The Water Information Network System (IHP-WINS)

Uploaded information

The WINS platform is fueled with information coming from the Member States, IHP Secretariat’s programmes, the UNESCO’s water network, and the different partners. All information that are shared are categorized into the different thematic work areas of IHP-VIII, and are given keywords to make them easily searched and found on the platform.

WINS also allows to access information available on other platform through the WMS and WFS protocols.

As of April 2018, 36 States members, 3 category-2 centres under the auspices of the UNESCO, 2 UNESCO chairs had joined the platform and appointed focal points. More than 200 contributors had registered and more than 300 items (layers, maps, documents) had been shared, out of which more than 150 are publicly available. The platform was presented at more than 30 events in more than 15 countries.

Transparency and respect of authorship

All information shared on the platform benefit from metadata in a standardized format, and from a UNESCO Digital Object Identifier (DOI). A DOI allows accurately identifying and crediting of any contributions on the platform. It also aims at tracking maps and documents initially published on WINS. The DOI and the other elements of metadata form a true ID card for every item shared on WINS.

The platform and all the data it hosts are safely stored on UNESCO’s servers at the Headquarters in Paris. This ensures a secured storage as well as independence from external providers of online cloud storage.