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WATER EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTCapacity development for water cooperationDr Reza Ardakanian and Lis Mullin Bernhardt, UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity DevelopmentThe year 2013 is of particular significance to UN-Water,the United Nations coordination mechanism for waterrelatedissues: not only does it mark the 10-yearanniversary of UN-Water’s founding, but it is also, through theInternational Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC 2013), servingto cast a spotlight on the importance of cooperation in waterrelatedsectors. Indeed, this desire for cooperation on waterissues was a key reason for the formation of UN-Water, whichwas created in order to foster greater collaboration and informationsharing among existing United Nations agency membersand external partners. 1The need for strengthened collaboration and coherence amongthe United Nations entities dealing with freshwater and sanitationissues is as great today as it was when UN-Water was founded. AsUN-Water’s capacity development office, the UN-Water DecadeProgramme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) 2 fosterscooperation in capacity development activities in abroader sense that has impact beyond the boundariesof UN-Water.The case for capacity development inwater cooperationCapacity development and cooperation are fundamentallylinked and mutually dependent. It is nocoincidence that one of the five major objectives ofIYWC 2013 relates to it, explicitly calling for theneed to “enhance knowledge and develop capacityfor water cooperation”. 3Water cooperation can take on different forms ofmeaning, design and application depending on thenature, aspect and context of cooperation. It has political,educational, scientific, cultural, ethical, social,religious, legal, institutional and economic facets.Image: UN-HabitatUsed safely, wastewater can help to alleviate the increasing pressure on freshwater resources, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas[ 100 ]