biology

International Hydrographic Organization

International Hydrographic Organization is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Hydrographic Organization rather than just read about it. In short: The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO; French: Organisation Hydrographique Internationale) is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. As of August 2025, the IHO comprised 104 member states.

Key takeaways

International Hydrographic Organization belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Hydrographic Organization to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Hydrographic Organization from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO; French: Organisation Hydrographique Internationale) is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. As of August 2025, the IHO comprised 104 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters are properly surveyed and charted. It does this through the setting of international standards and through its capacity building programs and offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations, where it is the recognized competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting. When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in conventions and similar instruments, it is the IHO standards and specifications that are normally used.

History During the 19th century, many maritime nations established hydrographic offices to provide means for improving the navigation of naval and merchant vessels by providing nautical publications, nautical charts, and other navigational services. There were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D.C., and it was proposed to establish a "permanent international commission." Similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919, the national Hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the necessary steps to convene an international conference of Hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919, the First International Conference opened, attended by the Hydrographers of 24 nations. The object of the conference was "To consider the advisability of all maritime nations adopting similar methods in preparation, construction, and production of their charts and all hydrographic publications; of rendering the results in the most convenient form to enable them to be readily used; of instituting a prompt system of mutual exchange of hydrographic information between all countries; and of providing an opportunity to consultations and discussions to be carried out on hydrographic subjects generally by the hydrographic experts of the world." This is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the 1919 Conference, a permanent organization was formed and statutes for its operations were prepared. The IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the Organization as a result of the offer of Albert I of Monaco to provide suitable accommodation for the Bureau in the Principality. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) was established in June 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), with Vice Admiral Sir John Parry, KCB of the United Kingdom serving as its first President. In 1970, under the leadership of Guy Chatel of France, the organization adopted its current name as part of a new International Convention on the IHO, which was agreed upon by its member nations. The term "International Hydrographic Bureau" continued to describe the IHO's secretariat until 8 November 2016, when a major revision to the Convention took effect. Following this change, the secretariat was renamed the "IHO Secretariat," which consists of an elected Secretary-General, two supporting Directors, and a small permanent staff (18 in 2020) at the Organization's headquarters in Monaco.

Structure Until 2016 the IHO was administered by a secretariat headed by a Directing Committee comprising a President and two Directors. Since 8 November 2016, upon the entry in to force of revisions to the Convention on the IHO, the secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General, supported by two Directors, with Australia's Robert Ward serving as the first Secretary-General. As before, all three senior members of the secretariat continue to be elected to their positions by the Member States at the regular Assembly of the IHO (formerly, IHO Conferences). The secretariat staff comprise a number of technical specialists, administrators, and support personnel. The bulk of the IHO's technical and specialist expertise comes from Member States' personnel, often assisted by invited industry experts, who all provide technical contributions through participation in various IHO committees and working groups. A Council, comprising a sub-set of all the IHO Member States, meets annually and oversees the work of the IHO. A full description, together with details of the workings of all the organs of the IHO is available on the IHO website.

Functions

Standardization Since 1968, the IHO has regularly published updated editions of the Standards of Hydrographic Surveys, with the most recent being published in 2008. Each of these publications was designed to incorporate technological advancements and international shipping demands. This is especially true with regards to the rise of electronic navigation equipment in the 1980s. The IHO also works to standardize the specifications, style, and symbols used in producing nautical charts. In 1971, the IHO was able to get its member states to use one single chart series, also known as INT charts. According to this IHO agreement, if one member state wants to publish a chart for an area covered by another member's existing chart, the duplicate must be created using the same data as the original chart. IHO Publication M-4, which was published in 1984, set specific international standards for nautical charts. The advent of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) made it clear to the IHO it also needed to standardize how electronic navigational data is transferred and displayed on ships. Electronic chart data was standardized and categorized in an international database referred to as Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs). The way this data is transferred from publishers to users was also standardized, as was the display and capabilities of the ECDIS.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Hydrographic Organization

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Hydrographic Organization claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Hydrographic Organization before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Hydrographic Organization ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Hydrographic Organization

In research: International Hydrographic Organization appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Hydrographic Organization in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Hydrographic Organization is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1921 establishments in Monaco, Hydrography organizations, Intergovernmental organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Hydrographic Organization outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Hydrographic Organization in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Hydrographic Organization means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Hydrographic Organization out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Hydrographic Organization in simple terms?

Why does International Hydrographic Organization matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Hydrographic Organization?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Hydrographic Organization.