The Tonle Sap Basin is one of the world’s most productive freshwater ecosystems, sustaining 1.7 million people directly, and millions more through fisheries, farming, and other resource-based activities. 

Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh Credit: Romulo Gama Ferreira

Climate change, upstream development, deforestation, and rapid population growth are placing unprecedented pressure on its ecosystems – threatening biodiversity, water quality, and long-term food security. This is compounded by fragmented data, governance challenges, and limited inclusion of marginalised groups, making it harder to plan for a climate-resilient future. 

To address these issues, the World Bank engaged the expertise of the AWP to work with the Tonle Sap Authority (TSA) and lead an international technical team in a comprehensive diagnostic assessment of the Basin. 

As a trusted partner, AWP brokered collaboration between the World Bank, TSA, and the International Centre for Environment Management (ICEM), building the trust essential for the Basin’s future. 

Working with Cambodian experts, the team produced the State of the Tonle Sap Basin study, a diagnostic combining environmental, hydrological, fisheries, and socio-economic data to establish trends. The analysis pinpointed water security hotspots and drivers of change, providing a foundation for targeted interventions.

Consultation meetings during the visit to the Pearaing Biodiversity Conservation Center. Credit: Sam Dickens/ICEM 

It also saw the co-development of a Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Action Plan with TSA, informed by field consultations with more than 120 stakeholders across four provinces. 

The project began with a jointly designed workplan and inception report, endorsed by the World Bank and TSA, setting a clear roadmap, including a workshop with 150 participants across government, academia, partners, and civil society to share perspectives and agree on priorities.  

Inception Workshop Participants Credit: TSA 

By consolidating fragmented datasets into a single, accessible source, the project improved decision-making capacity, while increasing local ownership through TSA involvement in technical planning and data collection. This collaborative approach strengthened coordination among TSA, the World Bank, and the AWP, embedding GEDSI principles across all activities.  

It has also demonstrated the value of combining local expertise with international technical knowledge to address complex water challenges. 

The next phase of work will include the completion of the State of the Basin analysis, prepare the Water Security Diagnostic Report, as well as finalise the GEDSI Action Plan followed by hotspot verification missions and capacity-building for TSA partners. These outputs will be presented at a national consultation workshop to gather feedback from government and stakeholders.  

These results will inform national water security planning and serve as a model for future basin-wide diagnostics across Cambodia and the Mekong region, demonstrating how partnerships, inclusive governance, and science-based decision-making can secure water futures for communities and ecosystems. 

Learn more about the Australian Water Partnership: www.waterpartnership.org.au

The Bagmati River winds through the Kathmandu Valley, carrying centuries of cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance. Central to sacred rituals, family traditions, and local identity, the river is now heavily polluted after decades of unmanaged urban growth, poor sanitation, and fragmented governance.

Bagmati River Credit: Wikipedia

For the marginalised communities living along its banks, the river’s decline is not just an environmental crisis, it is about exclusion from decisions that shape their daily lives. Previous initiatives have often focused on infrastructure fixes, but this project revealed a deeper governance challenge: whose voices are heard, and whose are not.

Nepal’s water management suffers from overlapping mandates, limited municipal capacity, and historically top-down planning. In the Bagmati corridor, millions depend on the river, yet few influence its management. Climate change is intensifying these pressures, with more frequent monsoon flooding overwhelming drainage systems, displacing residents, and heightening health risks, especially for women, people with disabilities, and informal settlers.

With the support and expertise of the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), Includovate partnered with Canopy Nepal and the National Indigenous Disabled Women Association – Nepal (NIDWAN) to  conduct an inclusive scoping study examining river water pollution from a Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) perspective.

Bagmati River Pashupatinath Temple Credit Uwe Gille

AWP’s trusted role as a broker was critical to the project which saw partners facilitate collaboration between community groups and development partners, ensuring that diverse voices could directly influence planning.

The AWP supported a facilitative model – centering local voices, not external agendas. This approach reflects AWP’s commitment to equitable, climate-resilient water futures, showing how inclusive governance can be both a method and a measurable outcome:

• Transect walks brought residents, researchers, and officials together to map access points, identify flood-prone areas, and witness the challenges first-hand.
• Photovoice trained youth to capture the river’s degradation and cultural significance through images and captions.
• Storytelling sessions gave elders, parents, and children space to share memories, rituals, and hopes for the river—surfacing emotional connections often absent in policy debates.
• Co-design workshops convened women, people with disabilities, Indigenous leaders, and municipal representatives to jointly develop solutions, from inclusive waste management to flood evacuation plans.

Storytelling sessions created space for community, including children, to share memories, poems, and reflections—unveiling a quiet grief for the river, surfacing voices too often left unheard.

Unexpectedly, flooding, not pollution, emerged as the dominant concern. Participants voiced fears for children’s safety, the loss of ritual spaces, and the lack of early warning systems. Children’s contributions brought rare intergenerational insight, deepening the urgency of the discussion.

This process shifted the conversation from technical fixes to governance reform. More than 40 organisations engaged, including 14 disability-led groups, strengthening cross-sector trust and momentum for joint advocacy. Community-led insights shaped practical recommendations, such as integrating flood preparedness into municipal planning and ensuring infrastructure is accessible to all.

The Bagmati study offers insights and approaches for Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) integrated water governance across Nepal and the Indo-Pacific. It shows that climate adaptation and social inclusion are inseparable and resilience cannot be achieved if the most affected are excluded from decision-making.

With climate volatility set to increase flood risks, embedding participatory approaches into water governance is essential. This initiative demonstrates AWP’s commitment to embedding Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) perspectives into water resource management by creating spaces for diverse stakeholders to come together, preserve cultural memory, and work towards more equitable, effective, and climate-resilient water systems.

Inclusion is not an add-on- it is the foundation for water systems that work for all.

Learn more about the Australian Water Partnership: Home – Australian Water Partnership