The U.S. Department of State is working through partnerships to achieve a water-secure world, one in which people have the water they need, when and where they need it, in a sustainable manner, while reducing the risk and impact of extreme water events like droughts and floods. These programs and partnerships seek to build political will and support national level planning processes; leverage expertise, knowledge, technology and resources; and promote water security.
African Minister’s Council on Water: Through a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Law Institute, the State Department is working to strengthen the institutional and governance capacity of the African Minister’s Council on Water. The goal is to enable greater Africa-wide cooperation on common water challenges, share U.S. knowledge, and promote African-led solutions.
Agricultural Water Management Partnership for Africa (AgWA): Working with the UN FAO, the African Union, and other partners to strengthen the integration of water into national food security strategies through the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) framework. The goal is to ensure food security through sound water resources management.
Ambassador’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Schools Initiative (A-WASH): Provides a platform for ambassadors, through outreach events, to draw attention to the critical role of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in schools and encouraging dialogues to engage high-level support for universal coverage of WASH in schools.
National Planning for Results Initiative: Partnering with the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), UNICEF and other donors to support the development and implementation of national water and sanitation plans and strategies. The goal is to increase water and sanitation investment in those countries committed to reform and strong national leadership.
The Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI): Launched in 2009, is a multinational partnership among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States to create integrated sub-regional cooperation among the five Lower Mekong countries. LMI serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy challenges in the Lower Mekong sub-region. The LMI Environment and Water Pillar promotes dialogue and information exchange between LMI partner countries to encourage policies and programs that support the sound management of natural resources, with an emphasis on cross-cutting and transnational issues.
Nexus Dialogue on Water Infrastructure: An international partnership to develop and disseminate best practices related to the use of natural water infrastructure, such as wetlands and river channels, and the re-operation of existing man-made water infrastructure to improve economic, social and environmental benefits.
Shared Waters Partnership: Working with UNDP to promote cooperative approaches to shared waters, in regions where water is, or may become, a source of tension. This is achieved by working to strengthen multi-stakeholder platforms, improve efforts to align diplomatic and development work, and build capacity to create robust, responsive institutions for shared water management.
UN Water Country Briefs: Working with UN Water to develop country-specific water briefs designed to build awareness among senior government decision makers on the economic, social, environmental, and security consequences of not addressing future water needs within their country.
U.S. Water Partnership:A public-private partnership to unite and mobilize U.S. knowledge, expertise and resources to address water challenges around the globe- especially in the developing world, where needs are greatest. Launched globally at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development on June 20, 2012, the USWP has over 90 members and commitments worth $650 million thus far. USWP has just launched a new web portal, “H2infO”, that will enable users to easily access the rich data and information resources of USWP’s member organizations.