Water resources cooperation issues must be addressed at the local, national and, as appropriate, regional and international levels. All stakeholders, including those in government, international organizations, the private sector, civil society and academia, should be engaged, taking into account social, economic and environmental factors and paying special attention to the livelihoods of the poor and most vulnerable people.

Water cooperation must also be consistent with other government policies. Decisions should emerge from informed consultation and negotiation, taking into account basin interconnectedness and relationships among different land and water resources, and weighing the costs and benefits of all options. There are many challenges to overcome.

Some of the key questions addressed by this three-day conference include:

• Day 1: Presentation of Conference background and discussion of experiences of cooperation among nations and among different types of stakeholders at River Basin scale. What is the need, the benefits, the tools and the approaches for dispute resolution (ADR) for cooperation? What has been the experience so far in implementing ADR tools? How effective they have been? What are the positive and negative lessons from experience? What are the lessons that we can learn from each other?
• Day 2: Presentation and discussion of local cooperation experiences. What has been the experience so far in implementing ADR tools and approaches in cities and rural areas? How effective they have been? What are the positive and negative lessons from experience? What are the lessons that we can learn from each other? How do we specifically engage the marginalized groups to constructive effect?
• Day 3: Presentation and discussion of stakeholder platforms in the host country. What are the existing stakeholder platforms at different scales? How decisions are taken? How disputes are resolved in River Basins, among stakeholders and regional administrations and at local level, in irrigation associations and in cities? What messages for the International Year of Water Cooperation and for World Water Day 2013