist Groundwater Conference 2016 was
jointly organized by the International Water
Association (IWA), Jaroslav Černi Institute for the
Development of Water Resources (JCI),
UNESCO’s „Water for Sustainable Development and
Adaptation to Climate Change“ Centre and the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The
Conference was also supported by the International
Association of Hydrogeologists.
It was 3rd such a Conference, therefore it becomes a
traditional forum for scientists and practitioners to
exchange ideas in the field of groundwater.

12. Activities in 2016-2018 period
- Center co-organized International Conference: “Conference on Transition Countries and Water as
a Factor of Stability”, Belgrade, 7‐8. September 2016
The goal of the conference was to examine the priorities, challenges and
needs of integrated water management at different levels – global,
regional and local, with a special focus on countries with transition
economies.

13. Activities in 2016-2018 period
-
-Continuous cooperation with G-WADI network, attending Global G‐WADI Advisory Group Meeting,
Khartoum, Sudan,
-participation on: 2nd UNESCO World's Large Rivers Initiative (WLRI) Working Group Meeting, Vienna,
Austria, "The Third World Conference of World Association of Soil and Water Conservation", Belgrade; Asia
Water Cycle Symposium 2016 and ICHARM's 10‐year Anniversary, Tokyo, Japan; First UNESCO Science
Centres Coordination Meeting, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, UNESCO Category 2 centres IKCEST and HIST, with the support of the Chinese National
Commission for UNESCO, Beijing, China, etc.
Participation in an international conference with a plenary lecture: "XXVII Conference of the Danubian
Countries on Hydrological Forecasting and Hydrological Bases of Water Management", Golden Sands,
Bulgaria, 26‐28 September 2017. The plenary lecture titled "Regional Cooperation Among the Danube
Countries in the Framework of the International Hydrological Programme ‐ IHP/UNESCO" held by Prof. dr
Stevan Prohaska

14. Signed Memorandums of Understanding
-
1. Signed Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO Centre for Water for Sustainable
Development and Adaptation to Climate Change (WSDAC) and UNESCO Centre RCUWM, Regional Centre
on Urban Water Management, Tehran, Iran
2. Signed Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO Centre for Water for Sustainable
Development and Adaptation to Climate Change (WSDAC) and UNESCO Centre RC‐IRBM, Regional Centre
for Integrated River Basin Management, Kaduna, Nigeria
3. Signed Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO Centre for Water for Sustainable Development
and Adaptation to Climate Change (WSDAC) and UNESCO Centre RCWH, Regional Centre on Capacity
Development and Research in Water Harvesting, Khartoum, Sudan

15. OTHER ACTIVITIES
Our representatives took part in many activities organized by UNESCO, UNESCO's centres over the World,
other Water Associations such are (International Water Association - IWA, International Association of Water
Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area – IAWD, Serbian Water Pollution Control
Society, Association for Water Technology and Sanitary Engineering, Serbian Academy of Engineering
Sciences, faculties etc.).
WSDAC representativies attending conferences, symposia, congresses, seminars, and workshops related
to the International Hydrological Programme IHP in the region and the world.

16. FIRST ACTIVITY in 2019.
-
Promotion of WWDR 2019 results and official presentation „No one living behind“ on National Celebration
of WORLD WATER DAY organized by National IHP Committee on the Faculty of Civil Engineering

17. Future plans and activities
1. Strengthening cooperation with water-related organizations, UNESCO centers and cathedras in region,
National IHP Committee and National Commission for UNESCO
2. Dissemination of the results of joint actions in the region, UNESCO activities and IHP activities in the
water sector
3. Continuous cooperation and participation in G-WADI network
4. Strengthening the visibility of previous results through forming an open-database with all published
papers in previous Conferences
5. Organization of seminars, training, and scientific events in the order to exchange knowledge,
experience, and institutional capacity building

18. Thank you for your attention!