According to the 3rd global cycle of national reporting on SDG Indicator 6.5.2 (2024) measuring transboundary water cooperation, for which UNECE and UNESCO are co-custodians, 64 transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers are situated across Africa. This makes transboundary water cooperation a must across the continent to adapt to climate change, prevent conflict and ensure the protection of shared water resources.
In the last 2 weeks, the UN Water Convention, with funding support from Germany, has been actively supporting transboundary water cooperation at the national, transboundary and continental scales within Africa.
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At a national scale, the Convention co-convened on 22-23 May in Maseru a National Workshop on Lesotho's Accession to the UN Water Convention. Opened by the Minister for Natural Resources and the UN Resident Coordinator, along with representatives of the European Union and Germany in Lesotho, the Workshop featured over 80 participants from Ministries, NGOs, civil society, private sector, transboundary water institutions and projects and UN Agencies. Notably, the Kingdom of Lesotho is an upstream land-locked country known as the "Mountain Kingdom" and so-called "Water Tower" of Southern Africa. Convention Parties Namibia, Zimbabwe, Estonia and Finland participated to provide their perspectives on engagement with, and accession to, the Convention, along with various technical and financial partners. A key output of the workshop was a revised Draft Road Map for Accession to help guide the process moving forward.
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At a national scale, the Convention also co-convened a national workshop for parliamentarians in Kinshasa on 19-20 May, organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development as part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's process of accession. Funded by GIZ through their Water-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus (WEEN) Project, the event brought together members of both chambers of Parliament, providing a platform to raise awareness of the Convention's benefits, explain its legal obligations, and foster political ownership of the accession process-a critical milestone toward enhanced transboundary water cooperation in the Congo Basin and beyond.
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At a transboundary scale, on 30 May in Lusaka the Water Convention Secretariat supported the third technical negotiations between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the development of an agreement and institutional arrangement for the Luapua River and Lake Mweru, a tributary of the Congo River. With advice and support from international water law experts, both countries used this final in-person negotiation to focus deliberations on three remaining points of action and formation of technical working groups to help finalise main recommendations for submission to Ministerial level for approval.
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At a continental scale, the Convention Secretariat was actively involved in the Third African Implementation and Partnership Conference on Water (PANACFON3) hosted by Zambia on 27-29 May, the UN Water Convention's 55th and most recent Party, convening Ministers and water leaders from across the African continent. The Convention spearheaded a Special Session on "UN Water Conventions supporting a post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy and AU Agenda 2063" and contributed to several other technical sessions. Under the theme "Assuring inclusive and climate-resilient water security and sanitation for the Africa we want" AMCOW and partners convened technical, special and high-level sessions to shape Africa's post-2025 Water Vision and Policy, and place water and sanitation at the centre of achieving the Africa Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Several Ministers in their speeches noted the central importance of transboundary water cooperation and PANAFCON3 also provided a platform for several bilateral meetings strengthening the profile and support for the Convention with Ministers, including Senegal, Congo, Sierra Leone, Malawi, and hosts Zambia.
With the UN Water Convention counting 55 Parties, 12 of the 14 accessions since its global opening in 2016 being African countries and with more than 20 countries in accession processes, many in Africa, there is significant momentum across the continent for transboundary water cooperation under the framework of the Convention.
More and more countries see the Convention's practical added value for enhancing national and transboundary water management of surface and groundwater resources in driving sustainable development, regional integration, peace and prosperity.
