1. Symposium on Improving Public Participation and Governance in IWM UVA School of Law, April 18-19, 2003 Multi-stakeholder Involvement and IWRM in Transboundary River Basins: GEF/UNEP/OAS Experiences with the Strategic Action Program for the San Juan River Basin Costa Rica and Nicaragua

2. The Inter-American Strategy for the Promotion of Public Participation in Decision-making for Sustainable Development (ISP) The ISP Its Principles Proactivity; Inclusiveness; Shared Responsibility; Openness throughout the process; Access; Transparency; and Respect for Public input Recommendations for Action  Information and Communication  Legal Frameworks  Institutional Procedures and Structures  Education and Training  Funding for Participation  Opportunities and Mechanisms for Public Participation

3. GEF/UNEP/OAS Experiences in IWRM in Transboundary River Basins GEF/UNEP/OAS Experiences The Bermejo River Basin (Argentina and Bolivia)  The Binational Commission  The Argentine Provinces  The Pilot Projects The Sao Francisco River Basin (Brazilian States and the Federal District)  The River Basin Committee of the Sao Francisco River Basin  The case of EMBRAPA

4. The Formulation of a SAP for the San Juan River Basin and its Coastal Zone (Costa Rica and Nicaragua) Ensuring Multi-stakeholder Involvement from the Earliest Stages of Project Formulation: The Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)  The Causal-chain  The Demonstration Projects and Basic Studies  The impasse The TDA

5. The Formulation of a SAP for the San Juan River Basin and its Coastal Zone (Costa Rica and Nicaragua) Ensuring Social Acceptability of the Proposed Measures: The Strategic Action Program (SAP)  The Demonstration Projects and Basic Studies  The Public Participation Workshops  Bulletins, Web site, Festivals, Contests, and others The SAP Gender, Inequities and IWRM  Mainstreaming gender  Increasing the likelihood of success

6. The Formulation of a SAP for the San Juan River Basin and its Coastal Zone (Costa Rica and Nicaragua) The Strategic Action Program (SAP): A process for engaging all the stakeholders  Building ownership and empowering local stakeholders  Building Strategic Alliances accross the border The SAP (continues..)

7. Opportunities and Pitfalls  GEF-IW Projects: Implementing the ISP Policy Framework  The Incremental Nature of GEF-IW Projects  The Gaps in the Process: A potential setback  Varying Levels of Organization: A key factor  Gender-oriented Programs: Improving effectiveness Conclusions