The Groundwater Governance - Global Framework for Action project and outcome was presented during the first panel of the Middle East North Africa regional conference "The Nature & Water Knowledge Sharing Forum". The conference was organized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA). The presentation delivered by Dr. Ralf Klingbeil, Regional Advisor on Water, UN ESCWA was entitled "Governance of Groundwater: Linking Global Processes and Regional Needs" and addressed primarily two questions: "Why did we fail to control, protect and sustainably use our groundwater?" and "What is needed to reverse the course and ensure good groundwater governance by 2030?". It described some of the major groundwater- and governance- related challenges at Arab/MENA regional level, the process through global and regional consultations as part of the Global Diagnostic on Groundwater Governance that led to the Shared Global Vision for 2030 and the Global Framework for Action to achieve the vision on Groundwater Governance. The conference was part of the IUCN-led project R-KNOW “Regional Knowledge Network on Systemic Approaches to Water Resources Management “ funded by the European Union that aspires to create a Regional Knowledge Network on Water that will assist in strengthening the application of systematic approaches to water management and water governance. In this context of water governance at regional level, IUCN-ROWA invited UN ESCWA for a specific input on groundwater governance. UN ESCWA is a partner of the global Groundwater Governance project and has been involved among others with the global organizers for the Arab regional consultation meeting. The more than 100 experts and practitioners from 15 different countries in the MENA region discussed systemic approaches towards four thematic areas: Climate Change, Sustainable Technologies, Governance and the Water Food Energy Nexus, and suggested further regional activities of IUCN-ROWA in these areas - including addressing the needs for better groundwater governance within a wider water governance framework. A number of participants expressed their interest in the outcomes of the global Groundwater Governance project and potential applications in pilot countries in the region.
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