The concept of Benefit Sharing represents an alternative approach to the conventional way of negotiation. GEF IW:LEARN partnered with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to deliver programmatic support to the GEF International Waters portfolio to address benefit sharing in their project implementation.
The product of our efforts has been the development of a Benefit Sharing Training Package which was built from a wealth of experience, lessons in river basin governance and management, and co-finance from the IUCN Global Water Programme’s Transboundary Water Management project called “BRIDGE” (Building River Dialogue and Governance). The Training Package provides a process of stakeholder engagement, assessments, and knowledge building to enhance cooperation within countries and across borders for sustainable river basin management and the equitable sharing of benefits.
The Benefit Sharing Training Package was tested at two GEF IW:LEARN workshops in Bangkok (2018) and Cartagena (2019). These trainings received excellent feedback, which has in turn supported revisions of the training materials developed under BRIDGE on benefit sharing. A short article describing the process of development and some of the feedback from the GEF IW:LEARN workshops and the GEF IW projects can be accessed here.
According to the IUCN, The GEF IW:LEARN community has been a good platform to share and exchange on benefit sharing, highlighting the need for such benefit sharing materials.
This training package provides water governance practitioners with an alternative way to promote negotiation and set up benefit sharing exercises, inviting all concerned parties, and exploring the needs and benefit sharing opportunities within and across basins, while facilitating the understanding around the challenges, trade-offs and benefits faced by different stakeholders. This is especially helpful to those who find themselves working in complex basins where the water is shared between various interests, stakeholders and runs over either county, state or national borders.
The framework on benefit sharing presents a process for basin stakeholders to engage with. There are three steps included in this training package:
Each step consists of a facilitation guide that walks the practitioner through how to undertake the step with basin stakeholders in a workshop setting. Template Powerpoint presentation slides accompany this training package and can be used and adjusted by the practitioner. Practical exercises to carry out with stakeholders, associated support materials to run the training, and further guidance are also included. Suggested facilitation options provide helpful tips on how to steer through discussions and topics that can sometimes be contentious and sensitive.
Feedback
GEF IW:LEARN and IUCN are always open to improving our knowledge to increase our effectiveness in supporting benefit sharing processes in river basin management so we very much welcome feedback and exchange of experience from practitioners who have tested this training package.
To provide feedback, kindly contact Natalie Degger (natalie@iwlearn.org) and James Dalton (James.DALTON@iucn.org)/Rebecca Welling (Rebecca.WELLING@iucn.org).
To access more learning offered by our partner network and GEF IW projects, please consult our Learning Exchange Service Centre (LESC) which serves as a market place for coordinating and sharing activities.
© 2026 IW:LEARN
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