HELPing FRIENDs in PUBs: charting a course for synergies within international water research programmes in gauged and ungauged basins

Programmes to promote water-related research are expanding rapidly around the globe. Whereas many have unique mission and objectives, several share common and overlapping goals and have areas of potential intersection. Identifying overlap between initiatives allows recognition of potential linkages and areas where the programmes complement each other. This allows each programme to retain its focus while ensuring that the combined programmes cover all the important issues concerning sustainable drainage-basin management. The objective of this commentary is to describe the areas of intersection between three international water research efforts and to explore synergies between them. We start by describing the evolution of the two UNESCO activities (FRIEND and HELP) and the new initiative of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) called PUB. We then explore possible areas of intersection among FRIEND, HELP and PUB and list the hitherto unrealized opportunities for research that would add value to each programme and, consequently, hydrological sciences and integrated drainage-basin management. We end by defining tangible activities that can be accomplished in the next 1–5 years.