| Cross-border projects Coalition members
The Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition includes: Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Namibia, The Netherlands, Panama, Senegal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Uganda, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization of American States, World Bank, Global Environment Facility, UNECE, UNESCO, UNEP, UNDP, ESCWA, UNCDF, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), Centro Regional para la Gestión de Aguas Subteranneas de América Latina y el Caribe (CeReGAS), Global Water Partnership (GWP), IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Geneva Water Hub, EcoPeace Middle East and the University of Kinshasa.
flooding. The countries are intensively working together to decrease the potential risks of climate change and develop new approaches to flood management, including a combination of protection embankments, improved maintenance of the floodplains, and making reservoirs available in case of floods. The system is supported by state-of-the-art flood computer modelling technology. The Lower Mekong Basin (shared by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam), with its Mekong River Commission (MRC), is one of the most advanced basins in terms of transboundary climate change adaptation. The Water Convention supported the MRC in the initial development of their Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative, which was established in 2009. The Chu and Talas Rivers, shared by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, provide essential resources for irrigation of their vast agricultural lands, supporting the livelihoods of over three million people and providing opportunities for the generation of hydropower. All the facilities responsible for regulating the rivers, such as dams, water reservoirs and canals, are located upstream in the territory of Kyrgyzstan, which means that Kazakhstan is dependent on the operation and proper maintenance of these facilities. In 2002, the two countries signed an agreement to establish a legal basis for the joint operation of the water management infrastructure. A permanent commission has since been established to determine the operational regime for the water infrastructure, as well as their shares in funding the operation and maintenance costs. In 2017, the Water Convention supported the development of an assessment of resource management trade-offs and benefits across sectors to promote dialogue and the identification of joint actions in the Drina River Basin, which is shared by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. One of the strategies analysed was the coordinated operation of hydropower dams to maximise power generation at the basin level (rather than at the individual country level). Modelling showed that over the period 2017–2030, cooperative operation of hydropower dams could deliver more than 600GWh of electricity and cooperative action would create overall system savings of US$136million over the same period.
Broader cooperation Despite the successes outlined above, many of the
world’s transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers do not yet benefit from an operational arrangement for
transboundary water cooperation: only 24 of the 153 countries that share transboundary rivers, lakes, or aquifer basins, have all their transboundary basins covered by operational arrangements. In December 2022, over 30 governments and
organisations joined forces to form the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition. A multistakeholder partnership of governments, intergovernmental organisations, regional integration organisations, international financial institutions, academic institutions and civil society organisations, it
Working together
Bosnia and Herzegovina In a joint initiative led by the Energy Community Secretariat, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have established a cross-border dialogue working group to address the challenges surrounding the Buk Bijela hydropower project, which is situated on the border between the two countries. One of the key objectives of the cross-border dialogue working group is to adopt an inclusive approach by actively seek feedback and conduct consultations with the concerned public.
US
The US states of Arizona, California and Nevada have worked together to develop a plan to save water in the Colorado River System to help to stabilise the drought- affected system through to 2023, and build reservoirs back up in the near-term. “The entire Western United States is on the frontlines of climate change — we
must work together to address this crisis and the weather extremes between drought and flood,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “California has stepped up to make significant cuts to water usage and now, this historic partnership between California and other Lower Basin states will help maintain critical water supply for millions of Americans as we work together to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System for decades to come.”
Above: Drought on the Colorado River in the US has prompted water sharing agreements between states that share the river’s scare water supplies
www.waterpowermagazine.com | August 2023 | 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
