UN WATER CONVENTION -
ENVIRONEMNT
News: Ivory Coast joins UN Water Convention as 10th
African nation
What’s in the News?
Significance of Water Resources:
- Africa’s water resources
have the potential to stimulate economic growth, secure livelihoods, and
alleviate poverty.
Transboundary Water (TBW) Resources:
- 63 international
transboundary river basins cover about 62% of Africa’s land area.
- These basins account for 90%
of Africa’s total surface water.
Ivory Coast's Accession:
- Ivory Coast’s accession to
the UN Water Convention is a milestone for multilateralism and strengthens
water cooperation in Africa.
Role of the UN Water Convention:
- Supports water cooperation
for peace, sustainable development, and climate change adaptation across
borders.
- Facilitates cooperation on
surface water and groundwater.
Requirements of the Convention:
- Parties must prevent,
control, and reduce negative impacts on water quality and quantity across
borders.
- Use shared waters in a
reasonable and equitable way.
- Ensure sustainable
management through cooperation and establish joint bodies.
Transboundary Aquifers:
- 40% of Africa is situated on
transboundary aquifers.
- 33% of Africa’s population
(381 million people) reside on these aquifers.
- Groundwater reserves are
crucial for climate change adaptation as they are less susceptible to
climate change impacts.
Example of Cooperation:
- In September 2021, the UN
Water Convention supported an agreement among Gambia, Guinea-Bissau,
Mauritania, and Senegal for the management of the Senegal-Mauritania
Aquifer Basin.
Global Participation:
- 20 more countries, including
several in Africa, are in the process of joining the UN Water Convention.
- Botswana is among the
countries confirmed by UNECE in October 2023 to be joining the convention.
UN WATER CONVENTION
- It is an international environmental
agreement and one of five UNECE's negotiated environmental treaties
- Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) was
adopted in Helsinki in 1992 and entered into force in 1996
- The
Convention is a unique legally-binding instrument promoting the
sustainable management of shared water resources, the implementation of
the Sustainable Development Goals, the prevention of conflicts, and the
promotion of peace and regional integration.
Sources: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/africa/ivory-coast-joins-un-water-convention-as-10th-african-nation