Regional Dialogue - the approach

The Regional Dialogue aims to:

1. Facilitate sustainable management of transboundary basins at all levels by enabling improvement of capacities of institutions and other stakeholders on Transboundary Water Resources Management (TWRM).

This is pursued through the sharing of experience and knowledge at the regional and/or basin level, from work already undertaken in different transboundary river basins, international lakes and shared aquifers in SEE and beyond.

Roundtables at the regional and basin levels, Capacity Building Workshops, Study Visits, Studies and Assessments are used in this regard.

2. Stimulate the initiation of processes aiming the enhancement of cooperation at a basin level.

The same means as above are used as a line of systematic and successive actions, consistent with international and national political agendas:

- Regional Dialogues and Capacity Building Workshops on policy tools and “technical” instruments  to address TWRM issues, bringing up the benefits stemming from cooperation;

- Basin Dialogues facilitating a trust building process, organized as a response to interest expressed by key basin actors as a result of the Regional Dialogues;

- Systematic multi-stakeholders consultation processes at the basin level as a result of the Basin Dialogues.

The engagement of a “convening” power, in this case the Petersberg Phase II / Athens Declaration Process, under which key regional and national stakeholders as well donor countries act in coordination, pursuing partnerships is a crucial element of success.

Better management of transboundary water resources can make a substantial contribution in reaching sustainable water management hence ecologically-sound development.