International Hydrographic Organisation

About International Hydrographic Organisation: 

• It is an intergovernmental organization that works to ensure all the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted.
• It was established in 1921, it coordinates the activities of national hydrographic offices and promotes uniformity in nautical charts and documents.
• It issues survey best practices, provides guidelines to maximize the use of hydrographic survey data and develops hydrographic capabilities in Member States.
• Member countries: It has currently 100 Member States.
• The IHO Secretariat has been hosted by the Principality of Monaco.
• India has been an active member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) since 1955.
  • The Indian Naval Hydrographic Department (INHD), or the Marine Survey of India earlier, was established in 1874 in Kolkata.
  • It is the nodal agency for hydrographic surveys and has a fleet of indigenously built modern survey ships. 

World Hydrography Day

• It is celebrated annually on June 21.
• The theme for 2024 is "Hydrographic Information - Enhancing Safety, Efficiency and Sustainability in Marine Activities".

Q1: What is Hydrological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS)?

It is an important initiative envisioned by the Commission for Hydrology and is now overseen by the WMO Hydrological Assembly. It aims to provide the crucial global scale information needed to help water users understand the current status of the world's freshwater systems.

Source: WORLD HYDROGRAPHY DAY 2024