The Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) International Waters program and Global Water Partnership (GWP), invite everyone, and especially managers and decision-makers dealing with transboundary water protection, to a free and self-paced MOOC on "Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security".

The topic is hot, and the temperature keeps rising: Freshwater scarcity, stress, and water crises are increasing worldwide. Today, more than one billion people live in water-scarce regions, and a staggering 3.5 billion people could experience water scarcity by 2025.

Rising pollution levels will further reduce water availability for humans and impact the health of rivers, lakes, aquifers, and oceans. About 60% of the still available freshwater is drawn from transboundary basins which serve 42% of the world’s population. Complex shared transboundary freshwater and ecosystems cut across a myriad of sectoral needs, themes, and political boundaries. Deciding effective policies and investments will take multiple-level cooperation with a wide range of public and private stakeholders to protect and share water fairly, from source to sea and beyond.

Accordingly, this MOCC aims at bringing together countries that share fresh water resources. It presents the multiple facets of governance for transboundary freshwater security, from financing mechanisms to negotiation skills, emphasizing the urgency of sustainable development and multi-level cooperation for the common good.

The quality of the program corresponds to the complexity and importance of the topic: Over 80 experts contributed to the development of the curriculum. The course extends from basic building blocks and concepts to advanced thinking about transboundary governance, and applies theory to practice through examples and case studies. The topics of the MOOC are covered in six modules, ranging from the fundamentals of transboundary water security to international water law, water diplomacy, negotiations, institutions, management tools, and sustainable finance. It is designed for self-paced online learning, completely free of charge, and highly recommended for water sector professionals, government officials, professional and civil society organizations or networks, everybody who works with river basin authorities, and also the wider public interested in transboundary water issues.

Sign up for the course now on the SDG Academy platform. It is definitely worth your while.