Protection of Transboundary Surface and Groundwaters

Globally there are 263 watersheds that cross the political boundaries of two or more countries; these watersheds represent about one half of the earth's land surface and 40% of global population,  underscoring the need for multi-country cooperation in the management of shared waters including rivers, lakes and aquifers. These shared water systems are under threat from pollution, inefficient  water use, habitat loss and climate change and can become the source of local and regional conflicts. UNDP-GEF's Shared Waters programme assists groups of countries sharing such waterbodies to  identify priorities and agree upon regional and national governance reforms to promote integrated, ecosystem-based, climate resilient approaches to shared water resources management.

UNDP has been involved as a GEF Agency in a total of 19 transboundary river (1 0), lake (7) and aquifer (2) projects and has cumulatively programmed USD 176 million of GEF funding towards managing transboundary surface and groundwaters.
 

Projects

Programme Support for Climate Change Adaptation in the Vulnerable Regions of Mopti and Timbuktu

The "Programme Support for Climate Change Adaptation in the Vulnerable Regions of Mopti and Timbuktu" project in Mali will work to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities and their adaptive capacity to climate change in the regions of Mopti and Timbuktu, including the Faguibine system zone.

Enhancing “whole of islands” Approach to Strengthen Community Resilience to Climate and Disaster risks in Kiribati

The United Nations Development Programme is working with the Government of Kiribati to develop a project proposal for a new US$9 million grant proposal for the Global Environment Facility Least Developed Countries Fund. The proposed "Enhancing 'whole of islands' Approach to Strengthen Community Resilience to Climate and Disaster Risks in Kiribati" project will include US$45 million in co-financing.