Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation – 2024 Update
Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation – 2024 Update
01 October 2024
Target 6.5 is: “By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.”
Indicator 6.5.2 looks at the area of a country within transboundary basins and assesses the extent to which that area is covered by operational cooperation arrangements. Transboundary basins are river, lake and aquifer systems shared between two or more countries. Arrangements are “operational” when there is a joint body, meetings between countries take place and information is exchanged at least once per year, and joint or coordinated management plans or objectives for the basin(s) have been set.
Transboundary waters are of great significance globally. An estimated 313 rivers and lakes, and 468 aquifers, are shared by two or more countries, and a total of 153 UN Member States are reliant on waters that either flow from or flow to another country. Transboundary rivers alone account for 60 per cent of the world’s freshwater flows, and river and lake basins are home to more than three billion people.
This report presents the global status on transboundary cooperation and acceleration needs to achieve target 6.5 by 2030, based on the latest data on indicator 6.5.2.
The global average of the SDG indicator 6.5.2 value is 59 per cent .This means that, for the 117 countries where the SDG indicator can be calculated, on average, a country has 59 per cent of its transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements. This figure has not changed significantly since 2017 and 2020. A significant portion of transboundary basin area therefore remains uncovered by cooperative arrangements.
Transboundary water cooperation holds huge potential in supporting sustainable development and climate action
While transboundary water cooperation is essential for advancing sustainable development and addressing climate change, only 43 out of 153 UN Member States sharing transboundary waters have 90 per cent or more of these waters covered by cooperative arrangements that are operational, and over 20 countries lack any such arrangements. Europe, North America and sub-Saharan Africa show the highest levels of cooperation – with 39 out of 84 countries having 90 per cent or more of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements; whereas across Asia, Latin America and North Africa only 4 out of 69 countries have 90 per cent or more of their basin area covered.
On climate change and disaster risk reduction, some progress can be seen, but the number of transboundary basins with joint climate change adaptation strategies, and joint disaster risk reduction strategies remains low. Moreover, where operational arrangements and joint bodies are absent, countries lack the foundations upon which common responses to climate change can be developed. Ensuring that all transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers are covered by operational arrangements by 2030 will require an unprecedented effort.
Only 43 countries have operational arrangements covering 90 per cent or more of their shared water basins
Source: https://www.unwater.org/publications/progress-transboundary-water-cooperation-2024-update
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