Indicator 6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation

Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Target 6.5: By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through trans boundary cooperation as appropriate

Indicator 6.5.2: Proportion of trans boundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation

November 2021

6.5.2, 6.5.1, 1.1.1 , 1.4.1, 2.4.1, 3.9.2, 4.7.1, 5.5.2, 7.1.2, 7.2.1, 11.5.2, 13.3.2, 14.1.1, 14.2.1, 15.1.2, 15.2.1, 16.1.2, 16.7.2, 17.9.1, 17.14.1

Ministry of Water and Environment

Ivan Biiza

Water and Environment Sector Liaison Department

Economist

+256 782 848455

P.O Box 20026, Kampala

Ivan.biiza@mwe.go.ug

Definition:

The indicator monitors the “transboundary basin” area within a country covered by an “operational” “arrangement for water cooperation”. Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational agreement or other arrangement for water cooperation. “basin area” is defined for surface waters as the extent of the catchment, and for groundwater as the extent of the aquifer. “arrangement for water cooperation” is a bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, agreement or other formal arrangement between riparian countries that provides a framework for cooperation on transboundary water management.

Criteria for the arrangement to be considered “operational” are based on key aspects of substantive cooperation in water management, such as: • the existence of institutional mechanisms, • regular communication between riparian countries, • joint or coordinated management plans or objectives, and • regular exchange of data and information.

Concepts:

The The monitoring has as its basis the spatial coverage of transboundary basins shared by each country, and focuses on monitoring whether these are covered by cooperation arrangements that are “operational”. The criteria to be met for the cooperation on a specific basin to be considered “operational”, seek to capture whether the arrangement(s) provide the basic elements needed to allow that arrangement to implement cooperation in water management.

Percent

N/A

Administrative data

Data on trans boundary basins and their operational arrangements has not been traditionally included within the National Statistical Systems. The National strategy in this case is to set water body specific forums which necessitate the representation of all the countries benefiting from that Water Body. Through these gazetted forum, there are expert teams set up to collect and submit data on the agreed on parameters by the respective countries. The results in this case are presented and approved by these respective Water Body specific foras and thereafter published in the Annual Performance reports for policy review and guidance.

Monthly

Financial Year.

Ministry of Water and Environment

Ministry of Water and Environment,

The mandate of the Ministry of Water and Environment among many others is to ensure the effective management of the water resources and sustainable water use in the country.

Development of water resources has impacts across transboundary basins, potentially on countries sharing transboundary basins, and use of surface water or groundwater may affect the other resource, which are often interlinked. Intensive water use, flow regulation or pollution risks going as far as compromising the development aspirations of countries sharing transboundary basins and therefore transboundary cooperation is required.

The spatial information on transboundary surface water basins’ boundaries and the extent of the catchment areas are commonly available and essentially static; consequently, once determined, no updating need is expected.

Uganda as a country is having quite a number of water bodies shared with the neighboring countries. The Transboundary department in the Ministry of Water and Environment is entirely mandated to ensure the proper management of these water bodies. In so doing there are several cooperation treaties and agreements that are in place to guide this process.

In the case of spatial data: For the basin delineations, Digital Elevation Model information can be used to delineate surface water basin boundaries.

In the case of groundwater, uncertainty about transboundary nature remains unless investigations of hydraulic properties have been made.

Computation Method:

Step 1: Identify the transboundary surface waters and aquifers in the territory of the country While the identification of transboundary surface water is relatively straightforward, the identification of transboundary aquifers often requires more considered investigations.

Step 2: Calculate the surface area of each transboundary basin and the total sum Commonly at least the basins of the rivers and lakes have been delineated through topographic maps and the basin area is known or easily measurable. The total transboundary surface area in Uganda is the sum of the surface areas in the country of each of the transboundary basins and aquifers (expressed in km2). Transboundary areas for different types of systems (e.g. river and lakes basin and aquifers) or multiple aquifers may overlap. The area of transboundary aquifers, even if located within a transboundary river or lake basin, should be added to be able to track progress of cooperation on transboundary aquifers. The calculations can most easily be carried with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Once generated, with appropriate tools for spatial analysis, the shapes of the surface river and lake basins and the aquifers can be used to report both disaggregated (for the surface water basin or aquifer) and aggregated (agreement exists on either one).

Step 3: Review existing arrangements for transboundary water cooperation and verify which transboundary waters are covered Some operational arrangements for transboundary water cooperation in place cover both surface waters and ground waters (and their associated river and lakes basins and aquifers). In such cases, it should be clear that the geographical extent of both is used to calculate the indicator value. In other cases, the area of application may be limited to a border section of the river basin or sub-basin and in such cases only the corresponding area should be considered as potentially having an operational arrangement for calculating the indicator value. At the end of this step, it should be known which transboundary basins are covered by arrangements for transboundary water cooperation (and their respective areas).

Step 4: Check which of the existing arrangements for transboundary water cooperation are operational The following check-list allows countries to determinine whether the cooperation arrangement on a particular basin or in relation to a particular country is operational:

• does a joint body or mechanism for transboundary water cooperation exist?
• are there at least annual (on average) formal communication in form of meetings, either at the political and/or technical level?
• has a joint or coordinated water management plan(s), or of joint objectives been adopted?
• is there at least annual (on average) exchange of information and data?

If any of the conditions are not met, the arrangement for transboundary water cooperation cannot be considered operational. This information is currently available in countries and can also be withdrawn from global, regional or basin databases.

Step 5:

Calculate the indicator value Calculate the indicator value, by adding up the total surface area in the country of the transboundary surface waters or aquifers that are covered by an operational cooperation arrangement and dividing it by the total summed up area in the country of all transboundary basins (including aquifers). The sum should then be multiplied by 100 to obtain a percentage.

Concerning arrangements, consistency of information reported by countries sharing the same transboundary basins can be used to fill gaps in information about arrangements and their operationally.

The validation of the data collected for this indicator is done through a consultative process from the various stakeholders who are majorly committed to the agreements in place. Then the SDG 6 secretariat is the mandated body to undertake the final check.

None

The data is reviewed and qualified on a routine basis before it is submitted to the SDG secretariat which eventually captures the eventual results for publication under the indicator. The Transboundary department which represents the country on the respective basin fora for the different water bodies collects and updates data.

The revised draft survey findings are validated at a multi-stakeholder workshop including water user associations, private sector, interest groups concerned with e.g. environment, agriculture, poverty, and academia. Other alternative means of consultation like emails or online call for public submissions are considered.

In addition, SDG focal point officers discuss with relevant officials and consolidate the input into a final version which is the basis for calculating the degree of IWRM implementation (0-100) for global reporting.

The Ministry then submits the final indicator score to UBOS for reporting on SDG data.

None

Data availability: Annually

Disaggregation: National and Basin

Sources of discrepancies:

As the computation of the indicator is based on the spatial information (“transboundary basin area”) and operationality of arrangements as the two basic components, differences can arise in the computation of each of these components individually. The difference in the consideration of the operationality of the arrangements may arise from not identifying the same arrangements or considering differently the four criteria that serve as the basis for the operationality classification:

• existence of a joint body or mechanism for transboundary cooperation
• regularity of formal communication in form of meetings
• existence of joint or coordinated water management plan(s), or of joint objectives
• • regularity of the exchange of information and data

Annual Water and Environment Performance Report. The NBI annual Performance reports.