WDC holds workshop on transboundary water governance

AMMAN — The newly established regional Water Diplomacy Centre (WDC) at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) has organised a three-day virtual workshop focussing on transboundary water governance.

The online workshop, held from February 23-25, is one of a series of workshops designed to build knowledge and capacity for participants, as well as promote integrated management of transboundary water resources, with a specific focus on international water law and water diplomacy, according to a statement from the organisers. 

The overall programme is a collaboration between JUST and the University of East Anglia with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, as part of several Blue Peace initiatives, according to the statement.

JUST President Saeb Khreisat opened the workshop stating that “the water sector plays a large role in the sustainable growth for any country”, and “this is especially important for the MENA region”.  

The Dean of the College of Engineering and the Director of the WDC, Suhail Kiwan, also spoke about the vision of the centre in cultivating a group of local experts in each regional country capable of handling the transboundary water governance and coordination.  

During the three-day workshop, a number of international experts, including representatives of the Secretariat of the UNECE Water Convention and UN ESCWA, as well as from IHE-Delft and the Geneva Water Hub, provided lectures and answered questions on integrated water resources management, international water law and case studies on transboundary water cooperation. 

Many international experts and researchers from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, as well as Spain, Switzerland, and the UK participated in the workshop.