The project that will focus on boosting water security in Bhutan was launched through an online workshop in the presence of Mr. Karma Dupchu, Director, National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology, Bhutan, and representatives of UNESCO (Paris headquarters and the New Delhi Office),  Korea Water Resources Corp. (K water) and the Bhutan National Commission for UNESCO. 

Designed at a time when the quality and quantity of the country's water resources are under intense pressure due to rapid socio-economic development, the project will focus on:

• Building the capacity of Bhutan to monitor water quality by installing monitoring sensors
• Develop monitoring protocols and effective knowledge sharing mechanisms to reduce risk to water security in urban cities and improve their adaptability to the climate change.

The project will work towards the effective implementation of Bhutan’s National Integrated Water Resource Management Plan 2016 for enhancing climate resilience.

The project is a result of a long partnership between UNESCO and the Republic of Korea through the initiative “Sustainable Water Security for Human Settlements in Developing Countries under Climate Change”. Launched in November 2017 and funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea, this collaboration seeks to develop policies to support countries in Africa and Asia in order to reduce the vulnerability of their water to climate change and therefore enhance their water security.

UNESCO, through the 9th phase of its Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, which will run for 2022-2029, and which focuses on putting science for a water secure world in a changing environment, supports Member states in their efforts to achieve water security, particularly with regard to governance, the management and development of knowledge and skills.