BRIDGE takes stock of over a decade of supporting transboundary water cooperation

News 26 Aug, 2024

BRIDGE takes stock of over a decade of supporting transboundary water cooperation

A new report��on the��Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) programme, outlining its trajectory of transboundary water management, was published by ��ϲʿ��ֳ�ֱ��for World Water Week 2024, happening this week in Stockholm, Sweden.��

The report firstly presents a summary of the unique approach of the BRIDGE programme, built over the last 13 years.��It then takes stock, reviewing key elements of the programme's approach in supporting effective water management arrangements, carried out in over twenty river and lake basins in various regions worldwide.��

Photo: Martin Heigan, flickr

The Report can be ��

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BRIDGE has been running since 2011, working towards the goal of securing sustainable development, livelihoods and peace through transboundary cooperation - the key objective for which Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) was conceived. It was built on the foundations of an earlier ��ϲʿ��ֳ�ֱ�� programme, the Water and Nature Initiative (WANI), consolidating and reconfirming the view that water governance capacity is built most effectively in a participatory process that is coordinated from local to national and transboundary levels.

We can now look back at a rich and dynamic process which has resulted in a broad spectrum of accomplishments – within the broader goal of strengthening water governance – in over 20 transboundary river and lake basins across the world. The aim of this document is to present a summary of the unique approach of the programme, as well as showcasing the trajectory of transboundary water cooperation approaches and milestones. These achievements and the approach taken reflect a history of consultation, participation, trust building and collaboration that ��ϲʿ��ֳ�ֱ�� has developed with a great many thoughtful individuals and influential organisations over the years, all working under the ultimate authority of national governments to achieve the desired results. ��

The Approach

The approach to water diplomacy and governance that has been applied in BRIDGE can be characterised as ‘multilevel’, joining the dots between high-level agreements and local processes. It is supported by a five-point programme strategy2 which has been applied in different ways in depending on the basin contexts, but always made up of the same fundamental constituents: demonstration, learning, dialogue, leadership development and technical support. The key to the style of work has therefore been flexibility and modular adaptation, providing support in a variety of ways, rearranging the sequence of programme activities, in response to the requirements of the basin, the stakeholders, the local context and the needs of the moment to achieve a wide-ranging fortification of water governance.

Continuing urgency of the work, after the BRIDGE has been crossed

In 2024, the work of BRIDGE continues to retain its urgency, given that conditions of water stress are still predicted to increase globally. Since its inception in 2011, international water law has been increasingly fortified, amongst others through the entry into force of the United Nations Watercourses Convention and the increasingly global adoption of the ‘Helsinki’ Convention3. Key principles of effective water governance have been discussed, synthesised and compiled4. In addition, global monitoring of progress on transboundary water management is taking place within the context of Sustainable Development Goal 6, indicator 6.5.2.

The global processes all encourage and require increased efforts to support transboundary cooperation mechanisms and provide the tools to make them effective on the ground, such as BRIDGE.