River Basin Initiative

River Basin Initiative is a global activity under the joint work plan of both the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Goal To establish a global network to share information and link and support activities where the principles of integrated management of biodiversity, wetlands and river basins are demonstrated. General Objectives • Promote integrated river basin management with an ecosystem approach, including wetland and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. • Strengthen cross sectoral dialogue and partnership between the water/land use sectors and biodiversity/wetland conservation sectors. • Support implementation of recent decisions under the CBD, Ramsar Convention and The Hague Ministerial Conference on Water. The role of the River Basin Initiative is to improve the flow of data; information and expertise between sectors involved in basin-scale water and wetland management, both within and between basins, and enhance country capacity for basin-scale management. The Initiative will not be directly developing or implementing on-the-ground basin management projects, as there are already a large number of these players. The Initiative, however, may stimulate or assist organisations in such projects, and endorse such projects where they contribute to the River Basin Initiative goals.