International Waters learning Exchange & Resource Network

1st Targeted Workshop for GEF IW Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean

21st - 25th May 2012 - St. Kitts and Nevis
The workshop will resemble an International Waters Conference at the regional scale, with a focus on inter-project knowledge sharing (Best Lessons and Challenges). The workshop will also discuss some potential course modules to be provided by partners on content requested by Project Managers. Future learning priorities will also feature on the agenda, including twinning exchanges between projects and future workshops supported by GEF IW:LEARN. Facilitators will be drawn from the Caribbean Environment Programme and within the participants.

Background

The IW:LEARN3 project, which became active in 2011 and will be active until mid 2014, has as one of its primary activities, the organization of regional workshops for GEF IW projects in three GEF regions: Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia & the Pacific and Latin America & the Caribbean. In each region, the project is partnering with an anchor institution to deliver these workshops. For GEF IW Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, IW:LEARN has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP). Through this partnership we seek to promote the building of individual capabilities as well as  institutional capacity in aspects of transboundary and integrated water resource management. The building of capacities will be done through improved knowledge-management including the strengthening of networks and communities-of-practice. In this context, CEP and IW:LEARN have agreed to cooperate in the support of 3 initial workshops and a variety of twinning exchanges over the next 2 years.

Workshop Objectives

The workshop will contain some of the elements of an International Waters Conference but at the regional scale, with a focus on inter-project knowledge sharing (Best Lessons and Challenges). The workshop will also identify key challenges facing project managers, and will allow group decisions on future learning priorities, including twinning exchanges between projects and content of future workshops supported by GEF IW:LEARN and coordinated by the Caribbean Environment Programme. Future learning priorities will also feature on the agenda, including twinning exchanges between projects and future workshops supported by GEF IW:LEARN.

The overall aim of the workshop will be to foster cooperation and sharing amongst the various IW projects in Latin America & the Caribbean so as to be able to capture and replicate best practices while identifying challenges and working together to address these challenges and find solutions. The workshop will also aim to improve participation and interaction within the IW:LEARN Global Communities of Practice (along with UNESCO and IUCN)

The workshop has the following primary objectives:

A. The presentation of areas of achievement and best practice as well as areas of challenge within each Project

B. Discussion of Priority Issues identified by the Projects in their responses to the Questionnaire (see Annex 1)

C. Identification of Potential Twinning Exercises

D. Priorities and deliverables from following two (IW:LEARN / Rhodes) workshops

Workshop Outputs

  • Report on Best Practices and Challenges (and how to address these issues within active and future Projects)
  • Proposals and/or a Road-Map for improving Project delivery on top Priority Issues
  • Proposals for project-project twinning exchanges in the region
  • List of course modules for follow-up workshops in the region 2012-2014