International waters face complex pressures that no single nation can resolve alone, making cooperative frameworks essential to protect shared freshwater, coastal, and marine systems.

This evaluation reviews GEF support for international waters, assessing efforts from 1991 to 2000 to strengthen cooperation under global and regional legal frameworks such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1997 International Watercourses Convention. The evaluation applies a mixed-methods approach, drawing on portfolio review and case studies of multicountry initiatives to assess results and challenges.

Findings show that GEF projects link global norms to regional and site-specific action, helping countries adopt institutional arrangements that connect freshwater basin management with downstream marine impacts. The portfolio supports innovations in fisheries management, pollution control, and habitat protection, but further progress is needed to integrate water quality with allocation concerns and to ensure sustainability. Weaknesses remain in linking pollution, habitat, and fisheries issues, and in translating conventions into effective transboundary agreements.

The report recommends strengthening country and regional ownership, improving integration across sectors, expanding adaptive management approaches, and enhancing monitoring systems to track long-term impacts.