International Association of Hydrological Sciences
Professional services
UnclaimedAn international scientific association advancing hydrology and supporting the global hydrological research community.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) is a United Kingdom-registered, non-profit, non-governmental scientific organization devoted to hydrology and to the international community of hydrologists. Established in 1922, it provides a global framework for research collaboration, professional communication, publication, scientific coordination, and engagement with water-policy and water-management communities. The association reports membership exceeding 12,000, with members in more than 170 countries. IAHS operates as one of the eight constituent associations of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). Its governance is organized through statutes and by-laws, with officers and commission leaders elected every four years by national representatives meeting in plenary session during an IUGG General Assembly. National representatives provide the formal link between IAHS and individual countries. Where a national IUGG committee exists, that representative is generally nominated by the relevant national academy of sciences or an equivalent body. Countries may also appoint national correspondents for IAHS scientific commissions. The association's scientific work is distributed across ten international commissions covering areas connected with the hydrological cycle, water resources, hydrological processes, and specialized research methods. Additional working groups and initiatives are created to address emerging scientific questions or particular regional and methodological needs. This structure allows IAHS to combine long-running disciplinary communities with time-limited research programs focused on shared international priorities. A major part of the association's public role is the dissemination of research. IAHS Press has historically published the Hydrological Sciences Journal and several book series, including the Red Book series, Special Publications, often called Blue Books, and the Benchmark series. Since 2014, the Red Book proceedings have been published online with open access by Copernicus Publications under the title Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (PIAHS). IAHS also distributes electronic news to members. Publishing activity is central both to the association's scientific mission and to its financial model, with publication income providing the greater part of its funding. As a registered charity, IAHS applies its revenues to its organizational aims rather than distributing profits to owners or shareholders. IAHS works with major international institutions involved in water and environmental science, including UNESCO, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Water Council, and the International Science Council, formerly the International Council for Science. It also collaborates with related professional bodies such as the International Association of Hydrogeologists and the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research. The association is particularly known for organizing themed hydrological research decades. The Predictions in Ungauged Basins, or PUB, decade ran from 2003 through 2012 and sought to improve the ability to understand and predict hydrological behavior in basins lacking adequate measurement networks. Its work helped shape subsequent initiatives, including HEPEX. The Panta Rhei decade, launched in 2013 and running from 2013 to 2022, examined hydrology in a changing world. It emphasized the interaction between environmental change, society, water management, and the human role in the water cycle. During its first biennium, 2013–2015, the initiative established 31 working groups addressing topics across hydrology, social change, prediction, and management. IAHS also participates in the International Hydrology Prize, awarded jointly with UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization. The prize includes the Dooge Medal and the Volker Medal, recognizing significant contributions to hydrological science and to the application of hydrological knowledge for public and developmental benefit. Overall, IAHS functions less as a consumer-facing brand than as a membership, publishing, convening, and scientific-coordination institution serving researchers and water professionals worldwide.
History
The International Association of Hydrological Sciences was established in 1922 to provide an international institutional home for hydrological science and for cooperation among hydrologists. Its work developed within the broader ecosystem of international geophysical and earth-science organizations. IAHS later became one of the eight associations forming the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, giving it a formal connection to the international geophysical research community while retaining its own commissions, membership structures, publications, and programs. The association's operating model is based on national representation and international scientific commissions. National representatives serve as the formal communication channel between IAHS and participating countries. In countries with a national IUGG committee, the representative is generally nominated through that committee or a related national scientific institution. National correspondents may additionally support individual commissions. At the international level, IAHS officers and commissioners are elected on a four-year cycle by national representatives meeting at the IAHS plenary during an IUGG General Assembly. Over time, IAHS developed a set of commissions addressing different parts of the hydrological cycle, water resources, hydrological processes, and research techniques. The association also created working groups and special initiatives to concentrate international expertise on defined scientific problems. These mechanisms allow the organization to support both continuing disciplinary work and focused programs with a fixed duration. Publication has been a central element of IAHS's history and operating model. Through IAHS Press, the association has disseminated research through the Hydrological Sciences Journal and several book series. These include the Red Book series, Special Publications known as Blue Books, and the Benchmark series. From 2014, the Red Book proceedings became available online with open access through Copernicus Publications as the Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. IAHS's electronic news service provides an additional communication channel for members. Publication revenues constitute the principal source of the association's funding, while its status as a UK registered charity means that revenues are used to support its scientific and charitable objectives. IAHS has organized thematic research decades to encourage scientists around the world to work toward common goals. The Predictions in Ungauged Basins decade, conducted from 2003 to 2012, addressed the challenge of estimating and predicting hydrological behavior in locations where observations are limited or absent. The program was internationally oriented and helped inform later research collaborations, including HEPEX. The next major program was Panta Rhei, whose name refers to the idea that everything flows. Launched in 2013 for the 2013–2022 period, it focused on how hydrology and water management operate in changing environmental and social conditions. Unlike approaches centered only on natural processes, Panta Rhei explicitly considered the influence of people, institutions, and changing societies on the water cycle. The initiative formed 31 working groups during its first biennium, from 2013 to 2015, covering a wide variety of questions linking hydrological science, prediction, human activity, and water governance. Its objectives had points of commonality with the eighth phase of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme, particularly around water security. The association also contributes to recognition and professional community-building through the International Hydrology Prize. IAHS presents the Dooge and Volker Medals jointly with UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization. The awards recognize major contributions to hydrological science and work that delivers significant social or developmental value. In 2025, the Dooge Medal went to John Pomeroy and the Volker Medal to Giuliano Di Baldassarre. Today, IAHS serves an international membership of more than 12,000 people in over 170 countries, according to the reference description. Its role combines scientific association, publisher, international convenor, research-program sponsor, and partner to public and intergovernmental water institutions. It is not a commercial consumer brand; its identity is primarily institutional and professional, built around advancing hydrology and strengthening collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries.
