Fit for Principle, Insufficient for Purpose? Advancing Transboundary Water Cooperation

  BRIDGE     SWCF     Video  

While there is much to celebrate in transboundary water cooperation, the pace of progress is not sufficient to achieve SDG 6.5 and other international targets.

  • Less than 20 agreements have been signed in the last decade, several of which apply to watercourses with existing agreements. The area of shared waters covered by an agreement has only expanded marginally.
  • The impact of agreements that have been signed has not been systematically assessed, so the degree to which a formal agreement reflects an improvement in cooperation requires confirmation.
  • Conflictive events in shared waters are not subsiding If the lofty objectives in SDG 6.5 are to be achieved, focus needs to be placed on both aspirational targets and practical problem solving

This session will focus on three keynote speeches that illustrate water cooperation is not as far as we would like on: Financing, Visibility, and Value. These points will be elaborated by a panel discussion focusing on how reliable financing, RBO visibility and value placed on basins can promote enhanced water cooperation. The session will finalize with practical recommendations and suggestions based on comments from the audience.

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