Program Overview

Program Overview

The TWB-MRB program is a collaborative initiative between Florida International University (FIU), World Vision International, CARE and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to support governmental and local partners to support the improvement of water resource management for the benefit of both people and the world-renowned biodiversity in the Mara River Basin and Mara-Serengeti eco-region in Kenya and Tanzania, while also providing potable water, improved sanitation and hygiene to communities living in the Basin. This integrated water program seeks to achieve the following specific objectives:

• Achieve a transboundary agreement(s) to ensure water flows to sustain the human populations and biodiversity.

• Implement a coordinated and highly participatory program to facilitate improved and harmonized river basin management practices and policies to service multi-sectorial needs.

• Promote explicit biodiversity conservation results that go beyond positive externalities of an integrated water resources management (IWRM) activity, and to monitor indicators for biodiversity conservation.

• Increase access to safe water and improved sanitation while promoting better hygiene.

The innovative, cross-cutting work of the partners directly addresses the threats to the health of the human population through coordinated activities targeting all levels of government and civil society. By improving the health of the human population while working to maintain the world-class biodiversity of the Mara River Basin, GLOWS is creating clear linkages between water supply and watershed management that will enable long term sustainability of these investments.