Highlights and images for 11 October 2018

On Thursday, MOP8 delegates began the day with continued discussion on reporting under the Water Convention, with a focus on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 6.5.2 (proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation). Speakers highlighted the breakthrough the SDG indicator represents, as transboundary water cooperation is now included in the global indicator framework for the SDGs and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Representatives of UN-Water, UNECE, and UNESCO also presented on progress on reporting. Delegates also discussed the opening of the Water Convention for adoption by countries outside the pan-European region, with the Secretariat commending Chad and Senegal as the first non-UNECE parties to join and noting that many other countries are in the process of joining. Mahamat Alifa Moussa, Secretary General, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Fisheries, Chad, and Niokhour Ndour, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Senegal, presented on lessons learned in the accession process. Delegates also addressed the Water Convention’s increased visibility, major milestones since MOP7, and plans for future work. Nine additional countries announced their intention to accede. Recalling that parties at MOP7 had decided to “make the Convention fit for its new global nature,” MOP8 adopted a new global strategy. The strategy includes key objectives to increase:

• awareness of and political support for the Water Convention;
• accession;
• support for implementation of the Convention and transboundary water management;
• support for implementation of water-related SDGs; and
• partnerships and synergies with other actors.

MOP8 also adopted decisions on: implementation and compliance; supporting application of the Water Convention through on-the-ground projects and capacity development; and the European Union Water Initiative and National Policy Dialogues.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and a summary report from MOP8.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

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Morning Session

View of the dais during the morning session

Péter Kovács, MOP8 Chair, Hungary

Alistair Rieu-Clarke, Water Convention Secretariat

Mahamat Alifa Moussa, Secretary General, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Fisheries, Chad

Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention, UNECE

Delegates during the session

Jamal Mohsin Ali, Ministry of Water Resources, Iraq

Niokhor Ndour, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Senegal

William Reidhead, UN-Water

Hayet Ben Mansour, Tunisia

Afternoon Session

View of the dais during the afternoon session

Dragana Jovanovic, Serbian Institute for Public Health, Serbia

Sibylle Vermont, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland

Christian Severin, Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Vladimir Mamaev, UN Development Programme (UNDP)

Marie-Flore Michel, France

Andrés Sánchez, Organization of American States (OAS)

Ababacar Ndao, Secretary General, Gambia River Development Organization (OMVG)

Francis Bougaire, African Development Bank (AfDB)

Aneta Nikolova, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

Sarangoo Radnaragcha, Regional Advisor for Environment, UNECE

Olcay Ünver, Vice-Chair, UN-Water

Attila Tanzi, Chair, Water Convention Implementation Committee

Carmen Neagu, Romania

Around the Venue

Delegates from Austria

Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention, UNECE, speaks with a delegate

Delegates speak informally

Objects brought by delegates that will feature in the art installation - a 'single river of objects' representing the cooperation between parties that is necessary to achieve the SDGs

Tools are lined up as the artistic installation gets underway

Materials on display around the venue

A photographic exhibit displaying the different water environments in Kazakhstan