Reporting on transboundary water cooperation
The reporting exercises on SDG Indicator 6.5.2 and under the Water Convention are unique mechanisms for assessing the state of transboundary water cooperation worldwide. Countries sharing transboundary waters submit national reports every 3 years. Country reports provide information for the calculation of the national SDG indicator 6.5.2 values; they also offer a wealth of other important information on water management practices in transboundary basins, ranging from the scope of cooperative arrangements and joint body tasks, to countries’ difficulties and achievements in advancing transboundary water cooperation. For Water Convention Parties, the exercise also allows to track the progress in implementing the Convention.
Mandate
SDG target 6.5 calls for countries to “implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate”. Indicator 6.5.2, defined as the “proportion of transboundary basin area [within a country] with an operational arrangement for water cooperation”, was agreed by the UN Statistical Commission in 2016 and subsequently adopted in 2017 by the General Assembly as part of the Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNECE and UNESCO were entrusted as co-custodian agencies for indicator 6.5.2.
The adoption of the SDGs and their targets in 2015 coincided with the introduction of reporting under the Water Convention through decision (VII/2) at the 7th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention. To maximize the efficiency and create synergies between the two reporting processes, it was decided to combine them. Thus, Parties to the Convention fill out one template to report on SDG indicator 6.5.2 and under the Water Convention.
In 2018, the 8th session of the Meeting of the Parties adopted a revised template for reporting together with decision ECE/MP.WAT/54/Add.2 on reporting. In 2021, the 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties adopted decision ECE/MP.WAT/2021/6 on reporting that outlines the requirements for an online reporting system, to be developed for future reporting exercises. In the third reporting exercise, several questions related to gender were introduced into the template.
What is the current status of reporting on transboundary water cooperation?
The third reporting exercise was held in 2023/2024, with 80% of countries sharing transboundary waters and all Parties to the Water Convention submitting their national reports. The results and main outcomes of the third monitoring are presented in the third joint UNECE-UNESCO report on the Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation: Mid-term status of SDG Indicator 6.5.2, with a special focus on Climate Change – 2024 published on behalf of UN Water and in the third report on the Progress on transboundary water cooperation under the water convention: Third report on implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, 2020–2023, published by UNECE.
More information on the reporting process and the outcomes of the monitoring are available on the following webpages:
• Monitoring SDG indicator 6.5.2
• Reporting under the Water Convention
• First reporting exercise, 2017/18, on SDG indicator 6.5.2
• Second reporting exercise, 2020/21, on SDG indicator 6.5.2
• Third reporting exercise, 2023/24, on SDG indicator 6.5.2
• National country reports on SDG indicator 6.5.2
• Guidance materials and information for countries
• Workshops, events and meetings on reporting
• Reporting publications
