A significant step toward collaboration among riparian countries took place when GWP-Med helped organise a consultation meeting and workshop on IWRM in the extended Drin River Basin, held in November 2008 in Skhoder Lake, Albania. It performed this task in its role as Technical Facilitator of the Petersberg Phase II/ Athens Declaration Process for transboundary water resources management in Southeastern Europe, which includes the extended Drin River Basin and the Nestos River Basin. Fifty decision makers and experts attended the workshop, which included a special session promoting the GWP ToolBox as a knowledgesharing and capacity-building tool for IWRM. There was unanimous and formal approval by the riparian countries to launch systematic cooperation and action for joint management of the river basin. As a first step, a finalised work plan will undergo a full consultation process within the framework of the Petersberg process. Similar consultative activities were implemented in the Nestos/Mesta River Basin, with the active collaboration of GWP-Med and GWPBulgaria and with the support of the Swiss government. After three years of intensive consultative activities and capacity-building workshops, there is now an active community practising transboundary water resources management in Southeastern Europe. This community includes more than 150 decision makers and experts from 15 countries and has a wider audience of more than 300 other players. A knowledge base has been created and is available on a website facilitated by GWP-Med.
