Projects on Gender and Water

SDC-funded GGRETA Project

In cooperation with GEF, UNEP, and IGRAC, the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) has developed a methodology to assess 166 transboundary aquifers in three different world regions. The project, the Groundwater Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) is currently assessing the hydro-geology, legal and socio-economic aspects of three different aquifers, shared by twelve countries. The GGRETA Project develop and test and improved methodology and information management system for joint assessment of transboundary aquifers. The project is mainstreaming gender-sensitive water monitoring, assessment and reporting, under the supervision of UN WWAP UNESCO. WWAP provides capacity building on sex-disaggregated indicators, and methodologies to data gathering  to group of national experts for the assessment of transboundary groundwater in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and provides guidance and material to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Uzbekistan.

In the Phase I of the project, developed in 2015-2016, the WWAP gender methodology on disaggregated water data was first tested in the countries. The GGRETA Phase II started at the end of 2016 with the inception regional meeting “Second Regional Meeting on Tools for the Sustainable Management of Transboundary Aquifers” held in Johannesburg, SA, (Nov 28-Dec 2, 2016). In the meeting, WWAP introduced the second phase of the gender component activities for the Stampriet Transboudary Aquifer system shared by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It also presented the Toolkit on water & gender and its application and protocol. The gender component’s workplan articulates into the following activities: i) a training on sex–disaggregated data collection in each country using the WWAP methodology and indicators; ii) information gathering on gender policies in relevant ministries and national institutions, as contribution of each STAS country's gender focal point; iii) gender analysis of the available information. During the 2017 WWAP will execute 4 macro modules–training, which will address i) the methodology to collect disaggregated water data, ii) the application of key indicators, iii) the protocol to be used in the surveys, and iv) the recording and data analysis.

GEF-funded IW:LEARN project

In 2014, WWAP and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) joined forces to design and execute the gender component of the IW:LEARN Project (2015-2019) financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNDP and UNEP. The component aims at improving the efficiency of the International Waters portfolio through an enhanced consideration of gender equality in water resources management. The gender toolkit developed by WWAP is  at the centre of ad hoc webinars to improve capacity of project managers and concerned communities on the methodology to collect sex-disaggregated data on water. One of the objectives is to review gender strategies from main GEF implementing agencies and analyse existing literature and emerging water related issues to inform the GEF IW project-cycle and relevant stakeholders, also in light of the SDGs monitoring, particularly Goal 5 on women’s empowerment and Goal 6 on water. During the 8^th IW GEF Conference “Scaling Up GEF IW Investments from Source to Sea in the Context of Achieving the SDGs” in Sri Lanka on 9-13 May 2016, WWAP organized the workshop: “Gender Equality for Improved Water Resource Management: Connecting SDG5 and SDG6” and presented the activities and workplan of the gender component.The workshop provided theoretical and practical tools for gender mainstreaming in GEF IW projects and provided learning examples for external partners, governments and institutions on how to improve their own water programs and training tools. The workshop increased awareness of the need for collecting water data disaggregated by sex and enhanced knowledge of project managers and partners about how to apply selected tools, approaches and indicators to improve water management and the empowerment.

A series of six Webinars revolving on how to incorporate gender considerations in water resources management (SDG5 and 6), also in light of climate change and  adaptation to climatic variability effects including migratory fluxes, is planned for the year 2017.