Inter-governmental & Expert Consultations for Information Exchange on Shared Water Resources in the Arab Region: Lessons Learned & Good Practices from the Preparation of the ESCWA-BGR Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia Carol By Chouchani Cherfane, Chief, Water Resources Section Sustainable Development & Productivity Division, UN-ESCWA, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. Inter-governmental & Expert Consultations for
Information Exchange on Shared Water Resources
in the Arab Region:
Lessons Learned & Good Practices from the
Preparation of the ESCWA-BGR
Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia
Carol Chouchani Cherfane
Chief, Water Resources Section
Sustainable Development & Productivity Division
UN-ESCWA
LWDs, Amman, 16 December 2013

2. The Problematic: Which Comes First?
 Water scarcity and dependency on external water resources in the Arab
Region renders the management of shared water resources a matter of
national security.
 Information sharing and preparation of joint assessments of shared water
resources by riparian countries is thus relatively rare.
 The exception is between countries were a Basin Commission, Technical
Committee or Institutional Arrangement has been agreed to and established.
 International organization have long promoted the establishment of such
cooperative arrangements to support basin-level agreements for SWRM.
 The question is thus posed: Which comes first?
Information or Agreements on a shared water resource.
The Lesser Zab – Iraq

3. Mandates to pursue two-pronged approach
ESCWA and BGR thus collaborated to support Member States on 2 regional efforts:
Inventory of Shared
Water Resources
in Western Asia
Legal Framework for
Shared Water Resources
in the Arab Region
• Mandated by the ESCWA Committee
on Water Resources
• ESCWA-BGR Preparation: 2009-2013
• 9 Surface water basin chapters
• 17 Groundwater chapters
• 600 pages
• Mandated by 22 LAS countries of the
Arab Ministerial Water Council
• May 2011 initiated & on-going
• 3 Inter-governmental consultations + 4
AMWC Technical Committee Sessions
• 6 pages
Euphrates River – Syrian Arab – Iraq
The Lesser Zab Republic

4. Good Practice: Consultative Process
Inventory mandated by ESCWA
inter-governmental process
Implemented through
inter-governmental and
expert consultations.
CWR-9 Session
CWR-9 Session
First completed comprehensive
literature review and expert
meetings rather than requesting
countries to complete blank
questionnaires.
Country Focal Points were
consulted to review draft data
sheets for data confirmation and
elaboration.
Iterative review & consultation
with countries on content of
basin chapters to support their
finalization.
Field Trip
Expert Consultation
CWR-10 Session

5. Good Practice & Lesson Learned:
Addressing Surface & Groundwater Resources
- Inventory includes chapters on
shared surface (9) and
groundwater resources (17)
- Renewable groundwater and
surface water resources require
integrated management
approaches that respect
hydrology & hydrogeology
- Proved difficult to combine the
surface and groundwater
systems, but cross-referencing
pursued throughout the
Inventory, e.g., surface basin
chapters include groundwater
section.
- Preparation and vetting of
60 new basin maps & ~200
illustrations can now serve a
baseline for further dialogue.
Source: ESCWA-BGR Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia (2013)

6. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in
Western Asia — Main challenges
•
•
•
•
Data and information available to the public often outdated, obsolete,
contradictory or of different nature and scale.
Some information (especially recent data) classified in national databases and
unpublished reports.
Country submissions varied significantly in terms of scope, level of detail and
format; regional consultation sought to reconcile differences where possible.
Difficulties in receiving country data in a timely manner, last-minute
modifications has to be directly incorporated in layout versions.
Where differing or contradictory information was obtained from different sources,
the different data sets and arguments were all included and referenced to reflect a
range of findings and viewpoints
The Lesser Zab – Iraq

7. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in
Western Asia — Opportunities
• Basin-level dialogue is facilitated by a common starting point for information
exchange and cooperation, as provided by the Inventory’s basin chapters,
datasets and maps.
• Data can be debated at basin-level by riparian countries, which can provide an
opening for basin-level consultation and cooperation for joint assessments and
improved shared water resources management.
• Some countries already requesting support to this end.
• Inventory offers opportunity to inform the preparation of the Legal Framework
for Shared Water Resources in the Arab Region in pilot basins.
Stockholm World Water Week Launch (Sept 2013)
Beirut Launch Event /Press Conference (Oct 2013)
Euphrates River – Syrian Arab Republic

8. Thank You!
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
www.waterinventory.org
Email contact:
waterinventory@un.org
United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
P.O. Box 11-8575
Beirut, Lebanon