22 March 2013: The Global Water Partnership (GWP) has released a report titled “Water: Catalyst for Cooperation” presenting water cooperation case studies from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, in the context of the GWP network and the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM).

The report highlights that cooperation starts at the local level and provides the basis for addressing water challenges through collective action. The case studies identify aspects of cooperation such as: learning by doing; building knowledge and skills; building shared understanding; raising awareness; sharing information; moving towards formal agreement; integrating water users into planning; and linking local, national and transboundary cooperation.

The report also highlights the work of the GWP Technical Committee in fostering knowledge sharing. The issues addressed in the report include: water scarcity in the Caribbean; municipal and wastewater management in Central America and the Okavango River Delta; climate change-related water variability in the Peruvian Andes and Africa; dispute resolution in Ethiopia; and flood management in Central and Eastern Europe.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) founded the GWP in 1996 to promote IWRM.[Publication: Water: Catalyst for Cooperation]