Professor Zhongbo Yu was elected as the Chairman of UNESCO-IHP

On November 25, 2021, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Program (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization- Intergovernmental Hydrological Program, hereinafter referred to as UNESCO-IHP) convened the Fifth Special Meeting of Council Members, UNESCO-IHP Asia-Pacific Region Professor Zhongbo Yu, Chairman, Vice Chairman of the Chinese National Committee of UNESCO-IHP, and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology, Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering Sciences was elected as the Chairman of UNESCO-IHP. This is the first time that a Chinese expert has been successfully elected to this position.

Professor Zhongbo Yu has been engaged in the research on the mechanism, theory and method of hydrological cycle under environmental change for a long time, and presided over more than 50 projects including the first batch of national key research and development plans and key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has won one second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, one first prize of the Natural Science Award of the Ministry of Education, and three first prizes of the Dayu Water Conservancy Science and Technology Award. Published more than 300 SCI papers in international authoritative journals such as WRR, JH, and JGR, with more than 8,000 citations. More than 30 patents have been authorized. In 2004, he was selected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. In 2015, he won the John Hem Science and Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award from the American Groundwater Association. In 2016, he was awarded the title of National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker. In 2017, he was awarded the "May 1st" Labor Medal of Jiangsu Province.

UNESCO-IHP was established in 1975. As an intergovernmental international organization, it is an international intergovernmental cooperation program focusing on water science research and education. In addition to carrying out a series of international water science research, it also conducts international training and Knowledge dissemination aimed at raising awareness of water science among government policy makers, scientists and the general public, addressing national, regional and global water challenges and building a sustainable and resilient society. The executive body of UNESCO-IHP is composed of the secretariat, 36 council members and the executive board. Among them, the council members are elected among the member states of UNESCO, and the chairman of the executive board is elected among the candidates for the council members. The Ministry of Water Resources established a permanent UNESCO-IHP China National Committee in December 1979. Through multi-channel and all-round cooperation with the UNESCO International Hydrological Program, China's hydrological achievements have been widely recognized by the world and have become China's relevant An important platform for foreign exchanges in the water field.