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Lack of international cooperation to manage shared rivers, lakes and aquifers could significantly delay the joint strategies required to address adverse impacts of climate change, a new report has found.
The report titled Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation was jointly published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 1, 2024.
It stated that 153 countries rely on transboundary waters flowing across or into other countries yet merely 28 per cent of these countries have effective agreements to co-manage most of these vital resources.
The report warned that if current trends persist, barely one-third of these countries will have effective co-management arrangements in place by 2030.
Also, only 43 countries having 90 per cent or more of their transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers basin area are covered by operational arrangements. Thus, an unprecedented effort is needed to meet sustainable development goal (SDG) target 6.5 which is concerned with progress on integrated water resources management.
The SDG 6.5 calls for ensuring that all transboundary waters are covered by such arrangements by 2030.
Around 50 per cent of the river basins have implemented coordinated or joint alarm systems for floods, and 45 per cent of basins have included preparedness for extreme events among the tasks of a joint body or mechanism.
However, only 14 per cent of basins have adopted a joint climate change adaptation strategy, only 20 per cent of basins have adopted a joint disaster risk reduction strategy, and only 30 per cent of basins developed coordinated or joint alarm systems for droughts.
“Where operational arrangements and joint bodies are absent, countries lack the foundations upon which tailored responses to climate change can be developed,” said the report.
It showed that the number of countries reporting their operational arrangements for 90 per cent or more of their transboundary waters is growing gradually. It increased from 30 in 2020 to 43 in 2023, although significant regional variations remain.
Meanwhile, Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the UNESCO, was quoted: “Only through cooperation with their upstream and downstream neighbours can countries effectively manage their shared waters and mitigate the impacts of floods and droughts, which are being exacerbated by climate and biodiversity disruptions.”
It is noteworthy that Europe, North America and sub-Saharan Africa showed the highest levels of transboundary water cooperation as 39 out of 84 countries have more than 90 per cent of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 16 countries have 90 per cent or more of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements in 2023 compared to five countries in 2020.
Sub-Saharan Africa has a long tradition of transboundary cooperation through basin organisations. Recent projects in the region have led to sustainable cooperation systems involving local authorities, scientists, and indigenous communities.
One such project is in Lake Chad, where UNESCO’s support has enabled the restoration of degraded ecosystems and the establishment of early warning systems to detect and monitor deteriorating water quality and the onset of droughts. The system, managed by eight countries, now benefits millions of people, including through the sustainable production of spirulina, a high-protein aquatic plant.
Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria, which border Lake Chad, have all joined the UN Water Convention to support joint management in the basin.
However, across Asia, Latin America and North Africa transboundary water cooperation is low — only four out of 68 countries sharing transboundary waters have 90 per cent or more of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements.
The report highlighted that cooperation is stronger when looking at river and lake basins compared to aquifers. As many as 41 per cent of countries sharing transboundary rivers and lakes (60 out of 148 countries) have operational agreements on their management covering most of these waters, compared to just 25 per cent of those sharing transboundary aquifers (37 out of 147 countries).