Transboundary water cooperation – experience from the GWP network, by Natalia Alexeeva

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Transboundary water cooperation – experience

from GWP network Natalia Alexeeva

Senior Networking OfficerCentral and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and

Caucasus, and Mediterranean Focal point for Transboundary Water Security area

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GWP Strategy Towards 2020

GWP Vision: A Water Secure World

GWP Mission: To advance governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development.

GWP Core Values: Neutrality, inclusiveness, openness, integrity, accountability, respect, gender sensitivity, and solidarity

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GWP Strategic Goals

1) Catalyse change in policies and practice

2) Generate and communicate knowledge

3) Strengthen partnerships

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GWP Thematic ApproachFoodEcosystems Transboundary

Energy Climate Change Urbanisation

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Cross Cutting Issues: Gender and Youth

Support for gender mainstreaming in water management

Support for youth and young water professionals

Independent gender and youth strategies under development

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Strategic Approach

RWP

RWPRWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

RWP

CWPCWP

CWP

CWP

CWP

Technical Committee

Secretariat

Plus:

Special Programmes (WACDEP, Global Dialogue, Deltas etc.)

CWP

Allies

13 Regional Water Partnerships

76 Country Water Partnerships

2,964 Partners in more than 150 countries

A partnership is not the sum of its parts, it is the product of the parts' interaction.

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GWP Strategy says: …Ensuring that the benefits of transboundary water sources are shared equitably among nations is a major challenge for national governments and international law. Competing claims and opposing interests can quickly bring nations into conflict, especially over fresh water, which is essential, limited, and unevenly distributed…Water conflicts interfere with economic and social development and can lead to humanitarian crises. Our long experience with facilitating and supporting collaboration at all levels puts GWP in an excellent position to foster transboundary cooperation by providing a neutral space for dialogue and negotiation, backed up by knowledge products and project experience. We already engage with countries on transboundary water management on the River Nile and the Danube, and with other river basins in western and southern Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, and China..

African Network of Basin Organisations (ANBO) under the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)/African Union (AU) framework, in partnership with the European Union (EU). We will share results of successful practices and approaches with other regions and basins. This process will benefit from our experience in capacity building in international water law. We do this through initiatives like the GWP–University of Dundee scholarship programme, which is designed for water management practitioners from our Partner organisations.

With the main objective to: Develop a Strategic Shared Vision among the competent national authorities and stakeholders for the sustainable management of the Drin basin

Drin River Basin DialogueInitiated on an ad hoc basis already in 2006, and started per se in late 2008, the

Drin Dialogue was a rich and coordinated consultation process among the:- water resources management competent Ministries of the five riparians

(Albania, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo (under UN SC Resolution 1244) and Montenegro)

- the existing joint Commissions/Committees in the sub-basins and all related stakeholders

- civil society workshops were carried out in the sub-basins prior to the joint commissions/committees & stakeholders consultations

The Policy and Technical Cooperation Framework is provided, inter alia, by: - The UNECE Water Convention - The European Union Water Framework Directive- The Petersberg Phase II Process / Athens Declaration Process- GEF IW:LEARN- The Mediterranean Component of the EU Water Initiative (MED EUWI)- The GEF MedPartnership

Financial Support has been provided, inter alia, by: Swedish EPA, German ENV Ministry, GEF, Greek ENV Ministry, and other agencies. GEF is supporting Drin cooperation through a Full Size Programme (2013-2017)

Key facilitating partners- UNECE has been the key policy driving force- GWP Med serves as the Drin Core Group Secretariat with technical functions

Drin River Basin Dialogue: a Partnership

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SITWAThe overall objective of SITWA is to strengthen regional cooperation at the political, economic and stakeholder level for sustainable management of transboundary water resources in Africa contributing to peace and security, stability and poverty alleviation, relying on African knowledge.Objective 1: ANBO transformed into a sustainable and influential organization as a pillar under AMCOW:Objective 2: ANBO Program implemented and TA provided through the RECs:EC/GWPO Contribution Agreement (joint

management approach) signed in December 2011, 3 Million Euro, over 4 years

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Some of the key challenges1. Interplay of different/sometimes competing legal

requirements and agendas, or absence of clear binging mechanisms. Solutions: soft law/MOUs, coordination platforms and partnerships (Drin)

2. Lacking priorities/resources. Solutions: donor-driven support push into cooperation (SITWA)

3. Slow process/no immediate results. Solutions: combination with pilot projects and concrete activities (WACDEP)

4. Sometimes extremely politicized! Solutions: looking at less controversial/technical issues, nexus and modelling (BEAM)

5. Need in common understanding/language. Solutions: capacity building (Dundee), dialogues on different levels (LA)

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