Starting today, Republic of Belarus and the EEA water experts will hold a 5-day training session, building capacity for developing water accounts and indicators to assess quantity and quality of water resources. That assessment can support policymaking and underpin the implementation of integrated water resources management. The training is delivered under an EU-funded project focused on sharing environmental information, including that on water — a resource that is vital for all life on our planet, ecosystems, society and the economy. 

Integrated water resources management requires active participation, cooperation and sharing information among many stakeholders. For that purpose, it is important to obtain relevant, reliable, robust and harmonised data that can be used to assess the state of, and pressure on, the water resource. 

Only with solid information, it is possible to make sound and effective policies that support freshwater ecosystems, serving many important functions from filtering, diluting and storing water to preventing floods, and from maintaining the climate balance to safeguarding biological diversity.

One meeting participant has commented: 'We had 5 days full of information and knowledge'.

This was a follow up training. Information on the first training is available here.