This seminar will seek possible approaches, measures and policies of combined efforts of river basin and coastal area managers in order to explore the unique water and wastewater challenges of coastal urban centres, ranging from low-lying informal settlements to tourism destinations to sprawling coastal cities. UNEP had earlier developed the "Conceptual Framework and Planning Guidelines for Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management (ICARM)" and testing of the approach in a number of demonstration projects. In its partnership with UNEP Collaborating Centre on Water and Environment, the Freshwater-Coastal Partnership (FresCo) was formed to highlight and promote the Hilltop-to-Ocean (H2O) approach.       

The seminar will place an emphasis on practical case-studies from developed and developing countries, so as to draw lessons from the initiatives to actually apply the H2O methodologies. The overall objective is to identify key elements and tools of integrated Hilltop-2-Ocean (H2O) policy reforms that recognise the linkages between watershed/groundwater management and downstream water quality objectives and water demands for coastal cities and marine-related industries. The challenges associated with initiating and mainstreaming these reforms will also be identified and possible measures to address the challenges will be explored by policy makers and political decision makers. 

Programme