The objective of this conference is to facilitate knowledge/experience sharing across the GEF IW portfolio, with a special emphasis on transboundary water management, in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The event is an active training and experience-sharing event during which the participants will not only sum up the progress achieved but also will look into the future of programming within and beyond the International Waters focal area. As a GEF funded project, The Flood and Drought Management Tools (FDMT) was represented by staff from DHI and the International Water Association (IWA), and the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute (HAII) as a project stakeholder.

There were several opportunities to show case the FDMT project, including:

• Innovation Marketplace

Exhibition poster displaying results, unique approach and catalytic outcomes, and how the project contributes to achieving the SDGs

• Portfolio Solutions Exchange

Providing projects the opportunity to promote their innovative solutions to scale up GEF IW investments in the context of achieving the SDGs

• Participant-led workshop: Planning for Floods and Droughts in a Transboundary River Basin Context

There are many data sources and freely available applications to aid in planning for flood and drought events. Effectively communicating uncertainty is an essential part of planning, and should not be underestimated. The Flood and Drought Management Tools project provided a demonstration and hands-on testing of a web-based data portal, which provides a variety of climate data for GEF basins. The flood and drought data portal is one of the tools in the project and provides an opportunity for institutions to access easy to understand satellite data to better plan and prepare for climate impacts including flood and drought events.

Data is the basis for any planning activity, and data availability is often one of the key constraints for planning. This is the case in many basins including the Lake Victoria and Volta Basins. The web portal provides a solution to this issue, providing satellite data from a variety of sources. The web portal is a starting point were users can view data and download this information to feed into their models or tools for further analysis. The portal provides an overall starting point for dialogue across scales to access and share data sources and to get organisations operating within transboundary basins to consider the influences beyond their operational boundaries.

For more information on the project's participation in the event, please contact the project team.