Be it a transboundary river basin or aquifer, or a water pump built for a rural village, examples of cooperation apparently abound.

UNESCO: Open Access to Scientific Information

Regarding cooperation in international river basins, both Le Duc Trung (Mekong River Commission Secretariat) and Jean-Francois Donzier (International Network of Basin Organizations - INBO) stressed the importance of securing national and international political will for the sustainable management of transboundary river basins and transboundary aquifer systems.

UNESCO: NATURAL SCIENCES

With 148 countries sharing at least one transboundary river basin and two thirds of the world's 276 river basins being shared by two countries, cooperation is the key to preserving water resources and protecting the environment, but also to fostering and maintaining peaceful relations within and among communities.

UNESCO: Water cooperation: more urgent than ever

The likely impact includes forest conversion to agricultural land, a drop in biological diversity as a result of monocropping and the massive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, unsustainable levels of water abstraction and a greater risk of water-related conflicts with local communities and neighbouring States sharing the same transboundary river systems.

UNESCO: Madiodio Niasse on the risks associated with large-scale foreign land aquisitions | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems.

UNESCO: THEMES