Press Release

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Seminar on the UNECE Water Convention at the World Water Week Stockholm
19 August 2009

Geneva, 29 July 2009 --

UNECE will organise a seminar on its Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) in the framework of the World Water Week 2009, to be held in Stockholm from 16 -22 August.

Under the motto: “How a legal framework is making a difference on the ground”, the seminar will illustrate the practical usefulness of the Convention as a platform promoting action at different levels: from the development of strategic approaches for the whole UNECE region to concrete projects furthering cooperation in specific basins. Issues discussed will range from traditional aspects of transboundary cooperation - such as legal issues, monitoring and assessment, etc. - to emerging challenges such as climate change adaptation in the transboundary context.

The second part of the Seminar will focus on transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. Challenges and possible solutions will be discussed as well as the activities of the Water Convention in this sub-region, such as the recently started programme linked to the Berlin Water Process.

By presenting a broad range of experiences and lessons learnt under the Convention, the Seminar will demonstrate how a legal framework and its implementation have made a real difference, and can therefore also be of interest beyond the UNECE region.

The seminar, which will be chaired by Heide Jekel, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany, Chair of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, will be opened by Ján Kubiš, UNECE Executive Secretary.

The UNECE Water Convention, which was signed in Helsinki in 1992 and entered into force in 1996, provides a unique legal framework and practical support for transboundary water cooperation in the pan-European region, contributing to improving the management of shared waters.

The seminar is organised by UNECE, in cooperation with the Bureau of the UNECE Water Convention represented by the Governments of Germany, Finland and Switzerland, and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

The World Water Week in Stockholm, organized since 2005 annually by SIWI is an important meeting in the global water agenda which promotes the exchange of views and experiences between the scientific, business, policy and civil society communities, thereby advancing the water, environment, health, livelihood and poverty reduction agendas.

The programme of the seminar is available on the Water Convention webpage. For more information on the World Water Week 2009 click here.

For more information, contact:

Ref: ECE/ENV/09/P19