26 June 2014: Participants at the Neman Basin conference agreed that the consequences of climate change on water resources in the Neman Basin require basin-level action. The meeting took place within the context of a project on river basin management and climate change adaptation, which is led by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Belarus.

Participants from Belarus, Lithuania and the Russian Federation discussed the draft strategic framework for adaptation in the Neman Basin and options for strengthening transboundary cooperation in the basin. Recommendations on the way forward include expanding technical cooperation among basin countries and improving cross-border information exchange.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Environment hosted the meeting, which took place from 19-20 June 2014, in Vilinus, Lithuania. The ‘River basin management and climate change adaptation in the Neman River Basin’ is one of the pilot projects on climate change adaptation in transboundary basins under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses (UNECE Water Convention). The project aims to strengthen the capacity of Nemen River countries to adapt to climate change through cooperation and dialogue to design a transboundary adaptation strategy. [UNECE Press Release]