The FRIEND 2018 - International Conference on African Large River Basin Hydrology will be organized in Blida, Algeria on 06 & 09 May 2018. WASER is one of Co-sponsors of the conference, and WASER members will enjoy a discounted registration fee for participation in the conference.

The conference website: http://friend2018.ensh.dz/

The Conference is organized under the UNESCO's FRIEND WATER program, within the International Hydrological Program. It contributes to the regional water resources research development, global change, hydrological cycle, education and capacity building. The aim of this program is to determine the impacts of climate and human activities on the spatial and temporal evolution of water resources from the analysis of long-term hydrological variables changes. For more than 30 years, it has brought together the hydrological expert community working on the deepening and popularization of knowledge in regional hydrology.

Freshwater is as essential to sustainable development as it is to life, and has interdependent and complementary social, economic and environmental dimensions. Limited access to water, quantity and quality, is one of the mainfactors limiting sustainable development. Sustainable management of water resources have to be based on an integrated approach linking development and protection of the natural environment resources, participation of all actors and stakeholders, and the recognition of theeconomic and social importance/value of water.

There is a need to promote the integration of all water management aspects and protection by developing plans to meet basic needs and to promote equitable and effective distribution of water resources, ecosystems and to maintain the water cyclequality.

This third International Conference on the hydrology of African Large River Basins will focus special attention to strategies for the sound management, rational use and protection of water resources, based on technical and scientific tools. Through the various themes proposed, the conference will allow the academic community, researchers and managers, to exchange experiences and knowledge on the means that can be implemented to better optimize and better manage water in the ecosystems.