April 2011: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has published a global review of legal and institutional frameworks for 28 transboundary surface water, groundwater and marine water systems covering the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The report also considers climate change adaptation knowledge in the various water basins analyzed.

The report was prepared under the UNDP-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Medium-Sized Project titled “Good Practices and Portfolio Learning in GEF Transboundary Freshwater and Marine Legal and Institutional Frameworks.” The project, with a life-cycle of three years, seeks to facilitate good governance and effective decision making in international waters through the identification, collection, adaptation and replication of beneficial practices and lessons learned from a wide range of experiences. The project focuses on institutional harmonization and strengthening, capacity building in regard to integrated water management, and forecasting the hydrological impacts from climate change and the anticipated responses to these changes.

The report’s analysis is organized by a common set of 18 criteria and is intended to provide information that can be used to support further research and analysis, with the ultimate goal of identifying a set of common elements of good governance for transboundary freshwater and marine water bodies as well as groundwater systems. This report is based on primary materials that establish legal and institutional frameworks, such as international agreements including treaties and conventions, where applicable, protocols or action plans.

The report is the result of a collaborative effort between UNDP, the University of British Columbia, the GEF and White & Case, a law firm that researched and drafted the report as an in-kind contribution to the project. [Publication: International Waters: Review of Legal and Institutional Frameworks – UNDP/GEF International Waters Project]