The document summarizes Day 1 of a conference on water cooperation. It discusses insights from opening sessions on recognizing the needs of all water users, including future generations, and using dialogue and consensus building to resolve conflicts. Other sessions explored learning from experience in water cooperation, identifying challenges and successes. Key remarks emphasized using international conventions and alternative dispute resolution to prevent conflicts over water amid challenges of climate change, development and population growth. The document also summarizes discussions on furthering cooperation by addressing political risks and opportunities, with examples from the Sava River Basin, Hungary-Tisza cooperation, and Finland-Russia cooperation. Lessons highlighted the importance of long-term commitment, adaptive agreements, and empowering all stakeholders.

1. Recap Day 1
Josefina Maestu

2. Opening Session’s Insights I
• Not only upper riparian people must accommodate the
needs of their lower riparian neighbours, but any user
must recognize the legitimacy of the other users and
join with them to manage the common good.
• One important user is nature itself who needs water
for all its living creatures, but also provides high quality
water if her ecosystems are healthy.
• The future generations will rely on water cooperation.
• Dialogue and consensus building are called to be the
institutional framework for conflict resolution and
water governance.

3. The Conference Approach
• Learning from experience
• Emphasis on the means: thus showing the
importance of mediation, water diplomacy,
transboundary cooperation, information,
shared views and goals, voluntary approach,
dispute resolution.
• Identifying challenges, barriers, failures
• Learning from failure and building upon success
stories.

4. Opening Session’s Insights II
Sustainable water management is an enduring
collective entrepreneurship that may start with
the creation of a nucleus able to make
cooperation the instrument to guarantee the
preservation of natural capital while allowing
the covering water needs for life and the
equitable functioning of the economic system
(E.g. The Ebro experience).

5. Opening Session’s key remarks
• International conventions have been an important driver of transboundary cooperation:
“The globalization of the [Water] Convention should also go hand-in-hand with the
expected entry into force of the United Nations Watercourses Convention. These two
instruments are based on the same principles. They complement each other and
should be implemented in a coherent manner.”
• Climate change, economic development and population growth implies increasing
competition for water resources that might become a source of local, regional and
international conflicts
• However water has also proven to be a productive pathway to cooperation and conflict
prevention. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offer a set of approaches aimed at
resolving disputes in a non-confrontational manner. (litigation..
arbitration…..mediation…..Negotiation…)
• Confrontation, although possible, is not an alternative to negotiation: sooner or later
parties will need to or communicate for the purpose of influencing other party’s
decisions.

6. Session 1: Furthering water cooperation among nations and
stakeholders. Making it happen.
Cooperation: A Risk-Opportunity approach (The World Bank):
•While the associated economic benefits and costs of cooperation are generally well
analysed, the perceptions of decision makers regarding political risks and opportunities
have been much less explored.
•The critical institutional change that needs to be promoted is the shift in people’s
perception so that:
– Opportunities must be perceived as more important that the risks involved in cooperation.
– The benefits of agreeing are more significant than the opportunity costs of competing.
•In many countries risk reduction was an important pre-condition before countries
would progress to negotiated outcomes.
•Reduced risks provided sufficient motivation for countries to reconsider the
cooperation deal, and even sign an agreement.

7. Session 1: Furthering water cooperation among nations and stakeholders.
Making it happen.
The five main risk concerns The Seven Risk Reduction Strategies
•Capacity and knowledge (confidence in ability •Knowledge and skill Expansion
to negotiate a fair deal)
•Institutional design
•Accountability and voice
•Agreement design
•Sovereignty and Autonomy (ability to act in
the best interest of the country without constraints,
making decisions independently) •Program design
•Equity and access (Fairness of relative benefits •Financing and or guarantee
to country including timing of benefits and costs of
accessing the river)
•Facilitation (third party)
•Stability and Support (longevity of the
potential agreement, including ratification likelihood) •Decision legitimacy

8. Furthering water cooperation among nations and stakeholders. Making it
happen. Lessons from experience
• it is imperative to invest the necessary time and resources
to produce the most appropriate solution Fit for purpose remedies
rather than “model” river basin solutions are needed.
• Politics are difficult to predict, so anticipation is critical. Laying the
foundation for cooperation by reducing risks will prepare countries for deals.
• Long-term time commitment is needed. Cooperation takes several
years of planning, facilitation, and confidence building, often before formal
negotiations even begin.
• Deals are dynamic. Deals can be fragile, and fall apart or evolve and grow
into stronger and more sustainable arrangements. Periodic assessments are
needed.

