Role and Responsibilities of National Hydrological Advisers
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In 2019, WMO Congress changed provisions of its General Regulations that relate to Hydrological Advisers (HA) through Resolution 24 (Cg-18).
Thus, General Regulation 5(b) now reads: “Each Member shall appoint, in consultation with the Permanent Representative, a Hydrological Adviser who preferably should be the Director of the respective National Hydrological Service or other national hydrological agency. The Member shall notify the Secretary-General of such an appointment. The Hydrological Adviser should be consulted by and advise the Permanent Representative with respect to WMO activities1 in operational hydrology and its application to water management.2"
This means that each Member must nominate a senior hydrological official who is responsible for operational hydrology in the country as Hydrological Adviser. The nomination must come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or from the Country’s Permanent Mission (PM) to the UN in Geneva. This also means that the Hydrological Adviser (HA) is the Hydrological Adviser of the Member and not of the Permanent Representative, as it was before.
If you need more information on how to appoint the national Hydrological Adviser, please write to 
Resolution 24 (Cg-18) also amended General Regulation 26 as follows:
"In each session of Congress an open committee of Congress, entitled the WMO Hydrological Assembly, shall be convened. It should be attended as a rule by the Hydrological Advisers of Members (in accordance with Regulation 5 (b)) and by other representatives of National Hydrological Services or other national hydrological agencies as designated by Members". In general, as a national Hydrological Adviser the person represents the operational hydrology community of the country in the framework of WMO activities
In general, as a national Hydrological Adviser you represent the operational hydrology community of your country in the framework of WMO activities.
WMO Role of the national Hydrological Adviser
The national HA is responsible for:
• Coordinating WMO hydrological activities and reporting the needs and challenges of operational hydrology of her/his country in its full complexity;
• Communicating with the Regional Hydrological Adviser (RHA) of her/his region and providing her/him information and support for delivering her/his duties;
• Establishing links among directors of relevant national hydrological agencies and the Permanent Representative to further close cooperation between the meteorological and hydrological communities;
• Participating in relevant hydrological gatherings of WMO, in particular the Hydrological Assembly and regional hydrological structures, and actively contribute to pre-session discussions and consultations related to the documents for these events;
• Proposing candidates for nomination of national technical experts3 in particular for the work of technical commissions4 - searching for those who could contribute, and advising the PR and/or Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the nomination process; and
• Ensuring that relevant questionnaires, and in particular the HydroSurvey, are replied to.
Stakeholder Role of the national Hydrological Adviser
The national Hydrological Adviser should be:
• The “ambassador” of WMO in hydrology at the national level6 and actively supports efforts related to the achievement of the WMO’s eight long-term ambitions in hydrology in her/his country;
• Actively involved in those activities associated with the WMO Strategic and Operational Plan that pertain to hydrology;
• The contact point for questions (particularly if more than one organization provides hydrological services within her/his country). The Hydrological Adviser should be diligent in replying to questions and, if not able to answer on her/his own, should redirect questions to the WMO Secretariat, the Regional Hydrological Adviser of her/his region or HCP as appropriate;
• Serving as national focal point for operational hydrology with respect to WMO and communicating and consulting with other relevant organizations providing hydrological services in the country to develop any national position on hydrological matters to be presented to WMO; and
• Making sure that hydrology is contributing to an Earth System monitoring and modelling approach at national level as appropriate.
Footnotes
1 In WMO activities are included, but not limite to, all programmes, initiatives and projects development and/or implementation phases.
2 2019 Edition of Basic Documents No. 1 https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=14206
3 General regulation defines ‚technical expert’ as follows: An individual participating in the work of the Organization in a personal capacity, designated by the Permanent Representative of a Member, in consultation with a Hydrological Adviser (as relates to experts in hydrology), or by the competent authority of the United Nations or another international organization with which the Organization has concluded arrangements or agreements.
4 Regulation 143: Technical commissions shall be composed of technical experts in the fields covered by the terms of reference of the commission. The designation of technical experts to participate in the activities of a technical commission shall be by the Permanent Representative, in consultations with the Hydrological Adviser (as relates to experts in hydrology), of the Member represented on the commission, and by the competent authority of the United Nations or other international organization with which the Organization has concluded arrangements or agreements. After the establishment of the technical commission by Congress, Permanent Representatives and relevant international organizations will be invited to designate experts (update existing designations) according to the required expertise. Designations by Permanent Representatives shall be through the WMO Community Platform. Designations by the organizations shall be through the Secretariat, which should validate designations and enter them into the WMO Community Platform. These experts will form the WMO Expert Network from which the composition of commissions’ subsidiary bodies will be drawn.
5 For information on how to access the HydroSurvey, please write to: 
6 While considering the benefits (and possibilities) of aligning the national activities carried out in the framework of WMO programmes with the initiatives promoted by UNESCO-IHP and IAHS