Negombo, Sri Lanka, May 15: The 8th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC-8) wrapped up on Sunday after a week of in-depth discussions and expert dialogues on how to speed up and improve the world’s response to growing pressure on fresh and marine water resources.
Oceans are vital for regulating the climate, maintaining biodiversity and for global food security. While, transboundary water resources, whether rivers, basins or aquifers, link populations of neighboring countries and support the incomes and livelihoods of billions of people worldwide.
Yet, today, oceans are rapidly being degraded. Almost 60% of fish stocks are estimated to be fully exploited, while coral reefs—home to 25% of all marine species—are particularly threatened. And, our planet’s freshwater sources are being rapidly degraded by a range of global pressures such as population growth, pollution, food shortages and a changing climate.
In response to such challenges, over 80 countries met at IWC-8 in Sri-Lanka and lessons from 70 active projects were shared to help address the conference theme of Scaling Up Investments from Source to Sea in the Context of Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event was also an opportunity to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of the GEF and the International Waters Focal Area.
Speaking at the high level closing session Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF stated: “The GEF International Waters portfolio is a clear testament to how countries have come together to formulate scientifically based plans and concrete investment strategies leading to high level political agreements to safeguard shared common resources. We are not finished yet, but we are on the right path, showcasing to the international community that even though transboundary water cooperation on shared resources is difficult, it is possible. I am proud of these achievements and I am looking forward to see more good examples of transboundary water cooperation in the future.”
The GEF, as the largest financier of cooperation in shared waters systems, occupies a unique space in the international sphere to facilitate nations’ delivery towards a suite of the SDGs, with a specific focus on SDG 6 (Water and Sanitation) and SDG14 (Life below Water), in the process leading to sustainable management of shared aquifers, lakes, rivers, large marine ecosystems and open oceans. The GEF International Waters program has funded, since its inception in 1991, a total of 242 projects with a portfolio amounting to a total of $10 billion in combined GEF grants and co-financing from countries, donors, NGO’s and the private sector, in 170 different GEF recipient countries, delivering substantive results and replicable experiences to be scaled-up and mainstreamed globally.
Through carefully crafted sessions and three tracks of thematic pillars the participants explored and deliberated on a range of issues, such as cooperation frameworks, investment tools, sharing of technical and political solutions and techniques. While delivery of SDGs from Source to Sea was the overarching theme of the conference, multiple sub-themes also received attention, and stimulated vibrant discussions, including, the water-energy-food nexus; the linkage of data management to policy; approaches to private sector engagement; gender mainstreaming; catalyzing sectoral transformation; strengthening transboundary waters governance, including the links to regional investments; and scaling-up project demonstration investments. Projects produced posters showcasing how they each deliver tangible results on the ground and how these results are directly linked to assisting the nations involved delivery towards the SDGs. The GEF launched the new “From Coast to Coast” publication presenting impact of GEF waters projects over the years, and “Scaling up Community Action for International Waters Management” together with the GEF Small Grants Programme SGP. Participants also embarked on technical site visits which included field visits to review water management practices in Sri Lanka, in both the public and private sectors and in both terrestrial and marine waters.
The GEF CEO Naoko Ishii and participants praised the utility of the GEF’s knowledge management mechanism, IWLEARN, as a tool for countries to deliver against the SDGs. She also called for strengthening IWLEARN by ensuring stronger links to the Private Sector and civil society in general. The GEF Biennial International Waters Conference is the signature learning event for the GEF International Waters portfolio of projects, coordinated by IWLEARN (www.iwlearn.net).
The IWC’s have previously been held in Hungary, China, Brazil, South Africa, Croatia, Australia and Barbados. The IWCs build linkages between projects that span different but linked transboundary water ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes, aquifers, Large marine Ecosystems and Open Oceans. This year’s IWC hosted over 300 delegates, including government ministers from Seychelles, Maldives and Sri Lanka, representatives of GEF beneficiary countries, non-governmental organizations, transboundary waters management institutions, United Nations Agencies, GEF International Waters project managers and staff. An additional two days were devoted to a special roundtable meeting with the international private sector that underlined the significant role companies can and should play in water projects.
RESOURCES
Wrap up videos for each day:
Check the special SGP promotion of their most successful projects on water:
- Video: “International Waters, IWC8”
- Publication: “Scaling up Community Action for international Waters management – Experiences of the GEF Small Grants Programme”
Additional Resources:
- “From Coast to Coast”, latest GEF IW publication
- IW:LEARN website with presentations and more resources: www.iwlearn.net
- Follow the continued conversation on Twitter under #IWC8 as well as the live blog of the conference at: https://openchannels.org/chat/IWC8