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The News N° 26 -March 2016
The topics of river basin management
and transboundary cooperation, on the
one hand, of education and vocational
training on water, on the other, were
widely discussed during the 7
th
World
Water Forum inKorea and tangiblepro-
gress has been achieved!
The International Network of Basin
Organizations (INBO), UNESCO, UNECE,
OECD, theGEF, SIWI, IUCN, GreenCross,
IOWater, ANBO, the International
Network of Water Training Centers
(INWTC), the Youth Parliament for
Water, K-Water,…were entrusted with
the coordination, together with their
many partners, of more than a dozen
thematic or regional official sessions
entirely devoted to these issues and
that have required a wide preparatory
mobilization formore than a year.
These sessions allowed addressing the
topics of integrated management and
governance in thebasinsof rivers, lakes
andaquifers,whether national or trans-
boundary,
aswell as the central issue of the
now essential adaptation to the effects of cli-
mate change onwater resources.
Issues, such as the statute and resources of
transboundary basin organizations, planning
procedures, implementation and financing of
joint infrastructure, establishment of integra-
tedwater information systems and exchange
of dataand informationamong riparian coun-
tries, implementation of UN Conventions,
better consideration of transboundary aqui-
fers and joint management of surface and
groundwater, users and citizens’ participation
in river basinmanagement aswell as
educa-
tion of the populations and improve-
mentofprofessional training for thedif-
ferent stakeholders involved,
were dis-
cussed indepthand illustratedby thepresen-
tation of many very practical case studies.
It is the same for the establishment,
strengthening and financing of water
training centers.
As part of the regional process,
and this
is an innovation, two
”Inter-Regional
Days”
wereorganized inGyeongju, firstly, by
the Africa - Arab Countries - Europe Regions
on ”cooperation to reduce conflicts and
improve transboundary water management”
and, secondly, by theAfrica - America - Asia -
Europe -Mediterranean Regions on ”adapta-
tion to the impacts of climate change on
water resources”.
A regional session ”Europe” showcased the
implementation of the European Water
Framework Directive and the preparation of
the next Basin Management Plans by the
28Member Statesof theEuropeanUnionand
associated neighboring countries.
Although there are still different sensitivities,
particularly on transboundarywatermanage-
ment, an overwhelming majority of partici-
pants converged on the relevance of national
and tranboundary basin approaches to
address themajor global challenges of water
resourcesmanagement.
The overall conclusions and recommen-
dations of the debates were, for the
first time in aWorldWater Forum, pre-
sented to the attendingMinisters, who
welcomed the many contributions and
efforts made by the regional and the-
matic processes.
On the themes of basin management, these
recommendations can be summarized as fol-
lows:
l
It is important to maintain and recover
sound water cycle through promoting
relevant international cooperation aswell
asmanagingwater cycle and river basins
in integrated and comprehensivemanner.
l
Cooperation and dialogues over trans-
boundary waters among riparian coun-
tries offer significant prospects for their
sustainable development, regional inte-
gration and enhancement of mutually
beneficial relations in economic, social
and environmental fields.
7
th
WorldWater Forum - Daegu-Gyeongju -
It is time to take stock of the situation… “Integrated river basin
The 16 themes coordinators at the Closing Ceremony -© IOWater - C.Runel
Closing Ceremony -© IOWater - C.Runel
inTeRnaTional evenTs
