January 2013: UN-Water released a series of information briefs to support discussions on water cooperation as part of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation. The topics of the briefs include: water cooperation; alternative dispute resolution (ADR); legal frameworks and institutional arrangements; financing; and information sharing and joint assessments.

The information briefs were released in advance of the International Annual UN-Water Zaragoza Conference 2012/2013, which took place from 8-10 January 2013, in Zaragoza, Spain. The brief on water cooperation defines water cooperation, addresses its importance for poverty reduction and equity, as well as for the preservation of water resources and protection of the environment. It outlines challenges, including: demand; water quality and quantity; infrastructure development; climate change; economic interests; and finance. The brief calls for multilevel, inclusive and innovative approaches for water cooperation.

The brief on ADR defines the concept of ADR and its challenges, outlines types of ADR, including mediation, negotiation and arbitration, and addresses how to apply ADR mechanisms to water conflicts.

The brief on financing discusses why financing is important to water cooperation, including capacity building and implementation of agreements, and identifies tools for, and sources of, financing transboundary water cooperation.

The brief on legal frameworks and institutional arrangements identifies their contributions to water cooperation, outlines existing legal frameworks including global rules and principles, and regional and bilateral instruments. The brief concludes with the conditions for successful transboundary agreements, such as: clear rights and obligations; measures for environment; dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms; clear yet flexible means of sharing water benefits; and ways to address risk and uncertainty.

The brief on information sharing and joint assessments emphasizes their importance for water cooperation, especially for building trust and developing a shared vision. The brief identifies sustainability of monitoring, quality systems, institutional arrangements for organization of joint monitoring and integration of transboundary monitoring in national assessment programmes as key conditions for success. [Publication: Water Cooperation] [Publication: Alternative Dispute Resolution] [Publication: Legal Frameworks and Institutional Arrangements] [Publication: Financing] [Publication: Information Sharing and Joint Assessments]