Read the workshop report online, or download it here: Workshop Report

On 30 November and 1 December 2015 the workshop ‘Exploring new data for SMART monitoring of water SDG targets’ took place in the House of the Regional Government in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The workshop was organized by the Netherlands National IHP-HWRP Committee Secretariat and jointly convened by the National IHP-HWRP Committees of The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The workshop brought together more than 40 scientists, policy-makers and practitioners from the three countries, who analyzed the present state of monitoring in their countries; looked into the water-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their indicators; presented innovative data collection and monitoring techniques; and identified gaps between what is currently being monitored and what needs to be monitored to fulfill the monitoring responsibilities of the water SDGs.

The workshop aimed to support the effectiveness and efficiency of SDG implementation, for which monitoring and reporting are essential. Young scientists were invited to bring their innovative ideas into the discussions. Furthermore, the workshop aimed to foster cooperation between the three countries in the field of monitoring and data collection, possibly through joint research programmes. The outcomes will be shared with existing national and international

monitoring initiatives, such as the Global Expanded Monitoring Initiative (GEMI) (more initiatives can be found in annex 1). This UN inter-agency initiative is established to develop monitoring frameworks for the water-related SDG targets. The outcomes of the workshop also contribute to the water programmes of UNESCO (International Hydrological Programme IHP) and WMO (Hydrology and Water Resources Programme HWRP) and provide an entry point for discussions
within Ministries about SDG implementation and monitoring.