More than 15 countries express their interest to join the Water Convention at historic eighth Meeting of the Parties in Astana. As global momentum builds in support of transboundary water cooperation worldwide, more than 15 countries from outside the Pan-European region have announced their interest to ratify the Water Convention. These accessions can reinforce transboundary cooperation agreements all over the world, which is crucial, given that in most transboundary basins, cooperation is not fit to deal with the growing water crisis.

The 5th European Water Conference was jointly organised by the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment and the Austrian EU Presidency with the aim to review progress on the  implementation of EU water legislation.

Around 400 representatives from EU countries, stakeholder groups in relevant economic, social and environmental sectors, the European Commission, the European Environment Agency and other EU institutions had the opportunity to learn from each other's experiences in view of the next water planning cycles. The ongoing Fitness Check of the Water Framework Directive, its associated Directives and the Floods Directive, and the evaluation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) was also discussed.

Senegal is the second country outside the pan-European region to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention)*, the Secretariat of which is provided by UNECE. On 31 August 2018, Senegal presented its instruments of accession to the Water Convention to the United Nations in New York and its accession to the Water Convention will enter into force within the next 90 days. Senegal's accession to the Water Convention aims to support the efforts undertaken by the country in the sustainable management of its water resources. For more information, please follow the link.

The eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 10-12 October 2018. The meeting is organized by the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which services the Water Convention.

The 23rd World Water Week is held from 26 to 31 August 2018 in Stockholm, organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). This year’s World Water Week addresses the topic: Water, ecosystems and human development. For more information regarding the full programme of the World Water Week, please access the following link.

Water Issue group has been established in September 2000 to follow the work of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) which aims to ensure the sustainable use of transboundary water resources by facilitating cooperation. This issue group was coordinated by Anna Tsvetkova from Mama-86 organisation in Ukraine.