Mid-term status of SDG Indicator 6.5.2, with a special focus on Climate Change

On October 1st, UN-Water announced the publication of the third progress report on transboundary water cooperation, which is monitored globally with the use of indicator 6.5.2, tracking cooperation between countries on shared river and lake basins as well as aquifers. In the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on water and sanitation, countries provide regular progress updates on eleven separate indicators, each representing a different aspect of the global goal. This information is collected through UN-Water’s Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 .

Indicator 6.5.2 tracks the percentage of transboundary basin area within a country that has an operational arrangement for water cooperation. This ‘arrangement’ could be a bilateral or multilateral treaty, a convention, an agreement or any other formal arrangement between countries that provides a guiding framework for cooperation on shared water resources. For an arrangement to be considered ‘operational’, a number of conditions need to be met. Firstly, there should be a joint body in place which is formally tasked with overseeing this cooperation. Secondly, there should be real communication taking place: there should be regular, formal communication (at least once a year) between countries sharing a water resource. Third, there need to be shared or coordinated management plans or objectives for this cooperation. And lastly, there needs to be a regular exchange of data and information between countries – again at least once a year.

The third progress report reflects data submitted during the 2023 reporting cycle. In this reporting cycle, a total of 129 countries submitted responses, representing 84% of all countries sharing transboundary waters with other countries. Not all countries have data on the basis of which it is possible to report on this indicator, and therefore a total of 117 countries have reported on indicator 6.5.2 in 2023. The data shows that on average, these countries have 59% of their transboundary basins covered by an operational arrangement. Importantly in terms of progress reporting, this figure is unchanged since the earlier reporting cycles in 2017 and 2020.

Nevertheless, there are 43 countries which report having more than 90% of their transboundary basins covered by an operational arrangement, and this number has increased significantly, up by 13 countries relative to 2020 and up by 20 countries relative to 2017.  This would seem to imply that countries which are already engaged in putting operational arrangements in place for transboundary cooperation are making significant progress in doing so.

At the current rate of progress, just over one third of countries sharing transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers would have 90 per cent or more of their basin area covered by operational arrangements by 2030. For the reflections on accelerated implementation of SDG 6, one can conclude that an unprecedented effort will be needed to ensure that all transboundary waters are covered by operational arrangements by 2030.

The report shows quite significant regional differences in progress. In Europe and North America, 23 out of 42 countries sharing transboundary waters have 90% or more of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements. Similarly in Sub-Saharan Africa, 6 out of 42 countries sharing transboundary waters have 90% or more of their transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements. By contrast, only two out of 41 countries sharing transboundary waters in Asia, one out of 22 countries in Latin America and one out of six countries in North Africa have achieved similar levels of coverage.

Special focus on climate change

The mid-term status report on SDG 6 includes a special focus on climate change. Transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers, the report states, offer great potential in avoiding conflicts between countries, as well as accelerating the global transition towards adaptation and mitigation. This is all the more necessary because the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2023 warns that, “increasing transboundary risks are projected across the food, energy and water sectors as impacts from weather and climate extremes propagate through supply-chains, markets, and natural resource flows … and may interact with impacts from other crises such as pandemics ...[…].. also, a large part of disaster risks, including floods, droughts, typhoons/cyclones, landslides and water quality emergencies, are directly or indirectly linked to water management issues”.

In order to build resilience to climate change, the report argues, it is important to make use of the institutional capacity of joint river basin organisations or similar bodies, as well as to hold regular meetings, exchange data and develop joint or coordinated strategies. These criteria underlie indicator 6.5.2. as a whole and therefore contribute in a general way to climate resilience strategies. 

At a more specific level, the report looks into disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation plans at the river basin level, as well as the integration of transboundary cooperation into National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions as set out in the Paris Agreement. Currently, 50% of river basins have implemented coordinated or joint alarm systems for floods, and 45% have included preparedness for extreme events within the overall mandate of river basin organisations. However, only 14% of transboundary basins have so far adopted a joint climate change adaptation strategy, only 20% have adopted a joint disaster risk reduction strategy, and only 30% have implemented coordinated or joint alarm systems for droughts.

Through transboundary water cooperation, countries can enhance their capacity to adapt to climate change through the sharing of data, sharing the costs and benefits of any planned measures, better forecasting and risk assessments, contingency planning, and the adoption of early warning systems. In addition, cooperative processes can help countries to locate measures, such as flood protection infrastructure or water storage, where they have the optimum effect in a basin.