In October 2011, Swedish Water House initiated a project to map what regional and international actors are doing within Transboundary Water Management. This was a response to the very limited, fragmented and often case-specific nature of TWM knowledge. The actor-based mapping aimed to assist the identification of "knowledge gaps" and needs for further actions, leading to more informed decision-making in water management. It also aimed to highlight positive examples of TWM, acting as a motivation for increased investments by development partners. It also sought to promote objective decision-making, thereby helping to form a framework for resource allocation in TWM.

This database draws on the information collected through the mapping project and gives a snapshot of the activities, processes and projects of and tools used by actors working with various transboundary water issues. It also shows which regions and basins actors are connected to. It currently includes Financial Institutions, UN Agencies and Programs, International NGOs, River Basin Organizations, Regional Economic Communities and Intergovernmental Organizations.

The map shows the different regions and basins in the world. It holds more than 700 transboundary basins, including Large Marine Ecosystems, Rivers, Aquifers and Lakes. Defining geographical boundaries is not an uncontroversial issue but a highly political one. This database groups countries in the subregions defined by unstats.un.org. The country borders originates from the world borders dataset, www.thematicmapping.org and basin borders from www.iwlearn.net.

Do you know about an actor that is working with TWM but is not included in this database? Is there an interesting project/process or tool you want to add? Then you are more than welcome to add this information. Please send this information to karin.glaumann@siwi.org.