The Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management for Environmental Sustainability (CREATES) is a programme focussing on improving transboundary water management in Eastern Africa to enhance water security, climate resilience, cooperation and sustainable development. The programme targets the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi (SMM) Basin (between Uganda and Kenya) and the Mara Basin (between Kenya and Tanzania).

The Team Europe Initiative was launched in March 2022 at the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal. Implemented within the scope of the Global Gateway and the African Union–European Union Investment Package, TEI supports transboundary water actions that deliver tangible benefits at continental, regional, basin, and national levels. The initiative aims to improve continental policies and knowledge on water resources management and their coherence across scales, enable cooperation and peer learning among transboundary basin bodies, strengthen transboundary integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water–energy–food–ecosystems (WEFE) nexus approaches for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation, increase investments of transboundary relevance to support economic development and regional integration, and create space for African bodies to advise continental, regional, and basin organisations on transboundary water management actions.​

CREATES is implemented through a close partnership between IUCN, leading work on river basin governance and stakeholder coordination, and UNEP-DHI, leading on decision-support systems and capacity development. A joint Project Management Unit based in Nairobi will coordinate delivery, learning and alignment across project components. ​

Project A: Effective Decision Support Systems and capacity building for transboundary water management in Eastern Africa​
  • Improved data and information management systems ​
  • Decision support systems developed and applied  ​
  • Climate-resilient water management applied in development and economic decision making​
  • Climate resilient and transboundary water resources technical capacities strengthened within national and sub national water authorities and institutions responsible for TWM  ​
  • Flagship online platform established for knowledge-sharing and benchmarking on TWM   ​
  • Knowledge products and knowledge-sharing initiatives developed and disseminated/implemented ​
  • Monitoring, evaluation, learning, communication and awareness raising
Project B: Improved river basin governance, stakeholder coordination, and action on-the-ground for water cooperation and climate resilient water solutions in [the Mara and Sio-Malaba-Malakisi] transboundary river basins​
  • Support the development, strengthening and operationalisation of key legal and policy frameworks​
  • Support the development and implementation of investment frameworks, sustainable finance strategies and resource mobilisation plans in the SMM and Mara Basins ​
  • Strengthening Multi-level Governance Frameworks and build capacities for TWM relevant across stakeholder groups 
  • ​NbS interventions implemented for basin water security and climate resilience ​
  • Inclusive economic development – on the ground support for identified small-scale built resilient infrastructure prioritised projects 
LOCATION

Sio-Malabo-Malakisi​ and Mara River Basin (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)​

TIMEFRAME

CREATES Programme will be implemented between 2025 and 2029.

PARTNERS

Led by IUCN and the UNEP-DHI Centre.

Other ongoing initiatives

  • Al-Murunah

    Al Murunah is a five-year project funded by the UK Government that IWMI implements in partnership with IUCN. It aims to enhance water security in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories by integrating nature-based solutions for water and agricultural water management.

  • Shared Waters Cooperation Facility

    Provides expertise to facilitate dialogue and joint action where cooperation has slowed or stopped. Partnership lies at the centre of the Facility in order to respond to the needs of stakeholders and to shift shared water challenges to shared water solutions.

  • BRIDGE – Building River Dialogue and Governance

    Securing sustainable development, livelihoods and peace through transboundary water cooperation

Donors

Partners