الزراعة والتنمية الريفية والغابات
Overall status and progress of transboundary water resource cooperation
The “2024 Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation: Mid-term status of SDG indicator 6.5.2 with a special focus on climate change”(2024 Global Report) presents the global results of the 2023 third reporting exercise.
Transboundary Cooperation in the Arab Region
Third Regional Report on SDG Indicator 6.5.2
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.2 enables the monitoring of operational arrangements for transboundary water cooperation. The third regional report for SDG indicator 6.5.2 assesses the status and progress of transboundary water cooperation in the Arab region. Participation in the reporting process has improved significantly, with 17 out of 21 Arab countries sharing transboundary basins submitting data to the third monitoring exercise in 2023, compared to just 10 countries in 2017. In total, 90 per cent of the region’s countries have engaged in at least one round of reporting, demonstrating growing awareness and commitment to transboundary water cooperation. The report highlights significant discrepancies in how countries report transboundary basins, including inconsistencies provided data. Moreover, it tackles institutional and legal gaps under a changing climate, in addition to emphasizing the ongoing data availability and financial problems. To accelerate progress, the report recommends integrating climate adaptation into transboundary frameworks, harmonizing data reporting protocols, leveraging regional institutions for dialogue, and aligning SDG reporting efforts. Strengthening technical capacities, enhancing data systems, and promoting inclusive stakeholder participation are essential to achieving effective transboundary water cooperation. Despite some advancements, substantial efforts are needed to bridge existing gaps and meet SDG targets within the limited timeframe.
Acknowledgements
The present report was produced by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), under the overall guidance of the Executive Secretary, Rola Dashti, and the insightful direction of the Leader of the Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster, Carol Chouchani Cherfane.
Executive summary
The third regional report on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.2 assesses the status and progress of transboundary water cooperation in the Arab region. This indicator measures the proportion of transboundary basin areas covered by operational arrangements, which is essential to achieving SDG target 6.5 on implementing integrated water resource management at all levels by 2030.
Background
Worldwide, 313 river basins that cross international borders have been identified, and 468 transboundary aquifers. The Arab region is home to 27 transboundary river and lake basins and 43 transboundary aquifers.
Advancing progress towards cooperation
For the third reporting exercise, while the Arab region shows some clear progress, there is still a substantial gap that needs to be filled to fulfil the requirements of SDG indicator 6.5.2 and achieve target 6.5.
Conclusions and recommendations
This section summarizes the findings of the third reporting round under SDG indicator 6.5.2 for the Arab region into one general finding on progress and five findings on specific issues, and proposes recommendations for each of the latter.
Overcoming constraints in technology assessment and foresight
Implementing successful TA and TF exercises is not easy, and there can be many challenges. The main challenges include limited human and financial resources, weak institutional frameworks and futures literacy, as well as poor integration into policy processes.
Technology Foresight and Technology Assessment for Sustainable Development
This report examines the roles of Technology Assessment (TA) and Technology Foresight (TF) in supporting policymaking for sustainable development. It highlights how TA and TF contribute respectively to immediate political decisions and longer-term strategic policies. Although distinct, TA and TF often overlap and complement each other within organizational practices. The report argues that countries should leverage both to anticipate technological impacts systematically, enabling proactive policy actions. An integrated approach fosters inclusive dialogue, improves stakeholder understanding of science, technology, and innovation (STI) choices, and embeds evidence-based practices into decision-making. In transformative innovation policies, TA and TF offer critical analytical capabilities to address grand challenges, extend policy options, and propose forward-looking solutions. The report’s insights extend beyond traditional STI domains, emphasizing applicability to sectors like energy and infrastructure.
Recommendations
This chapter presents key insights drawn from the research, discussions and materials developed for this report. It begins by offering practical guidance on how to organize TA and TF exercises, particularly aimed at countries with limited experience.
Introduction
Technology assessment (TA) and technology foresight (TF) are two different disciplines that together provide complementary tools that can provide strategic intelligence to policymakers wishing to improve strategic planning and develop capacity for anticipatory technology governance.
Acknowledgments
This study was prepared by Dmitry Plekhanov and Michael Lim, under the supervision of Liping Zhang and the overall guidance of Angel Gonzalez-Sanz, Head of the Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Development Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics of UNCTAD.
Roles of TA and TF in STI policies and sustainable development
TA and TF can both make a significant contribution to effective STI policy and to promoting more sustainable development across countries, although they certainly do not, on their own, offer a silver bullet to solve sustainable development challenges.
Technology assessment and foresight across countries
The adoption of TA and TF globally is rising, but they have diffused most widely among developed countries. Within countries with a tradition of using these tools, their use has been institutionalized, with diverse institutional models in place for using TF and TA.
Conclusion
TA and TF are not cheap or easy tools, but they are nevertheless increasingly critical tools for all countries to harness the benefits of emerging technologies and mitigate the risks they create. These tools should be diffused as widely as possible across the globe.
Executive summary
This report examines the roles of Technology Assessment (TA) and Technology Foresight (TF) in contributing to policymaking for sustainable development. It outlines various ways in which the two approaches contribute to immediate and short-term political decisions (traditionally these were especially the role of TA) and longer-term strategic policies, where TF has typically played a more prominent role.