The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP-DHI Centre, to launch a new regional initiative aimed at improving the management of shared water resources in Eastern Africa.
Known as the Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management for Environmental Sustainability (CREATES) programme, the initiative seeks to strengthen climate-resilient and cooperative approaches to water governance across the region.
CREATES is being implemented in partnership with the governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, reflecting a shared commitment to addressing the growing challenges facing transboundary water basins. As a multi-year programme, it is designed to enhance water security, build climate resilience, promote regional cooperation, and support sustainable development, particularly in areas where water resources are increasingly under strain.
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Long-term stability
The programme is supported by the Government of Denmark as part of its contribution to the EU Team Europe Initiative on Transboundary Water Management (TEI-TWM). According to IUCN, the initiative complements broader regional and continental efforts to manage shared water resources in ways that promote long-term stability, resilience and environmental sustainability.
Uganda’s Commissioner at the Ministry of Water and Environment, Dr Callist Tindimugaya, welcomed the programme, noting that it will play a key role in strengthening transboundary water management frameworks. He said CREATES would help build resilience to climate change while ensuring that communities living within shared basins derive tangible social and economic benefits from improved cooperation.
In its initial phase, CREATES will focus on two priority river basins: the Mara Basin, shared between Kenya and Tanzania, and the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi Basin, shared by Kenya and Uganda. Both basins are facing mounting pressures linked to climate variability, rising water demand and weaknesses in existing transboundary governance arrangements.
A six-month inception phase was officially launched in January in Nairobi, during a meeting held at the IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office. During this period, the programme will concentrate on setting up governance and coordination structures, engaging key stakeholders, and refining detailed workplans to ensure alignment with basin-level priorities.
Over the longer term, IUCN expects CREATES to contribute to stronger regional institutions, improved cross-border collaboration and more sustainable management of shared water resources. Lessons learned from the two pilot basins will also be shared across Eastern Africa to support broader efforts to improve transboundary water governance in the face of climate change.
