In this 12th issue of the Water Convention Newsletter, enjoy news from activities carried out under the Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health from 1 November to 28 February 2021.

More than 200 participants from countries, RBOs, international organizations, IFIs, private sector, civil society and academia participated to the virtual workshop on financing transboundary water cooperation and basin development, held on 16-17 December 2021. Co- organized with AfDB; ADB, EIB, GEF; GEF IW:LEARN, IDB; the Netherlands; OECD; Senegal  Switzerland ; UNCDF; WWF and the World Bank, the workshop examined the current challenges and good practices related to the mobilization of financial resources for transboundary water cooperation processes and water related activities and projects in shared basins. Building on the findings of a background study on financing transboundary water cooperation and basin development, the workshop discussed the need to diversify funding and financing sources including private sources and to explore innovative financing mechanisms -through concrete examples from all regions.  The meeting was opened and closed by High-level representatives from IFIs and countries including Mr. Rodriguez, CEO of the GEF and Ms. Sara, Global Director of the World Banks’s Water Global Practice. More information about the workshop can be found here.

Albania and Montenegro have agreed to establish a joint technical working group on “Monitoring & assessment” and to develop and implement an information exchange protocol to operationalize their cooperation on the shared Cijevna/Cem River basin. These are the outcomes of joint consultations with these two countries held by the Convention’s Implementation Committee on 5 February 2021.
The Committee is assisting Albania and Montenegro as part of an advisory procedure – a unique tool, which enables this body to engage with countries seeking to resolve water issues in a non-confrontational manner.

The conference Water and Beyond - EU transformative approaches for international partnerships was organized from 18 to 21 January 2021 by the European Union DG International Partnerships and the Government of Slovenia, with the support of the Government of Portugal as the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This event aimed at informing the EU Priorities for International Partnerships in the water sector and the new EU green Deal programming currently being developed.  UNECE, was one of the main co-organizers of the event together with UNESCO, WaterAid, Borda and Women for Water Partnership. More specifically, UNECE organized three thematic sessions, including a session on transboundary water cooperation to discuss water as a catalyst for cooperation that can foster trust and peace.

On 3 November 2020, participants of the 11th meeting of the Task Force on Target Setting and Reporting under the Protocol on Water and Health met virtually to exchange experiences on measures taken in the area of water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and health in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hungary, Republic of Moldova and Portugal, for example, highlighted that the COVID-19 outbreak had raised attention to the importance of adequate WASH services in schools and among vulnerable and marginalized groups. Protocol Parties also reported on their progress with setting and/or revising targets under the Protocol.

On 6 November 2020, a briefing Protocol on Water and Health: crucial for delivering water, sanitation and hygiene for all was organized for the Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office in Geneva. Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, CEO of Sanitation and Water for All, and
Mr. Hans Henri Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as a stark reminder of importance of investing in and maintaining robust national systems for the provision of water, sanitation and health for all.

The Regional Webinar on “Upholding Mekong Cooperation for Present & Future Challenges: Data & Information Sharing for Regional Cooperation” was oganized on 3 February 2021 by UNECE, the MRC, UN ESCAP and the EU. Speakers presented challenges and opportunities in data and information sharing while emphasizing its foundational role to further strengthen regional collaboration in the Mekong region. Furthermore, the participants presented future plans for partnerships to better co-ordinate monitoring and data sharing initiatives. They also pointed out the need to build technical capacity beyond monitoring and information exchange. More information on the meeting can be found here and the full video recording can be found here.

The Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 hosted by the Netherlands on 25-26 January 2021 virtually gathered world leaders, ministers, international organisations together with scientists, private sector, civil society, and youth representatives. The Water Convention contributed to the Water Anchoring Event during the summit by facilitating the intervention from Mr. Dorin Andros, State Secretary from the Republic of Moldova, focused on the central role of water in the revised National Determined Contribution of Moldova. Two side events prepared by Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health were also part of the Climate Adaptation Summit namely Adapting together: sharing experiences from transboundary basins across the world and Climate-resilient water and sanitation services: supporting action through the Protocol on Water and Health.

The fifth meeting of the Global network of basins working on climate change adaptation was organized jointly by the Water Convention and the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) under the leadership of the Netherlands and Switzerland on 26 February 2021 virtually. The basins of the Global network shared their experiences, updates, progress, lessons learned and best practices in developing, financing and implementing climate change adaptation strategies and plans since their last meeting in 2019. In particular, such basins as the Amazon, the Danube, Lake Victoria, the Mekong, the Meuse and the Niger presented how transboundary climate change adaptation can be integrated into river basin management plans, can be financed through climate funds and can support national adaptation planning.

The 6th meeting of the National Policy Dialogue on Water (19 November 2020) focused on recent progress in modernising national water policy in the country, extending access to water supply and sanitation, and enhancing transboundary cooperation. As the European Union Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+) programme is in its final phase of implementation, the National Policy Dialogue meeting offered an opportunity to address the remaining tasks in conjunction with the priorities and activities of the country-specific work programme. It was also an occasion to discuss the next steps towards ensuring sustainable results and to reflect on future priorities for the Republic of Moldova in the water sector beyond 2020. Participants discussed how different deliverables and outputs of the project will contribute to protecting the environment and water resources and bring practical benefits for citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

On 16 February was held the Consultation meeting in Serbia of the Nexus Assessment of the Drina River Basin (Phase II).

Serbia’s two State secretaries recognized the potential of the Drina nexus project and its dialogue process for advancing cooperation. The Nexus Assessment of the Drina River Basin is part of the project “Promoting the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Southeastern Europe, through the use of the Nexus approach”. The Project’s purpose is to introduce the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems
Nexus approach and catalyse action for its adoption and implementation in the SEE area, at the Economies’ and transboundary basin levels. The Project enables the identification of nexus related issues to be addressed with priority in two Transboundary Basins (Drin and Drina) and one State (Albania). These areas of focus were selected by the Regional Working Group on Environment (RWG-Env), established under the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), which also serves as the Steering Committee of the overall Project.

The Regional Working Group (RWG) for Transboundary Cooperation on the Senegalo-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin (SMAB), is composed by representatives of the States that share this aquifer system, namely The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal, as well as the Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River (OMVG) and the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS) which joined this regional dialogue. Based on the discussions and decisions made during the Second Regional working group for the transboundary cooperation on the SMAB (Dakar, 1 and 2 December 2020), on 10-11 February,was held the Third RWG meeting that discussed the joint project, especially the specific activities and the budget, as well as the next steps in finalizing the document. The regional dialogue was facilitated and supported by the Water Convention Secretariat, the Geneva Water Hub, as well as by the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC).

• 4-5 March 2021: Twenty-fifth meeting of the Bureau of the Protocol on Water and Health
• 24-25 March 2021: 6^th meeting of the expert group on equitable access to water and sanitation
• 29-31 March 2021: Global workshop on building climate-resilience through improving water management and sanitation at national and transboundary levels
• 31 March 2021: 12^th Meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate
• 1 April 2021: Expert Meeting on Monitoring and Assessment
• 14-15 April 2021: 12^th Meeting on the Working Group on Water and Health
• 26-28 April 2021: Third joint meeting of the Working Group on IWRM and Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment
• 29-30 April 2021: Bureau Meeting of the Water Convention
• 20-21 May 2021: 13th meeting of the Implementation Committee
• 29 September- 1 October 2021: Ninth Meeting of the Parties of the Water Convention, Tallinn, Estonia

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