IUCN’s BRIDGE (Building River Dialogue and Governance) programme recently awarded Gender Grants to thirteen organisations from Africa, Asia, and South America, selected from over 130 applications. These grants aim to advance gender equality and women’s leadership in transboundary water governance, strengthening the role of women in decision-making and fostering resilient freshwater ecosystems.
The grants are divided into two complementary categories. Gender Mainstreaming Grants support River Basin Organizations and transboundary water institutions in integrating gender equality into their governance and operations. Women Leadership Grants focus on women-led or women-focused initiatives that enhance women’s leadership capacity in freshwater governance, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable management of shared basins.
Selected projects under the Gender Mainstreaming Grants include initiatives such as integrating gender-transformative water governance in the Mara River Basin (Kenya), CharLata (Bangladesh), and the Mekong Basin (Thailand), as well as building women-led water networks in Zimbabwe, Liberia, and Tunisia. These projects are designed to embed gender equity into institutional structures and decision-making processes at multiple levels of water governance.
Women Leadership Grants support initiatives that empower women to take active roles in freshwater management. Projects include strengthening women’s participation in Lake Chad (Chad), the Ruvuma Basin (Tanzania), freshwater governance in India through the “Jal Sakhi” initiative, indigenous water boards in the Amazon (Ecuador), advocacy and digital skills training for Lake Titicaca women leaders (Bolivia/Peru), and women-led stewardship and ecosystem protection efforts in the Mara River Basin (Tanzania) and Uganda.
With over a decade of experience spanning more than twenty transboundary river basins worldwide, BRIDGE strengthens water governance and diplomacy by promoting inclusive institutions, cross-border cooperation, water security, and biodiversity conservation. Central to the programme is the recognition that women’s voices and leadership are essential for fair, resilient, and effective management of shared water resources.
