Global Chemical Pollution Monitoring Network

Chemical pollution is a global problem with regionally different composition, sources and impacts threatening water resources, human health and ecosystems. While data bases on pollution are rapidly increasing in many high-income regions such as Europe, data on chemical pollution in low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Central- and South-America are rather scarce. While analytical instrumentation and common monitoring, assessment and mitigation strategies are widely lacking, awareness on pollution problems is increasing globally with dedicated scientists and practitioners ready to address pollution problems in their countries.

The Global Chemical Monitoring Network (GloCheM) is an international network of scientists, practitioners, and public authorities committed to strengthen the global capacity to detect, quantify, assess, and communicate chemical contamination Earth’s freshwater resources and to close existing data and knowledge gaps worldwide.

GloCheM is founded on good scientific practice, integrity, independence, transparency, and the principle that reliable data and open cooperation are essential prerequisites for environmental and human health protection. GloCheM particularly invites members from the Global South where the lack of systematic and comparable water quality data remains a critical barrier to informed decision-making.

GloCheM serves as a platform for exchange, coordination, harmonisation, and capacity building in the field of chemical monitoring across disciplines, regions and continents, and institutional boundaries.