Water is scarce, precious and under pressure.
It crosses borders and raises tensions among countries and people relying on it for life. Global Green and Green Cross stand behind a number of relevant UN conventions, and calls on states to sign, ratify, and then to fulfill their obligations under each of them. This will benefit their own populations and the world as a whole.
United Nations Watercourses Convention
Global Green/Green Cross is part of the group of NGOs pushing more states to ratify this convention, which achieved a major breakthrough in 2014 when the number of member countries reached 35 (the number required to bring it into force).
The UN Watercourses Convention establishes a framework for the utilization, development, conservation, management, and protection of international watercourses; whilst promoting optimal and sustainable utilization for present and future generations. See here for more details on this Convention.
UNECE Treaty on Watercourses
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) aims to protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of transboundary water resources by facilitating cooperation. It provides an intergovernmental platform for the day-to-day development and advancement of transboundary cooperation.
Partnerships
Global Green and Green Cross work with major partners such as WWF (World Wildlife Fund), IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and Dundee University’s IHP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science. We engaged in numerous awareness-raising initiatives and collaborate with governments to better manage international watercourses.
The Water Program continues to promote sound legal governance of shared waters and is now getting involved in next steps, such as implementation and joint promotion with the UNECE Water Convention (a formerly regional legal instrument which has now opened to global accession).
