Peer-to-Peer (P2P) – €1.5 million allocated to project peers for the implementation of their water management cooperation initiatives

On 25 January, the EU-funded P2P project, implemented by INBO and ANBO, allocated funding to the partners in the 21 pairings to carry out their activities.

The first phase of the project involved a restricted call for tenders to identify relevant individual organisations to participate in these exchanges. The second phase of the project involved forming pairings of two to four partners (full list available here).

These pairings bring together national or transboundary basin organisations, national administrations responsible for water resource management in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia, as well as civil society organisations and scientific and technical partners. They strengthen cooperation and the sharing of experience to develop their skills in IWRM at the basin level.

Each pairing began its activities in December with the production of a joint action plan and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). A total of €1.5 million in financial support is available to the eligible pairs for the implementation of the actions planned within the framework of their pairing.

A selection committee meeting was held on 25 January 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting for the United Nations Water Conference (to be held from 2 to 4 December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates), to select the African, Asian and Latin American peers of the project to receive a financial support. A total of 49 peers were selected as beneficiaries, with the aim of achieving geographical balance in the distribution of these funds. The activities of the partnerships for integrated water resources management around the world at the basin level include: financing mechanisms, data sharing and Water Information Systems (WIS), legal and institutional frameworks, concerted governance, stakeholder participation, adaptation to climate change, etc.

The P2P project was presented at the Team Europe Initiative meeting on transboundary water management in Africa (TEI-TWM) on 28 January, during which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the members of a twinning arrangement:

• Mr Mamadou Max. BANGOURA, Deputy High Commissioner of OMVS
• Valérie BAYCHE, Director of Solidarity and International Cooperation at the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, France
• Mr Ousmane HANE, Secretary General of the Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River (OMVG)

The INBO World Summit of Basins, to be held in Rio from 16 to 19 June 2026, will be the first event for peers to discuss their respective themes, followed by the World Water Forum (Riyadh, March 2027).