Overarching Theme and Thematic Days

The IWC11 overarching theme “Shared Waters, Transformative Solutions: Enabling Systems Change” reflects the conference objectives, giving a forward-looking direction to the discussions in light of today’s challenges in the IW realm, the availability of innovative tools and the preparation for the new GEF-9 cycle.

Like previous IWC editions, each day will follow its own thematic direction, which will set the tone for the different sessions throughout the day:

• Day 1 - Shared Waters, Collective Knowledge: scalable and replicable solutions for a changing future
• Day 3 - Innovation in Action: from cooperation to systems change
• Day 4 - IW Legacy to Impact: strengthened collaboration and future outlook

Conference Architecture and Draft Agenda-at-a-glance

IWC11 will offer exchanging opportunities among project representatives, the GEF Secretariat, GEF agencies and partner institutions involved in GEF IW projects. These will be achieved through a variety of session formats, further explained below.
IWC11 will include:

• Two days of pre-conference workshops (17-18 October 2026)
• Three days of sessions (19 & 21-22 October 2026)
• One day of technical site visits (20 October 2026)
  

The Global Environment Facility Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC) is the key learning and exchange event for projects funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in the focal area of International Waters. The GEF’s International Waters (IW) focal area has a unique mandate to support transboundary cooperation shared marine and freshwater ecosystems. It is the world’s largest funding mechanism for multi-country collaboration on freshwater and the ocean. To date, GEF has funded more than 480 International Waters projects and has invested some US $3 billion in grants and leveraged approximately US $19 billion in co-financing in more than 157 different countries globally.

The GEF International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) is responsible for organizing the International Waters Conference (IWC) jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC), and other partners on behalf of the GEF International Waters (IW) project portfolio.

IWC brings together more than 300 participants, including GEF IW project managers, institutional stakeholders from beneficiary countries, non-governmental and civil society organizations, transboundary and regional management institutions, UN agencies, Development Banks and Intergovernmental Organisations, and the private sector. Collectively they represent approximately 100 active GEF IW projects, from 80 countries and various GEF Agencies which aim to facilitate cross-sectoral and portfolio-wide learning & experience sharing. It is an interactive training and experience-sharing event, where we discuss challenges, highlight solutions and showcase good practices. Furthermore, this conference summarizes the impact achieved and generates ideas for new projects.

The 11^th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC11) will take place from 19-22 October 2026 in Bali, Indonesia.

In its 11^th edition, IWC builds on the results of the previous 10 conferences and the achievements of over 30 years of the GEF International Waters (IW) portfolio. IWC11 takes place in a period of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, where cooperation over shared natural resources is increasingly complex, hydro-diplomacy is under stress and new environmental challenges arise.

But also new solutions are available, as we witness the digital transformation of transboundary waters and the strengthening of integrated approaches. Sustainability is key in its several dimensions: designing bankable investments and mobilizing private capital (financial); planning for future-proof solutions (environmental) and ensuring knowledge transfer and inclusion (social). Further, its timing aligns with a broader reassessment of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as the world reflects on progress and gaps, and with the early phase of GEF-9. Against this backdrop, IWC11 offers a timely platform to support IW marking a critical transition in global environmental financing and priorities.