Free Flow

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ater

iplomacy

In the Lake Titicaca basin shared by Peru and Bolivia, BRIDGE

has focused on fostering dialogue and cooperation through agree-

ments on knowledge and information. BRIDGE facilitated direct

collaboration between the national hydrometeorological insti-

tutes of Bolivia and Peru to develop a water information system

and management platform. While cooperating on maps and data

sharing, a dialogue on management of the lake system was begun,

involving the Lake Titicaca Authority, national water agencies of

Peru and Bolivia and, for the first time, municipalities and local

stakeholders. While working to widen stakeholder involvement,

BRIDGE responded to requests from Peru and Bolivia for train-

ing on the principles of transboundary water governance. Both

sides, supported by BRIDGE, agreed that fundamental reform of

the Lake Titicaca Authority was needed, to make it a more repre-

sentative and effective transboundary basin organization that both

implements technical projects and takes the lead on promoting

cooperation through multi-level participation and effective trans-

boundary water resource management.

Steps toward greater cooperation

To build water diplomacy in practice, BRIDGE uses a basic frame-

work of demonstrations and multi-stakeholder participation that

integrates five elements:

•

Demonstration

– demonstrating and testing ways to make

cooperation operational in a basin as the basis for confidence

and trust building, shared learning and joint action to build

national and transboundary water governance capacity

•

Learning

– training and capacity building in water governance,

international water law and benefit sharing for multiple

stakeholders at municipal, civil society and national levels

•

Dialogue for consensus building

– using demonstrations

and learning events to catalyse new dialogues on technical,

development and political matters

•

Leadership

– supporting champions who can effectively

advocate for the mobilization of water diplomacy for

transboundary water cooperation and better water governance

•

Advisory/support facilities

– providing advice and technical

assistance on water governance to governments and stakeholders,

including effective institutional and legal frameworks, promoting

the application of lessons learned and demonstrating results in

regional and global transboundary hotspots.

By demonstrating howwater diplomacy functions at the local level, the

first phase of BRIDGE showed that local-level cooperation can be scaled

up to reachmultiple levels. The second phase strengthens this approach

by reinforcing demonstrations of cooperation at the watershed level

and, recognizing that formal agreements require the legitimacy and

authority of states, placing more emphasis and resources on capacity

building and technical support at the national level.

Additionally, many regional institutions are playing a larger role

in promoting cooperation through transboundary water governance.

The second phase of BRIDGE seeks to intervene in new entry points

with regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations, the Andean Community of Nations and the Central

American Integration System, emphasizing the principles of inte-

grated water resources management and international water law.

Further developing cooperation through local leadership and

advocacy of transboundary water management, BRIDGE will

continue to support and develop the Champions Network to

promote exchange and empower local stakeholders.

Local actors have a potentially tremendous influence

on cooperation in transboundary watersheds, creating

platforms for sharing knowledge and experience and

reinforcing sustainable practices on water manage-

ment, thus putting water diplomacy into practice on

the ground. By continuing to build and strengthen good

water governance through water diplomacy, water users

have the basic building blocks for cooperation on water

supply, quality and protecting ecosystems, thereby

preserving the rich biodiversity on which their health

and livelihoods depend.

The Champions Network: locally driven

transboundary cooperation

The Champions Network was created to promote exchange

and empower local stakeholders in transboundary water

cooperation. “Water diplomacy has to happen under the

authority of national governments, but water accords need the

agreement of local users,” says Mark Smith, Director of the

Global Water Programme at IUCN.

Shortly after their first regional meeting in May 2012, lead

coordinator Mitzela Dávila and 14 network members – from

four transboundary regions and eight countries in Mesoamerica

– decided to recruit reticent local officials into discussions over

shared national watershed management. The group adopted

the slogan ‘vamos pa´lante’ (‘Let’s get moving’).

“They agreed that they had to get the mayors to come to their

next regional meeting,” recalls Rocio Córdoba, coordinator of

the Livelihoods and Climate Change Unit of IUCN’s regional

headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. “Mostly vice-mayors

showed up – but even that was remarkable given the

previous lack of interest by local officials and the fact that

most of them had to travel hundreds of kilometres from their

home countries to Guatemala, where the meeting was held.”

In the Las Tablas community of the Sixaola River basin, where

Dávila lives, a representative of the Champions Network has

been invited to sit on an important transboundary committee,

creating a link between this official body and the communities

affected by its decisions. “Since we have someone on the

commission, we know what is going on,” says Dávila. “We can go

to a community and tell them what the commission is doing. And

we can take information from them back to the commission.”

Initial successes have fuelled more enthusiasm and even

greater ambitions. “In our meetings, we have shown that we are

united as a network,” says Dávila. “We think we can work at an

even higher level – at the regional level or even beyond.”

A Champions Network meeting in San Marcos, Guatemala