In a bid to respect safety measures against COVID-19, the workshop was restricted to twenty partipants including representatives from UNESCO, MEH, other ministries and public institutions concerned with transboundary water issues, main NGOs in the transboundary water sector, civil society and private sector representatives amongst others. During his opening remarks, Mr. ALOUNA Armel, the acting Director General of Hydraulics highlighted the importance of the workshop as a major step towards the implementation of SDG 6.5.2 in the country.
The validation workshop opened with presentations on the state of water resources in Congo, the importance of cross border cooperation and a final presentation on the context for the preparation of the country report for SDG 6.5.2. After presentations, it was time for the participants to discuss and share opinions on the responses to the questionnaire for indicator 6.5.2 in a mini round table discussion. The conclusions from these discussions were presented and validated in a single plenary discussion.
The monitoring report on indicator 6.5.2 for Congo was prepared by a multisectoral team during the period of April-May 2020 and the results of the report will be transmitted to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) with a copy to the UNESCO regional office
Background
In 2018, experts from the Republic of Congo attended a training workshop organized by GWP-CAf, UNECE and UNESCO on strengthening transboundary water cooperation and "monitoring-reporting" of SDG 6.5.2 in Central Africa .
The Republic of Congo was the only country in Central Africa that did not report on SDG 6.5.2 in the first monitoring cycle for 2017/2018. As a result, one of the key recommendations of this workshop was to provide targeted support to the Republic of Congo in the process of monitoring and reporting on SDG 6.5.2 in 2020.
Thus, GWP-CAf in collaboration with GWP congo led the process to mobilise resources to support the SDG 6.5.2 monitoring process in the republic of Congo. The UNESCO Multi-Sectoral Office for Central Africa provided the funds for the process through the countrys National Platform for the International Hydrological Programme (IHP).
Following the elaboration of a concept note for the process by GWP Congo and “National Committee for IHP, a cosultant was recruited to elaborate a draft version of the report, which was reviewed by GWP Congo and National IHP Committee, and approved for presentation at a national consultation workshop.
This participation in the 2020 SDG 6.5.2 monitoring cycle represents a major contribution to strengthening the integrated monitoring of water-related SDGs and to establishing mechanisms for mutual acceptability between the main stakeholders and partners in the water sector in the country.