On the occasion of this year’s World Water Day, devoted to “Water for Peace”, we are presenting the ‘origins story’ of the successful transboundary collaboration for the protection of the Drin river basin, between 5 Riparians in Southeast Europe. This started 25 years ago, out of a shared desire to protect Europe’s oldest lake, Ohrid.
In June 2024, Somalia concluded the implementation of a two-year Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme aimed at enhancing the country’s capacity to access climate finance. Approved in November 2021, the project was designed to strengthen the institutional capacity of Somalia’s Federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as the country’s National Designated Authority (NDA) to access and manage climate finance, develop GCF Country Programme and develop investment concept notes. Implementation of these three main activities under the GCF Readiness Programme and its successful completion is a significant step in Somalia's journey towards climate resilience and sustainable development.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 19 June 2025 —With climate pressures rising and prolonged dry seasons becoming the new norm, Cambodia has officially launched two groundbreaking national strategies to tackle its most pressing water challenges.
Water and climate stakeholders convened for the 2025 Pan-African Transboundary Dialogue and Training on National Water Investment Programming in Africa from 28th to 29th April 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a bid to strengthen synergies between transboundary and national water investment priorities.
Bangkok, Thailand | December 09, 2025 - The inaugural Pan-Asia Training on International Water Law (IWL) brought together more than a hundred experts, government officials, and water practitioners from across Asia for a week-long training held from 8 - 11 December 2025. Hosted in Bangkok, Thailand, the programme aimed to strengthen knowledge, legal capacity, and cooperation frameworks for managing shared water resources.
Water, vital for sustaining life, is becoming increasingly scarce as global demand has surged tenfold over the past century. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries share 19 transboundary water resources, including surface and groundwater, most of which are managed bilaterally. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), formed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, aims to promote sustainable development, management, and conservation of the Mekong Basin. Despite growing cooperation, challenges remain, such as the lack of legal frameworks for managing shared aquifers and the absence of cooperation mechanisms beyond the Mekong region. Water diplomacy provides a vital approach, offering strategies to address disputes and foster joint water governance through political processes that extend beyond traditional water agreements.
Eight (8) degree programmes of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research are open to international applicants!
Please apply BEFORE MAY 31, 2024!
In celebration of this year's World Water Day theme "Water for Peace", GWP-Med, Horizon2020 REXUS Communication & Dissemination leader, explains the 3 ‘steps’ that are key to turning water into an opportunity for collaboration rather than conflict, and how REXUS is addressing them.
Between 2017 and 2023, global performance on implementing integrated water resources management (IWRM) increased from 49% to 57%. However, the current rate of progress would need to at least double in order to meet the 2030 goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6).
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) played a key role in the Drought Resilience +10 Conference held from 30 September to 2 October 2024 in Geneva. Building on the outcomes of the first High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policies in 2013, the conference focused on accelerating actions to build drought resilience worldwide. It gathered countries, experts, and practitioners to review progress in drought management and outline a collective path forward.
