Monitoring, assessment and information sharing in transboundary basins

Monitoring, assessment and information sharing in transboundary basins

The Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment is one of the two main subsidiary bodies established by the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). It oversees activities in an area of work titled "Supporting monitoring, assessment and information-sharing in transboundary basins to address pressures on water resources". The objective of this area of work is to assist countries in initiating or further developing joint or coordinated monitoring and assessment of transboundary waters, covering both water quantity and quality aspects, and ensure exchange of information between riparian countries. The Working Group also seeks to facilitate reporting under the Convention and on Sustainable Development Goal indicator 6.5.2, support exchange of experience on water allocation in a transboundary context.

In the programme of work 2025-2027, the Working Group has been entrusted with new responsibilities in the area of conjunctive management of surface waters and groundwaters in a transboundary context and on water quality and pollution prevention and control.

Furthermore, this Working Group plays a leading role in the preparation of periodic assessments of transboundary rivers, lakes and groundwaters, the latest of which was published in 2011.

Monitoring and assessment are also integrated into thematic activities (e.g., transboundary freshwater and water-related ecosystems,  adaptation to climate change, water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus) and have been a component in projects on the ground.

Monitoring and assessment guidelines

Various guidelines on monitoring and assessment were developed in the 1990s and 2000s, tested in pilot projects on both surface waters and groundwaters. More recently, the publication Updated Strategies for Monitoring and Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters (2023) was prepared, as an update of a 2003 publication, to reflect the global experiences and technological developments in this area (see table below). Another new publication Good Practices and Lessons Learned in Data-sharing in Transboundary Basins (2024) was developed in 2022-2024 and launched at the 10th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention. 

Assessment of transboundary waters

The Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters under the Water Convention provides a comprehensive overview of the status of transboundary waters in the European and Asian parts of the UNECE region. The Second Assessment was launched at the Seventh Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" (Astana, Kazakhstan, 21-23 September 2011) to which it was one of the key inputs.

The First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters in the UNECE Region was published in 2007 on the occasion of the sixth Ministerial Conference which requested the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention to prepare the Second Assessment.

Compared to the first one, the Second Assessment is broader in ambition and scope: it has a more holistic approach, integrates surface and groundwaters, highlights legal, institutional and socio-economic aspects and emphasizes cross-cutting themes that are a challenge for transboundary waters, in particular the impacts of an adaptation to climate change. It covers pressure factors, quantity and quality status of waters, transboundary impacts, responses and future trends.

The Second Assessment is based on information provided by the countries of the region through nominated national experts or in some cases by river basin commissions. The Second Assessment seeks to inform, guide and stimulate further action by Governments, river basin organizations, the international community, including donors, and relevant non-governmental organizations.

The Second Assessment was prepared by sub-regions and a key step in its preparation was a series of sub-regional workshops on transboundary management of water resources where the participants worked together to form an accurate picture of all transboundary water. The sub-regional workshops - listed below - allowed for the sharing of good practices and the identification of bottlenecks and challenges as well as future options for each sub-region.

• Workshop on Western and Central Europe, 8-10 February 2011 in Budapest, Hungary
• Workshop on Central Asia, 13-15 October 2010 in Almaty, Kazakhstan
• Workshop on Eastern and Northern Europe, 27-29 April 2010 in Kiev, Ukraine
• Workshop on the Caucasus, 8-10 December 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia
• Workshop on South-Eastern Europe, 18-20 May 2009 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Events and capacity-building activities

Workshop on Strengthening Legal and Institutional Arrangements for Transboundary Water Cooperation and Data and Information Exchange (Beirut, 30-31 May 2023)

Expert Meeting on Good Practices and Lessons Learned in Transboundary Data Sharing (Geneva, 18-19 April 2023)

Regional workshop on monitoring, assessment and information sharing in transboundary basins in Central Asia (Astana, Kazakhstan, 1-2 February 2023)

Expert Meeting on Monitoring, Assessment and Data Exchange (Geneva, 13-14 April 2022)

Expert Meeting on Monitoring, Assessment and Data Exchange (Geneva, 1 April 2021)

Global Workshop on Data and Information Exchange in Transboundary Basins (Geneva, 4-5 December 2019)

Training Workshop "Strengthening the Basis for Exchange of Data and Information on Priority Themes" for the Drin River Basin riparian countries (Ohrid, North Macedonia, 2-4 July 2019)