UNESCO Office in Amman

A regional five-day training workshop on negotiations skills for water officials from Iraq, Palestine and Jordan was held in Amman from 20 – 24 November 2011. The workshop was led by an international water conflict expert and trainer. Through a number of role plays and case studies the trainer gave the participants the needed skills for successful collaborative transboundary water resources management and enhanced the negotiation abilities of the participants to reach sustainable solutions related to shared water disputes.

Water, is an essential resource, vital for life, human well-being, economic development peace and security.  However, especially in the Arab region fresh water is constantly decreasing in quality and quantity. As a result, water is the center of intense disputes and becoming the natural resource most likely to cause conflicts in the twenty-first century. The alarming increase in population, accompanied by a doubling in the growth of the world-wide demand for water every twenty-one years, raises concerns and tensions among states.

The training was based on UNESCO’s successful “Sharing Water, Sharing Benefits, Working Towards Effective Trans Boundary Water Resources Management” manual developed in cooperation with the International Hydrological Programme for water professionals. It was organized by the UNESCO Office in Amman as part of the joint UN programme “Adaptation to climate change to sustain Jordan’s MDG achievement” of the MDG Achievement Fund. The MDG Achievement Fund is an international cooperation mechanism with the aim to accelerate the progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) worldwide. Under this fund, in Jordan, UNESCO together with UNDP, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) is enhancing Jordan’s capacity to adapt to climate change.

For further information please contact Ms. Lama Al-Masalha, l.almasalha(at)unesco.org