The OSS attended the 8th meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, which took place in Astana - Kazakhstan from 10 to 12 October 2018.
The meeting of the parties was an opportunity for the OSS to present the current study on Nexus "Water, Food Security, Energy and Ecosystems", in the Northern Sahara Aquifer System - SASS. Discussions were also held with participating countries and organizations on the results and opportunities for future activities related to transboundary water cooperation.
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes or the "Water Convention" of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE Water Convention) in English UNECE) is rather unknown to the general public.
However, it is a Convention that was born the same year as the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Climate Convention and the Convention on Biodiversity in 1992. Its main objective is to strengthen the measures taken in at the local, national and regional levels within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to protect and ensure the quality, quantity and sustainability of the resource in transboundary waters (ie a body of water crossing or bordering several countries).
The Water Convention has contributed to enhanced cooperation, conflict prevention and has been the basis for several transboundary water agreements in the region.