Terms and Conditions of Use

Welcome to the GEF International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) website (the "Site"). By accessing, browsing, or using this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site.

The Site is the online portal of a project, IW:LEARN – GEF ID: 10374, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and managed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO (hereafter referred to as the "Project Coordination Unit (PCU").

Unless stated otherwise, material and information provided on iwlearn.net are for educational, informational, and capacity-building purposes to strengthen transboundary water management across the GEF International Waters portfolio.

• Non-Commercial Reproduction: Material on this website may be reproduced, downloaded, or printed for strictly non-commercial, educational, or research purposes, provided that full acknowledgement of the source is given.
• Commercial Use: Any commercial use, adaptation, or widespread distribution of website content requires prior written permission from the Management Team.

As a collaborative portfolio network, projects, partners, and practitioners are encouraged to submit materials - including Experience Notes, case studies, updates, reports, and multimedia - to be featured on the Site. By submitting content, you represent and warrant that the content is accurate, relevant to transboundary water ecosystems, and does not violate any third-party rights.

To ensure the Site remains a visually engaging, legally compliant, and open resource for the global water management community, all photos, graphics, and videos received from GEF portfolio projects or partners must adhere to the following conditions prior to being added to the page:

• Licensing Requirements: By submitting any photo or image to IW:LEARN, the submitting project or individual guarantees that they hold the copyright or have obtained explicit permission from the copyright owner to share the material. All submitted photos must be free of restrictive commercial copyrights. By default, submitted media will be treated as open-access or shared under a compatible creative commons structure (e.g., Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International or similar non-commercial framework authorized by IOC of UNESCO), allowing IW:LEARN to host, display, resize, and archive the photo for portfolio learning and promotional purposes.
• Credits and Attribution: The submitting party must provide clear attribution details at the time of submission (e.g., "Photo credit: [Project Name / Photographer Name]"). IW:LEARN will display these credits alongside the image where feasible.
• Quality and Technical Standards: To maintain the professional standard of the portal, photos must be of high resolution, clear (not blurry or heavily pixelated), and relevant to the respective transboundary water basin, project intervention, or stakeholder context. The PCU reserves the right to crop, resize, or optimize images to fit the website's technical constraints or layouts without altering the core context of the image.
• Consent and Safeguarding: If a photo clearly depicts identifiable individuals - particularly local communities, stakeholders, or children involved in field activities - the submitting project warrants that proper, informed verbal or written consent was obtained from the subjects (or their guardians) regarding the public display of their likeness on an international platform.
• Right to Decline: The PCU reserves absolute discretion to decline, remove, or substitute any submitted photo that does not meet technical quality standards, lacks verifiable licensing/credit information, or is deemed inappropriate or irrelevant to the GEF International Waters portfolio.

Your use of the website is also governed by our Privacy Policy. IW:LEARN is committed to protecting user privacy, and personal data collected through subscriptions (such as newsletters) or user interaction is securely handled in accordance with IOC of UNESCO organizational parameters. Please review our full Privacy Policy at iwlearn.net/privacy-policy.

• Content Accuracy: The information on this Site is provided "as is." While the PCU endeavours to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, it makes no warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the content provided by various project partners.
• Views Expressed: The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps, hubs, and databases within this Site do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO, IOC, UNDP, UNEP, or the GEF concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in user-contributed articles or Experience Notes are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the managing organizations.
• External Links: The Site contains links to external, third-party websites (such as project specific toolkits, social media platforms, or external basins repositories). IW:LEARN has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content or privacy policies of these external sites.

Nothing in or relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of UNESCO, IOC of UNESCO, UNDP, UNEP, or the GEF, which are specifically reserved.

The PCU reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions for its website at any time without prior notice. By using this website, you are agreeing to be bound by the then-current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.