NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Transboundary waters account for 60 per cent of the world’s freshwater flows, sustaining 3 billion people. Cooperation over transboundary surface and groundwater is therefore essential for sustainable development, environmental health, climate action and resilience, disaster risk reduction, and peace. It allows for the leveraging and sharing of benefits that are not accessible at national scales.
However, two thirds of transboundary basins are not covered by cooperative agreements, whereas most of the existing cooperative frameworks are not fit to deal with future challenges. This can multiply risks and contribute to the destabilization of societies, threatening peace and security.
More than forty governments, international organizations, international financing institutions, NGOs, academia and research centers joined their forces under the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition with the objective to sustain and advance transboundary cooperation, including through promotion of innovative tools, approaches and solutions as acceleration alone will not suffice.
The session will highlight the use of innovative technologies and approaches in analyzing transboundary dynamics and informing collaborative water management. It will explore how innovation can help in addressing the bottlenecks in transboundary water cooperation, as well as showcase examples of innovation enhancing the existing and prompting new forms of cooperation.