In this context, Slovenia will host the tenth meeting of the parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, better known as the Water Convention (MoP 10), from 23 to 25 October 2024 at the Ljubljana Exhibition Centre. At the meeting, with the slogan "Our Waters, Our Future: Transboundary Water Cooperation to Strengthen Climate Resilience", Slovenia will also take over the three-year presidency of the Convention Bureau for the period 2024–2027.

This week, representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning (MNVP) and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MZEZ) presented the upcoming meeting to the resident and non-resident representations of foreign countries in Slovenia. The presentation was attended by 25 foreign countries representatives. They were briefed on the importance of transboundary water cooperation and the Water Convention in the international context, as well as on the organization and program of the three-day meeting of the Parties in Ljubljana. Most attention was paid to the first day of the meeting, when a high-level panel discussion "Our Waters, Our Future: Transboundary Water Cooperation to Strengthen Climate Resilience" is planned, which will bring together high-level representatives of countries and other important organizations and institutions of the international community.

Meetings of the Parties to the Convention, which are held every three years, as a rule in a State Party that also takes over the chairmanship of the Bureau of the Convention for a future period, are the largest international events focused on transboundary integrated water management and water cooperation at all levels. They attract high-level representatives of States Parties and prospective Parties, as well as representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations from around the world.

This will also be the case at the tenth meeting of the parties to the MoP 10 Water Convention in Ljubljana, where we expect about 500 participants from 80 countries, institutions from the United Nations system, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and other accredited stakeholders.

Main tasks of the Slovenian Presidency of the Water Convention

In the next three-year period, Slovenia has set itself the following priorities:

• In-depth international action to mitigate the triple planetary crisis in the field of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution of natural resources at cross-border political, administrative, management and professional levels, by bringing together administrative, expert and management institutions in the fields of surface and groundwater, marine waters and seas, as well as international river and maritime commissions, with the aim of coordinated climate-resilient water management,
• accelerating the globalization of the Water Convention and the expansion of membership through active participation in the national processes of countries approaching the Water Convention, with the aim of admitting six new members within a three-year period,
• implementation of activities from the Water Convention Work Program 2025–2027, in particular through the development and exchange of knowledge, the development of expert bases and manuals in the fields of bilateral agreements, the establishment of international river commissions, adaptation to climate change, monitoring of water status, fair and sustainable transboundary water sharing, new and innovative approaches and methods in transboundary integrated water management, such as the source to sea approach and reciprocal transboundary surface and groundwater management and transboundary management and restoration of aquatic ecosystems in international river basins and river basins,
• developing climate resilience in States Parties and in transboundary river basins and river basins at all levels of water management, national, bilateral, sub-regional, regional and international, by strengthening national authorities, institutions and international commissions on transboundary water management, by developing partnerships and by applying modern approaches and methods of transboundary integrated water management. Deployment and further dissemination of modern satellite and related high-tech tools and technologies for data acquisition and analysis in transboundary river basins and river basins in States Parties under changed climatic conditions.

During its presidency of the Water Convention Bureau, Slovenia will follow the principles of transboundary integrated water management and the provisions of Goal 6 of the UN 2030 Agenda, as well as other guidelines and recommendations of the most important global water events. Through Slovenia's active participation in the Water Convention and the chairmanship of its bureau, Slovenia contributes to a globally more integrated and agreed and climate-resilient transboundary water management and to more sustainable transboundary water use, and thus to stability and peace in the regions.

The Water Convention is a global legally binding international framework for transboundary water cooperation

The Water Convention acts as an established intergovernmental platform under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) to promote transboundary protection and sustainable use of surface and groundwater. It also plays a key role in strengthening the importance of intergovernmental agreements on the management of transboundary watercourses, international lakes, and aquifers. The Water Convention was adopted in Helsinki in 1992 and came into force in 1996. Slovenia ratified the Convention in 1999.

The Convention currently unites 55 Parties, but over 130 UN Member States regularly cooperate with the Water Convention. Until 2016, membership of the Convention was limited to the countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. With UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' mandate to expand its membership beyond the UNECE region, the convention has become global. The Water Convention operates on all continents, except for Australia and Antarctica. Its operation is managed by the Water Convention Secretariat at UNECE Headquarters in Geneva and is directed by the Water Convention Bureau and the Bureau of the Presidency.

Slovenian Presidency of International Conventions

Slovenia is currently presiding over the Alpine Convention under the slogan "Quality Life in the Alps for All", the Barcelona Convention under the slogan "For a Green Mediterranean: From Decisions to Action", and the Presidency of the Water Convention under the slogan "Our Waters, Our Future: Transboundary Water Cooperation to Strengthen Climate Resilience" will further strengthen cross-sectoral efforts to strengthen Slovenia's role on the international stage.

Registrations to the MoP 10 are opened.