Transboundary Water Cooperation

1
Transboundary Water Cooperation Climate change

• Some important points

2
Setting the stage

• Nile Basin
• Governments have to deal with many issues and CC
  has to find its place in the priority order
  (MDGs, Poverty)
• Institutional issues are constraining
  transboundary cooperation (Cooperative Framework
  Agreement, NBI transforms to a River Basin
  Authority ? )
• Zambezi Basin
• Institutional issues ZAMCOM is about to be
  established and will be a vehicle to implement
  IWRM (incl. CC considerations)
• Water resources issues in Zambezi are more
  quality oriented than quantity oriented

3
Setting the stage

• Regional Climate Change Programme (SADC)
• Sub-regional priority mapping based on population
  pressure, economies, institutions, infrastructure
  and CC parameters
• CC is an important fator in regional security
• Mekong Basin
• Integration of national and regional CC
  adaptation strategies needed
• Important to share information and knowledge
  MRC is a vehicle for sharing

4
Setting the stage

• Egypts perspective
• Egypt depends totally on the Nile, which has a
  high sensitivity to CC
• Uncertainties in application of Global Climate
  Models is large predictions for the Nile flows
  ranges froma 30 increase to a 78 decrease

5
Key note addresses

• DIIS Research on 5 small basins
• Local level conflict studies indicate that the
  number of conflictive and cooperative events are
  almost the same at the momentbut CC may change
  this
• A trusted mediator is important in a conflict
  situation

6
Key note addresses

• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
• The need for more emphasis on DRR is intensified
  by CC
• Opportunity costs following a non-DRR approach
  need to be brought out clearly
• Droughts are the most important natural disasters
  in economic, social and environmental terms

7
Key note addresses

• UNECE experience laid down in Guideline
• Information management incl. joint information
  generation and uncertainties
• Financing systems are essential incl public and
  private adaptation funds, insurance, sharing of
  costs and benefits basinwide
• Floods - migration as a CC adaptation
• Strategies necessitated by higher global
  population, environmental degradation increase
  incl CC, increase in national disasters
• Important to understand the factors leading to
  migration looking for other means of living

8
Group discussions

• Three themes were discussed in terms of Lessons
  learned (looking back) and Recommendations
  (charting the way ahead)
• Institutional roles in relation to CC
• Policy development at transboundary level to
  address CC
• Actions and tools for CC and DRR
• Discussions were reported in plenary followed by
  plenary discussions and a panel discussion