The inaugural Pan-Asia Training on International Water Law (IWL), convened by UNECE in Bangkok, Thailand, and online, addressed the growing challenges of climate change, rising water demand, and development pressures on shared rivers, lakes, and aquifers. With 25 of Asia’s 30 countries sharing transboundary water resources, cooperation frameworks remain uneven despite progress in international water law. The training aimed to strengthen practical knowledge, legal capacity, and regional exchanges to improve governance and climate-resilient investment in shared waters.
Over 100 participants from governments, river basin organizations, civil society, academia, and development partners across Asia attended the training, engaging in discussions on legal principles, negotiation, implementation, and the challenges of managing transboundary waters in diverse political, institutional, and hydrological contexts. Keynote speakers emphasized the importance of cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and sustained dialogue, citing the Mekong experience as an example of building trust, reducing risks, and enhancing resilience through institutional mechanisms and shared legal platforms.
The training focused on the application of the two UN global water conventions, negotiation of agreements, water allocation, climate-resilient investments, and inclusive governance approaches that promote public participation, gender equality, and youth engagement. Participants also explored national reporting on SDG 6.5.2, linking cooperative legal frameworks to unlocking financing for sustainable water projects, and considered sub-regional trends and project-specific technical guidance.
Interactive sessions included simulations of transboundary basin negotiations, treaty drafting exercises, and peer-to-peer group work on current and upcoming projects. These activities emphasized the importance of integrating legal and institutional arrangements with scientific data, monitoring, investment planning, and the WEFE (water–energy–food–ecosystems) nexus to reduce conflict risks and support sustainable development.
Key takeaways from the training highlighted the urgent need to develop, strengthen, and modernize transboundary water agreements in Asia, the practical value of UN global water conventions, the importance of linking governance with data and finance, and the critical role of inclusive, participatory approaches in ensuring effective and durable cooperation. The training also fostered professional networks and peer learning, building long-term capacity for climate-resilient water governance across the region.
The Pan-Asia training sets the stage for stronger transboundary water governance in Asia and will feed into the upcoming Global Workshop on Developing, Revising, and Revitalizing Agreements for Transboundary Water Cooperation in Budapest, Hungary, scheduled for March 2026. Organized by the UN Water Convention and partners, the training received support from the European Union and the governments of the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Australia, among others, reflecting a strong commitment to cooperative water governance across Asia.
