Indicator 6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation

United Kingdom

The definition of IWRM is based on an internationally agreed definition, and is universally applicable. IWRM was officially established in 1992 and is defined as “a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” (GWP 2010). The concept of IWRM is measured in 4 main components - i) Enabling environment - this includes the policies, laws, plans and strategies which create the ‘enabling environment’ for IWRM; ii) Institutions - includes the range and roles of political, social, economic and administrative institutions that help to support the implementation of IWRM; iii) Management Instruments - The tools and activities that enable decision-makers and users to make rational and informed choices between alternative actions; iv) Financing - Budgeting and financing made available and used for water resources development and management from various sources. The indicator is based on a national survey structured around these four main components (UNEP 2016). Each component is split into two parts - questions concerning the ‘National level’ and ‘Other levels’ respectively. ‘Other levels’ includes sub-national (including provinces/states for federated countries), basin level, and the transboundary level as appropriate. These two parts address the wording of Target 6.5 ‘implement [IWRM] at all levels …’. To further aid interpretation and comparison, the indicator results can be categorized in a similar way to the survey questions - Degree of implementation = Very low (0-9.9); Low (10-29.9); Medium-low (30-49.9); Medium-high (50-69.9); High (70-89.9); and Very high (90-100).

Data follows the UN specification for this indicator. This indicator has been identified in collaboration with topic experts.