Dominican Republic begins the process to adhere to the UN Water Convention

With the intention of joining the UN Water Conventionthe Dominican Republic has begun to take measures to ensure the sustainability of its natural resourcesis through better conservation, management and sustainable use of its transboundary waters, reported this Thursday the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), sponsor of this international instrument.

the caribbean country shares several transboundary basins with Haiti and those resources are essential for the well-being of the population, the health of ecosystems and economic development as they are needed in agriculture, energy, industry and domestic use.

Dominican Republic is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate changeTherefore, cooperation to avoid or mitigate the effects of extreme weather events is crucial.

The secretary of the Water Convention, Sonja Koeppel, argued that this instrument can provide a very useful framework to work on the watershed conservation and impact mitigation of climate change in the Dominican Republic, through the integrated and sustainable management of basins.

“The Water Convention can offer its unique framework and 30 years of experience on the ground in a multitude of contexts to help meet those challenges“, he claimed.

Reasonable and equitable use of shared water

The Water Convention is a intergovernmental legal framework of the United Nations that has 47 Parties and that calls to prevent, control and reduce negative impacts on the quality and quantity of water across borders, as well as to use shared waters in a reasonable and equitable way, and to guarantee their sustainable management through cooperation.

If adhering to the Agreement, the Dominican Republic would benefit from international support for sustainable development and could enhance stability and peace.

In addition, the island nation would position itself as a regional leader for the conservation of natural resources.

water-rich region

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the world’s richest regions in water resources, in which 22 of its 33 countries share transboundary watersbe it lakes, rivers or aquifers.

71% of the total flow of surface water in the region comes from shared hydrographic basins that are essential for social and economic development and the conservation of ecosystems. The Transboundary water cooperation is a precondition for sustainable development, peace and stability.

UNECE indicated that the region is not well on the way to compliance of the Sustainable Development Goal regarding the integrated management of water resources, including through transboundary cooperation, despite the fact that the countries that comprise it have committed to the 2030 Agenda.

In this sense, he considered that the accession of the Dominican Republic could catalyze a push for cooperation in terms of water in the entire region.