9. The Sava River Basin Commission: an agreement
to manage disagreement
The Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin (FASRB) started after the war pushed up by several internal
factors and external factors(such as the need to preserve and promote economic development, voluntary
commitment to comply the WFD, the stability pact, UE accession process) but also with awareness raising.
• International frameworks enhanced cooperation and the need for a balance between environmental protection of
the basin and economic development of the countries
• Need for a new, international framework for water management on the basin level after geopolitical changes
• FASRB provides a solid basis for the IWRM in the basin, although rather demanding in terms of the need for
resources and continuous, joint efforts of the parties, challenging in terms of cross-sectoral cooperation.
• Countries have different interests but they became interested in contributing to the common goals (such as quality
even not being a national priority) for the sake of commitment and international reputation.
• A functioning Secretariat that helps build and maintain engagement and trust among the parties is fundamental.

10. La Albufeira: a long lasting adaptable cooperation
framework
• Since 1864 a dialogue have been a constructive strategy to share the
benefits of river use (for fishing, irrigation, hydropower, etc.)
• Opposed perceptions on the role and value of water are recognized but the
agreement is not the outcome of a conflict but of a long lasting good
neighborhood relationship
• Consensus is based on the recognition of other party interest. Loyalty and
trust is essential to make agreements enforceable and robust.
• The WFD allow to balance environmental protection with sustainable use of
water within the frame of International and EU law.
• A good agreement must have a sound technical basis. There is still scope to
advance in shared technical knowledge.
• Individuals, third parties and facilitators play a crucial role to enable stable
and effective cooperation.
• Moreover when water is abundant agreement is still easier than when in
drought periods.

11. Hungary Tisza Cooperation a gradual approach towards a
cooperative Integral Water Resources Management.
• Tisza Group, as part of the International Commission for the Danube Basin, is the
platform strengthening coordination and info exchange related to international,
regional and national activities.
• An example on how many international initiatives can jointly push cooperation at a
regional level (the EU, the ICPDR, the UNDP, the GEF and the UNEP Carpathian
Convention)
• Coherence with IWRM is guaranteed by the voluntary adherence to the WFD.
• Cooperation is cost effective.Monitoring is important, sharing reliable information
systems and sources can save money as efforts are coordinated.
• So far RBMP have been built but finance might not be ready. The main challenge still
is the PoM implementation.
• Local/regional issues remain a national task. Coordination efforts, conducted mainly
through the respective Ministries responsible for water and environment issues, have
been largely directed at inter-ministerial coordination.

12. Finland – Russia a working cooperation framework for
peace, the economy and the environment
• Since 1964 the Finnish Russian Agreement on the utilization of trans-
boundary watercourses provides an institutional setting able to adapt
to new demands, priorities and perceptions of water challenges (from
sharing the economic benefits at the star to environmental and health
concerns in modern times)
• Agreement based upon successful.
- Identification of shared interests and goals
- Analysis of multiple interests disregarding state borders
- Finding an optimal solution for sharing costs and benefits
(including agreements among private partners (companies).
- Participatory approach
- Long-term commitment
- Being open and transparent has increased trust between
partners.

13. Success stories of cooperation and their transferable
lessons learnt
Myanmar
- Identifying the appropriate level of intervention (ethnical, sectoral, country)
- Making sure that no partners is “more equal· than other partners, empowering
communities
- Ensuring funding is a challenge.
- Giving women a central role.
Basins in decentralized states
- Legal arrangements are critical.
- All decision levels needs to be considered and harmonized (national,
regional, local..)
- Funding is key to incentivize agreements
.

14. Senegal River Basin
- Political will might be the driving force of cooperation
- Equality concerns make agreements feasible and socially acceptable.
- Water is a matter of solidarity rather than competition.
- Financing and external support is critical for all parts to opt for cooperation rather than
competition. The key role of the Secretariat.
Africa
– There are two major factors that play a role:
• The rate of change within a water basin. Scarcity, economic growth, and population growth can
all affect the availability of water resources.
• The institutional capacity of the region; what Wolf calls “the human systems built to mitigate the
change.”
– It is possible to make people work together? (capacity, information, rules, etc.)
– External incentives for cooperation (if you go that way we will provide financial and technical support)
– Water must be part of the solution not of the problem. BUILDING PEACE TO IMPLEMENTING AN
ECOSYSTEM APPROACH.

15. Programme day 2
Water cooperation in rural areas and cities. Making it happen!
• Session 2: Furthering water cooperation in rural areas: making it happen!
• Session 3: Techniques and models to further water cooperation to improve
water efficiency and water services in cities
• Wrap up and take away lessons
Side events:
Intensively developed aquifers (Botín Foundation Water Observatory)
Informal meeting on the Post-2012 and ODS process (UNICEF, UN-Water)