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iplomacy

governments, requiring their ultimate agreement,

but which also unlocks cooperation among multiple

stakeholders, including municipalities and prov-

inces. Working broadly as a multi-level governance

process, water diplomacy can better integrate govern-

ments’ priorities for national resource security and

economic growth while providing a means to inte-

grate biodiversity conservation into frameworks for

water management.

Water management is also a technical issue that is

strengthened by scientific knowledge and informa-

tion. Effective water diplomacy is therefore the art of

building and facilitating the convergence of technical

expertise, information, stakeholder dialogue and local

and international politics. It calls on national and local

politicians, decision makers, scientific and technical

experts to work together toward negotiated agreements

on policies, laws and institutions that can be imple-

mented for transboundary water management.

Building bridges for water cooperation

IUCN’s Building River Dialogue and Governance

(BRIDGE) project strengthens transboundary water

cooperation by incorporating the interests of multi-

ple stakeholders into dialogue and negotiation over

transboundary waters, enhancing participation and

building agreement between water users. This creates

an environment and capacity where governments and

stakeholders can work together to address priorities at

local, national and regional levels. Water cooperation

can then deliver a broader set of solutions than is likely

through negotiations constrained to high-level, state-

to-state processes.

livelihoods. Inland water ecosystems are subjected to massive

changes due to multiple pressures, and biodiversity is lost more

rapidly than in other types of ecosystem. More integrated manage-

ment of freshwater ecosystems will help reduce negative impacts

from competing pressures.

Protecting biodiversity depends on sustainable water manage-

ment. This requires good governance which, in turn, requires

water governance capacity. Without governance capacity, even

given the greatest political will and motivation, poor management

practices can persist leading to ecosystem degradation and reduced

livelihoods. To build governance capacity, effective tools need to

provide a sustainable connection between ecosystems and those

managing them. Water diplomacy bridges the gap between sustain-

able management practices, good governance and water users at

multiple levels.

Water governance and cooperation

Water governance sets the ‘rules of the game’ for the way water

is managed. It determines how, or whether, water resources are

managed sustainably. Poor water governance results in loss of

biodiversity through degradation and over-allocation of water

resources, and leads to weaker and less resilient livelihoods and

economic growth.

Policies, laws and institutions are the three pillars of water govern-

ance within a country and in a transboundary basin, where they are

complemented by the agreements negotiated between basin coun-

tries. For this governance to be effective, countries need to develop

their own water governance capacity through transparent, coherent

and cost-efficient policies, laws and institutions.

Experience from the IUCN Water and Nature Initiative shows

that water governance capacity is built most effectively where all

stakeholders participate, with coordination at local, national and

transboundary levels.

In practical terms, the coordinated development and reform of

policies, laws and institutions needed to build this capacity takes

place through the integration of several elements:

• demonstrating tangible benefits from improved water resource

management for social and economic development at local,

national or river basin level

• learning, capacity building and knowledge exchange among

decision makers and stakeholders

• multi-stakeholder dialogues and forums to build consensus and

coordinate decisions

• support for national policy, legal and institutional reforms

• international cooperation in transboundary basins.

Water diplomacy

Ever since two Sumerian city-states signed the first known water

treaty in 2500 BC ending a water dispute along the Tigris River,

water has been the subject of cooperation more often than conflict.

Today, over 3,600 international water treaties exist.

Water diplomacy enables countries to negotiate agreements on

water management. The importance of water for development and

poverty reduction at local levels means that agreements among

national governments often do not lead, by themselves, to imple-

mentation. For transboundary agreements on water management

to work on the ground, they need the agreement of water users

at multiple levels of governance. Water diplomacy should be a

process which operates under the authority of sovereign national

In the Sixaola basin, shared between Panama and Costa Rica, efforts

to improve water governance capacity are paying off