The main reason for UNESCO's interest in the issue of ecohydrology is the deteriorating condition of water resources on a global scale and the need to create a systemic approach to improving their quality. The establishment of the Ecohydrology Center under the auspices of UNESCO in Poland resulted from the recognition of the experience and leading role of Polish scientists in this field. Ecohydrology, as a systemic approach, creates positive feedback between the improvement of the environment and socio-economic development.
In 2021 the Polish Minister of Education and Science signed a new Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regarding the activities of the European Regional Center for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ERCE PAN) in Łódź, Poland, under the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2).
The agreement serves to extend the previously existing agreement regarding the establishment and operation of the European Regional Center for Ecohydrology in Łódź under the auspices of UNESCO.
The tasks of ERCE include: scientific research in the development of ecohydrology, promotion of monitoring and modeling systems, as well as transfer of knowledge and its practical implementation in order to achieve good ecological status of waters and implementation of the Water Framework Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council and other EU environmental law provisions - in close cooperation and under the formal auspices of UNESCO.
