Shared Rivers Governance Project
[last updated March 11, 2005 12:00 AM]

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General Information
Partnership website(s)
    Expected Timeframe
    2005 - 2008
    Partners
    Governments:
    • Government of Sweden - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
    • Government of United States of America - United States Department of State
    		Major Groups:
      UN System:
      • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (United States of America)
      		Other intergovernmental organizations:
        Other:
        • Cap-Net (Netherlands)
        		 
        Thematic Focus
        Primary Themes:
        • Education
        • Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development
        • Institutional framework for sustainable development
        • Water
        		 Secondary Themes:
        • Climate change
        • Disaster management and vulnerability
        • Human settlements
        • Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production
        • Marine resources
        • Health and sustainable development
        • Oceans and seas
        Geographic Coverage
        Geographic Scope: Global
        Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented:
        Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
        National Focal Points
        This partnership has made contact with the national focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
        Goals and Objectives
        Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
        The purpose of UNDP's Shared Rivers Governance Project is to build on and complement existing activities to:
        - Support regional dialogue and build political will among decision makers in developing countries to jointly address integrated management and development of shared rivers, and
        - Build capacity and provide support for the development of legal mechanisms and associated institutional structures for shared rivers management
        The development objective of the Shared Rivers project is to improve natural resource management, improve the livelihoods of poor people, maximize benefits across the basin and promote regional stability. This will be achieved by providing strategic support for improved water governance of international rivers to advance socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically efficient management and development of the water resources.
        Targets and Progress
        Partnership targets
        The approach is to build on and complement on-going activities and offer key developing countries assistance and donor partners the opportunity to support activities such as:
        - Workshops to increase awareness of the necessity and benefits of addressing joint management and development of shared rivers to encourage dialogue and build trust between decision makers.
        - Training sessions to increase knowledge and capacity to manage shared waters
        - Capturing, documenting and sharing experience between river basins, especially within geographic regions.
        - Strengthening technical skills and competencies, negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
        - Development of data, analyses and studies to facilitate dialogue and joint decision making.
        - Supporting travel, facilitation and other meeting costs
        - Strengthening mechanisms and capacity for development of legal conventions and institutional structures for implementation of shared rivers management.
        Progress against targets
        The Shared Rivers Governance Project draws on the lessons and experiences of UNDP's initial project in this field known as the Transboundary River Basin project (TRIB). This project was established to support riparian countries in basin-wide dialogues to strengthen emerging basin institutions. The project was financed through a global UNDP trust fund established in January 2000 with seed money from the US government. The TRIB project provided measured support, among others to, the:
        - Mekong Basin - helping to enhance communications between the Mekong River Commission and its member countries.
        - Niger Basin - examining a data sharing mechanism between the Niger Basin Authority and its member countries, and between the member countries themselves.
        - Rio Frio Sub-basin - facilitating cross-border dialogue between Costa Rica and Nicaragua for watershed management.
        - Senegal Basin - lending support to the four riparian countries to build an inclusive institution for basin management.
        - Kura-Aras Basin - supporting riparian dialogue on the design of basin-wide management of the international waters.
        - Southern Africa transboundary waters - supporting the Limpopo and Zambezi Basin countries and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in strengthening management of transboundary rivers within basins and across the region.
        - University Partnership for Transboundary Waters - promoting knowledge dissemination on managing transboundary waters through a partnership of universities from across the world
        Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        • Human resources development/training
        • Education/building awareness
        • Institutional strengthening, including local participation
        Drawing on the unique role and experience of UNDP the Shared Rivers Governance Project is intended to build on and complement existing activities with the strategic niche of supporting the political process between riparian countries by facilitating and building capacity for the development of legal conventions and associated institutional structures, including stakeholder participation and empowering weak groups, for shared rivers management To ensure that a learning element is built into the project the lessons on communication and effective institutional arrangements from the first phase will be developed. An analysis of the benefits will be made to identify other areas of learning that need to be addressed to strengthen the outputs of the second phase of the Project. A set of indicators will also be developed to monitor performance and progress.
        Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
        How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
        Shared Rivers contributes directly to promoting and improving integrated water resources management, in accordance with the JPOI Relevant Sections of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
        Protection and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development
        Coordination and Implementation
        Coordination Mechanism of the Partnership
        Coordination and outputs are derived through Intergovernmental Coordination Committees and River Basin Authorities.
        Implementation Mechanism of the Partnership
        The project draws upon UNDPs network for capacity building, CapNet and also collaborates closely with the World Bank and UNEP GEF International Waters programmes in river basins.
        Resources
        Funding Currently Available
        Amount in US$: 1000000
        Source(s): Government
        Non-financial resources available
        Type(s): Computers - Office space - Staff
        Source(s): Government
        Funding Sought
        Required Amount in US$: 3000000
        Source(s) already approached:
        Non-financial resources sought
        Requirement(s):
        Source(s) approached and details:
        Additional Information
        Additional Relevant Information
        Regions where the partnership is being implemented:
        Nile Basin (Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda), Niger Basin (Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria), Kura-Aras Basin (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), Small Dams (Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe), Mekong Basin (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam), Central Asia (Kazakstan, Krygz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)

        Though the outcomes cannot be claimed entirely by the project, it has helped to move the dialogue along at the political level in several basins such as the Nile, Niger and Zambezi; and the technical level in the Senegal, Niger and Kura-Aras. It has also improved understanding between communities in the Rio Frio sub-basin; and between the Mekong River Commission and its member states. Understanding that any dialogue is informed by technical work, the project has also supported technical studies in the Zambezi and the Niger.