4 July 2015, Geneva, Switzerland – Water is a finite and limited resource, and with the steady increase in the world population, urbanization and environmental degradation, the competing demands of the riparian States will continue to grow. The UN World Water Development Report of 2015 points out that scarcity and poor management of freshwater amplify the risk of disputes. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2015 Report ranks the water crisis as the biggest threat facing the planet over the next decade.  In such circumstances, the creation and enhancement of appropriate legal frameworks for transboundary water cooperation is indispensable.

In response to this need and since 2013, UNITAR and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), through the Platform for International Water Law, with financial assistance from the Swiss Confederation (through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC), have delivered three sessions of their Online Course on International Water Law. The main objective of this course is to train and cultivate a network of professionals working in the field of the international freshwater protection and enables them to create and implement effective transboundary water legal frameworks.

For the fourth edition of the course that is currently been run, UNITAR received over 590 applications from all over the world for 35 available spots. This figure confirms the fact that there is a high level of, and, urgent demand for training and capacity building in this field.

Selected participants for the July Edition of the Course included representatives from every region, African participants were the largest group represented, with 15 out of 35 participants (43%), followed by Asia and the Pacific (23%), Latin America and the Caribbean (14%), Europe (14%), the Middle East, and North America (3%) respectively. Geared towards a range of practitioner backgrounds, the course brought together a nearly even mix of professional backgrounds between lawyers, engineers, environmental scientists, economists, and political scientists. Priority was given to qualified applicants from the developing (57%) and least developed (26%) countries. Effort needs to be made in the future to improve the gender balance of the course enrollment, as we have a representation of 40% women and 60% men.

UNITAR, the University of Geneva and the SDC will continue this cooperation by launching a French Session of the course that will take place in September 2015. More information on these exciting new developments will follow in the coming weeks.

Photo credit: UN Photo -Olivier Chassot