The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) actively supports Early Career Scientists (ECS) through a dedicated committee structure, recognition awards, and targeted funding mechanisms designed to strengthen scientific collaboration, professional development, and international engagement within the hydrological community. ECS members are encouraged to participate in IAHS Commissions and Working Groups as active contributors rather than passive members, with formal representation built directly into the Association’s governance. The Association also provides awards recognizing the scientific contributions of early career researchers, along with travel support for participating in IAHS, IUGG, and Academy events:
- Early Career Committee (ECC): established in 2017, the ECC consists of the Early Career Representative of each IAHS Commission plus a chair and co-chair, representing ECS members within the Bureau and each Commission, organizing dedicated sessions at IAHS conferences, and maintaining a network connecting current and future generations of hydrologists (https://iahs.info/Initiatives/committees/Early-Career-Committee-/)
- Tison Award: established in 1982, granted annually to a young hydrologist (under 41 at time of paper acceptance) for an outstanding paper published in IAHS journals within the prior two years, consisting of a citation, US $1,000, and a free year’s HSJ subscription (https://iahs.info/About-IAHS/Awards/Tison-Award/)
- Falkenmark Award: established in 2022 in honour of hydrologist Malin Falkenmark, awarded annually for the best PhD thesis from a nominee who grew up in and conducted their PhD research in one or more financially disadvantaged countries, recognizing contributions to understanding water scarcity and water supply (https://iahs.info/About-IAHS/Awards/Falkenmark-Award/)
- Sivapalan Young Scientists Travel Award (SYSTA): launched in 2018, provides travel funding (up to €3,200) for early career hydrologists from financially disadvantaged countries to attend IAHS meetings, strengthening international attendance and fostering high-quality science among the next generation of researchers (https://iahs.info/About-IAHS/SYSTA-Grants/)
- Educational and networking events: IAHS sponsors Academy programs (such as the IAHS Academy held in China in January 2026 https://iahs.info/Initiatives/iahs-academy/), early career sessions at Scientific Assemblies, and regional initiatives like the Africa Regional Committee (ARC), which mentors early career African hydrologists specifically https://iahs.info/Initiatives/committees/Committee-for-Africa/
One of the main goals of IAHS is to make it easier for Early Career Scientists to become active participants in the international hydrological community rather than peripheral observers. Through formal representation, recognition, regional mentoring, and travel funding, IAHS aims to foster an inclusive and equitable environment for young researchers entering the field – with a particularly strong emphasis on reducing barriers for scientists from financially disadvantaged countries, reflected across SYSTA, the Falkenmark Award, and free HSJ access policies.
At the same time, ECS in hydrology face many of the same structural challenges seen across the geosciences: job insecurity, short-term contracts, the difficulty of building an international profile without institutional travel funding, and barriers to entry for researchers outside well-resourced countries. IAHS’s response leans heavily on formal equity mechanisms – free membership, open-access publishing through the Proceedings of IAHS, and award eligibility criteria explicitly tied to country of origin – alongside the relationship-building and liaison work of the ECC, which connects IAHS early career members with counterparts at IUGG, EGU, AGU, and the Young Hydrologic Society.
The Association also highlights the value of connecting ECS across organizational boundaries. The ECC’s liaison role with the IUGG Early-Career Scientists Network (ECSNet) and equivalent committees in sister associations reflects a broader push within IUGG to coordinate early-career representation across disciplines, creating opportunities for joint sessions and cross-association networking at shared conferences.
For IAHS, this combination of governance representation, financial equity tools, and recognition awards reflects an underlying belief that the future of hydrological science depends on actively lowering the entry barriers facing the next generation – particularly for researchers from under-represented regions – rather than relying solely on individual initiative to break into the international community.
This dual commitment is well illustrated by Moctar Dembélé himself, who has held both ECC and Africa Regional Committee leadership roles simultaneously since 2023, embodying the very cross-pollination between early-career representation and regional capacity-building that IAHS encourages. In his capacity as Secretary of the ARC, Dembélé led the launch of the IAHS ARC Research Mobility Grant in 2025, offering early-career hydrologists based in Africa up to £1,500 to undertake short-term research visits to collaborating institutions elsewhere on the continent. Five awardees used the grant between July and December 2025 to build technical capacity, establish new institutional partnerships, and expand professional networks across African research centres — costs ranging from airfare and accommodation to research expenses and health insurance were all covered, removing some of the most common financial barriers to intra-African scientific collaboration. The program’s success speaks to a broader point: meaningful support for ECS in financially disadvantaged regions doesn’t only mean funding travel to international conferences abroad, but also investing in the connections hydrologists build with each other closer to home.