Improving Shared Water Resources Cooperation within the Framework of Global and Regional Agreements
Most Arab States depend for their water supply on shared water resources as two-thirds of all fresh water resources in the region cross one country border or more. The allocation of these resources among riparian countries has substantial environmental and socio-economic implications at the local, national and regional levels. Therefore, effective cooperation on the management and distribution of the scarce water supplies would contribute to the optimization in water resource allocation and use as well as alleviation of potential conflicts. In that respect, a common set of guidance principles was developed for shared water cooperation at the Arab regional level in response to a 2016 resolution by the Arab Ministerial Water Council (AMWC) of the League of Arab States.
In that context, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in collaboration with the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Ministerial Water Council of the League of Arab States, is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on “Improving Shared Water Resources Cooperation within the Framework of Global and Regional Agreements”. The meeting will be held from 6 to7 December 2018 at the United Nations House in Beirut, Lebanon.
The meeting aims to strengthen the capacity of ESCWA Member Countries to improve transboundary cooperation on shared water resources in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development implementation at the Arab regional level.
The first day of the meeting will examine opportunities and challenges of shared water cooperation taking into consideration the Arab region particularities. Discussions regarding the SDG on shared water cooperation (SDG 6.5.2) from an Arab regional perspective will also take place on the first day. The second day of the meeting is a closed meeting by invitation only from the League of Arab States dedicated for discussions on the draft guidance principles for shared water cooperation.