Participants & Projects Involved (IWL Share: 50% of first two targeted workshops, leveraged six more)

• Participants included stakeholders of three transboundary lakes in the Western Balkans - Prespa, Ohrid and Shkodra/Skadar, including in particular the active GEF projects that exist on the first and latter of those lakes.

Host Institution

• FYR Macedonian Ministry for Environment and Physical Planning

Other Funding Partners

• Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med)
• Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO/ECSDE)
• GEF/UNDP "Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Prespa Lakes Basin of Albania, FYR-Macedonia and Greece" project

Introduction, Purpose: Why an Exchange

The exchange of practical experience and knowledge between managers and decision-makers as well as stakeholders in the different shared bodies has been limited. The need to address this challenge has been made also obvious in the activities organized within the Petersberg Phase II / Athens Declaration Process.

Based on this, a series of targeted capacity building workshops will focus on experiences and methodologies for addressing specific issues of transboundary water resource management. They are expected to leverage the varying levels of practical knowledge in the area, facilitiating the cross-fertilization between stakeholders of the different shared basins as well as introduce knowledge and experience from outside the region.

The aim is to enhance the practical capacity of stakeholders on specific issues of integrated management of their shared water bodies.

Learning Objectives

1. To get familiar with the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approaches, concept and tools as well as with the Ecosystems Approach as an integral part of the IWRM approach.
2. To understand the need for integration of water resources management and spatial planning.
3. To be informed about the legal frameworks and tools for water resources management at international and EU levels.

Outputs/Outcomes

1. Targeted Workshop Report
2. All Presentations and Background Materials at the Transboundary Waters Information Exchange Network for SE Europe

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