UNESCO publishes report on transboundary water cooperation and the SDGs

UNESCO recently published a report on transboundary water cooperation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in partnership with the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) prepared the report in the context of the ongoing negotiations on Target 6.5 indicators calling countries to implement integrated water resources management (IWRM) at all levels.

The Sustainable Development Goals are in a crucial phase. After their adoption in September 2015, countries are now engaged in devising the indicators that will measure the success of the SDGs. Target 6.5 calls countries to implement IWRM at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate by 2030. A first set of indicators for Target 6.5 only focused on IWRM without a much needed attention on transboundary water cooperation. IHP and Dr Francesco Sindico, Director of SCELG, produced the report on transboundary water cooperation and the SDGs in the context of the ongoing negotiations on Target 6.5 indicators. The report makes a case for a second indicator for Target 6.5 that refers to transboundary water cooperation.

Following the report and its circulation to key stakeholders, a new revised document was released by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators that includes a second indicator that reads as follows: “Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation”.

IHP and UNECE have been entrusted by UN-Water as responsible for the development of the monitoring of Goal 6.5.2 of the SDG Target 6 on Water and Sanitation. In particular, more work is needed to define the exact “proportion of transboundary basin” and what entails “an operational arrangement”. The report does provide some insights in this direction, especially for what it refers to as operational arrangements, and these insights can be a useful first start.

The SDG indicators will be confirmed later this year by the UN General Assembly paving the way for the monitoring of the implementation of the SDGs between now and 2030.