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Newsletter No. 2
February 1, 2007: Dear reader,
After several months IGRAC is back with its second newsletter. The newsletter brings you up to date with the main IGRAC activities, their progress and results.
Gradually but steadily, IGRAC is getting a recognition from the International Groundwater Community and its natural place in it. This development creates an additional enthusiasm in IGRAC's promotion and facilitation of groundwater knowledge sharing. Therefore, more news from IGRAC soon! In the meantime, your comments and suggestions on current activities (see below) are highly appreciated.
Global Groundwater Information System
The current version of IGRAC's Global Overview contains groundwater-related information organized country-wise. An enhanced version will allow viewing information per groundwater region as well. IGRAC has already prepared a map encompassing a total of thirty five Global Groundwater Regions. The map and a short description of regions are now available as pdf files from the IGRAC site. Compiling groundwater-related information per groundwater region is in progress. The enhanced version of Global Overview is expected to become available by September 2004.
Digital Collaborative Environment
If you are running (or intend to run) an international groundwater project you may benefit from use of IGRAC's Digital Project Environment and Audio-Video Conferencing Facility. Beside, if you would like to start a discussion on a groundwater-related issue you are welcome to use IGRAC's Discussion Forum. Read further...
Guidelines and Protocols
IGRAC has developed an on-line database on inventoried guidelines and protocols in the field of groundwater data acquisition. A first version of this database is now available. The database is meant to improve traceability and accessibility of existing guidelines and protocols. At this moment the database contains over 400 document titles classified into a number of categories and subcategories. Future users of the database are encouraged to inform IGRAC on any additional documents to be added to the database.
Are you in favour of new guidelines or protocols?
From IGRAC's world-wide inventories of guidelines and protocols it can be concluded that valuable guiding material on groundwater data acquisition and monitoring already exists. However, on some important subjects such material seems to be missing. In order to fill identified gaps IGRAC has proposed four possible subjects for which new guidelines may be developed. For this development international working groups are to be established. Interested? Read further...