• Accountability mechanisms: provide ways for all partners to hold each other to account on the specific, measurable, time-bound actions they have committed to. In the context of this survey, they may include activities that increase Transparency, Accountability, and Participation, and strengthen Anti-corruption (TAP-A). Together, these form a framework for integrity.  For example, in relation to the financing questions in section 4, ‘accountability mechanisms’ typically include mechanisms that make data and information on budgets and expenditures publicly available, and enable participatory budgeting and monitoring of expenditure where appropriate. Such mechanisms should include functions to identify and address corruption and mismanagement.  
  • Authorities: could be ministry or ministries, or other organizations/institutions/departments/agencies/bodies with a mandate and funding from government. 
  • Basins: Includes rivers, lakes and aquifers, unless otherwise specified. For surface water, the term is interchangeable with ‘catchments’ and ‘watersheds’. 
  • Federal countries: Refers to countries made up of federated states, provinces, territories or similar terms. 
  • Gender mainstreaming: Gender mainstreaming is about fully integrating gender perspectives in water planning, management, and decision-making, in a cross-cutting manner. It is not just about increasing women’s representation on committees, or having a general national legal framework on gender equality, although those actions may be part of the overall framework. The dedicated Gender Checklist can be used as a discussion tool to help stakeholders to agree on the score for question 2.2.d, and to inform the ‘status and progress’ and ‘way forward’ responses to that question. The Gender Checklist is derived from the report - Advancing towards gender mainstreaming in water resources management – which presents examples of some specific mechanisms, practices, and tools that have been developed and used by countries in order to progress with gender mainstreaming in water resources management. These have been grouped into six categories: (1) advocacy, high-level commitment, changing prevailing norms and stereotypes; (2) legislative and policy framework and governance; (3) human capital, financial resources, institutions, and support organisations; (4) women’s participation and parity; (5) monitoring activities to track and assess progress; (6) awareness raising, capacity development, and education. 
  • IWRM: Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. IWRM is not an end in itself but a means of achieving three key strategic objectives: 
    • efficiency to use water resources in the best way possible;
    • equity in the allocation of water across social and economic groups;
    • environmental sustainability, to protect the water resource base, as well as associated ecosystems.
  • National (level): Refers to the highest level of administration in a country.
  • Sub-national / state (level): refers to levels of administration other than national. For federal countries, these are likely to be provinces or states. Non-federal countries may still have sub-national jurisdictions with some responsibility for water resources management, e.g. regions, counties, departments.
  • Programmes: Nation-wide plans of action with long-term objectives, for example to strengthen monitoring, knowledge sharing and capacity development, with details on what work is to be done, by whom, when, and what means or resources will be used.
  • Transboundary: Refers to surface and groundwater basins that cross one or more national borders. Only the most important transboundary basins or aquifers that are regarded as significant, in terms of economic, social or environmental value to the country (or neighbouring countries), need to be included in this survey. It is up to countries to decide which ones these are. Where feasible, basins/aquifers included in this survey should be cross-referenced with those included in 6.5.2 reporting, and the focal point for 6.5.2 should be consulted in this process. In the absence of 6.5.2 data or national databases, global databases on transboundary river basins, and transboundary aquifers, may be referred to. If you include a national (sub-basin) as part of a larger transboundary basin, please also include the name of the larger basin. When answering transboundary questions, the majority of most important basins/aquifers must meet the criteria described in each threshold to achieve the score for that threshold.
  • Stakeholders: In this survey, stakeholders are the main groups important for water resources management, development and use. Examples of stakeholders in each group are given in footnotes as they appear in the survey.
  • Water Resources Management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. Ideally, water resource management planning considers all the competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands. An integrated approach (see IWRM) is needed to ensure water resources management is not isolated within sector silos resulting to inefficiencies, conflicts and unsustainable resource use.