- 2025
2025 International Hydrology Prize medals awarded
[1]John Pomeroy received the Dooge Medal and Giuliano Di Baldassarre received the Volker Medal for contributions to hydrological science and socially significant water challenges.
- 2022
Panta Rhei decade concludes
[1]The scheduled 2013–2022 Panta Rhei scientific decade reached its stated end after focusing on coupled human and environmental change in hydrology.
- 2014
Open-access PIAHS publication begins
[1]The association's Red Book proceedings began online open-access publication through Copernicus Publications as PIAHS.
- 2013
Panta Rhei decade launched
[1]IAHS launched Panta Rhei, a research decade examining hydrology, society, prediction, and water management in changing environmental systems.
- 2012
Predictions in Ungauged Basins decade concludes
[1]The PUB decade ended after a ten-year international research effort whose results supported later initiatives such as HEPEX.
- 2003
Predictions in Ungauged Basins decade begins
[1]IAHS began the PUB scientific decade to advance methods for understanding and predicting water behavior in basins with limited gauging and observation.
- 1922
Association established
[1]The International Association of Hydrological Sciences was founded as an international non-governmental scientific organization serving hydrology and hydrologists.
Products and positioning
A global, member-led scientific association that connects hydrologists, publishes research, coordinates international programs, and supports evidence-based understanding and management of water systems.
Scientific journal
Hydrological Sciences Journal
The Hydrological Sciences Journal is a principal research publication associated with IAHS. It supports the association's mission of distributing hydrological research internationally and is also an important component of the organization's publishing-based funding model. The journal serves researchers and practitioners working across hydrology and related water sciences.
Open-access proceedings · 2014
Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (PIAHS)
PIAHS is the online open-access successor format for IAHS Red Book proceedings. Published through Copernicus Publications since 2014, it provides a channel for disseminating conference and research-program results to the international hydrological community without relying solely on subscription distribution.
Scientific book series
Red Book series
The Red Book series is one of IAHS Press's established publication lines. It has been used to disseminate proceedings and research results from the association's scientific activities and, from 2014 onward, its proceedings were made available online through the PIAHS platform.
Scientific book series
Special Publications (Blue Books)
The Special Publications, commonly referred to as Blue Books, form a separate IAHS Press series for distributing selected hydrological research, technical knowledge, and materials connected with the association's scientific programs.
Scientific book series
Benchmark series
The Benchmark series is an IAHS Press publication line intended to preserve and circulate substantial reference material for hydrology and related water sciences.
Scientific award
International Hydrology Prize
The International Hydrology Prize is presented jointly by IAHS, UNESCO, and the World Meteorological Organization. Its Dooge and Volker Medals recognize significant contributions to hydrological science and work that addresses important public-interest or development challenges in water.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Panta Rhei: Change in Hydrology and Society
Global
Panta Rhei was IAHS's 2013–2022 scientific decade. It examined hydrological processes and predictions in rapidly changing environmental systems while giving explicit attention to human behavior, social systems, and water management. The initiative was developed through community discussion and created 31 working groups during its first biennium.
Outcome. The decade ran through 2022 and built a broad portfolio of working groups linking hydrology with societal and environmental change. Its aims overlapped in part with UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme Phase VIII on water security.
- 2003Predictions in Ungauged Basins
Global
The PUB scientific decade brought together international hydrologists to improve the scientific basis for predicting hydrological conditions in basins where monitoring data are sparse or unavailable. It ran from 2003 through 2012 and helped establish research directions later taken up by other international initiatives.
Outcome. The program concluded in 2012 and its findings contributed to subsequent hydrological prediction efforts, including HEPEX.
Brand decisions
2014
Move Red Book proceedings to open-access online distributionStrategyBackground
IAHS sought to disseminate research results more broadly while maintaining its established publication program and adapting its proceedings to digital scholarly communication.
Action taken
The Red Book proceedings began being published online with open access by Copernicus Publications under the PIAHS title.
Aftermath
The change expanded online access to proceedings and created a distinct digital publication channel for IAHS scientific output.
2013
Launch Panta Rhei research decadeStrategyBackground
Environmental change and human activity were altering hydrological systems and creating a need to connect physical hydrology with society and water management.
Action taken
IAHS launched Panta Rhei for the 2013–2022 period and formed international working groups around hydrology, change, prediction, and society.
Aftermath
The initiative broadened IAHS's decade model toward coupled human–water systems and supported collaboration on changing environmental conditions.
2003
Establish the Predictions in Ungauged Basins research decadeStrategyBackground
Hydrologists faced the widespread problem that many watersheds lacked adequate measurement records, limiting direct prediction and comparison across regions.
Action taken
IAHS organized a ten-year international research program centered on improving prediction methods and understanding in ungauged basins.
Aftermath
The program ended in 2012 and influenced later international research initiatives in hydrological prediction.
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