Drawing on U.S. Government and Civil Service Expertise to Improve Water Resources Management Practices

Did you know that the U.S. Department of State engages with countries around the world on key water issues through AWEP?  Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program, U.S.–based water experts deploy all over the world for short-term consultancies, training programs, and public diplomacy missions. AWEP helps countries improve their water resources management practices and serves as an avenue for U.S. embassies and consulates to engage diplomatically on the U.S. Government Global Water Strategy.

Through the AWEP, American experts have worked on diverse projects and helped perform a water quantity assessment of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan; provided trainings on water data use and management in Liberia and Uganda; conducted a technical assessment of the Hidroituango Dam in Colombia; and trained officials on water governance and stakeholder engagement in Ukraine.

The program draws on the best expertise from across the U.S. Government and civil society. Thus far, AWEP has deployed experts from the U.S. Geological Survey, WASHnote, the U.S. Water Partnership, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The predecessor to AWEP, the Water Experts Program, sent 26 US water experts to work in 17 countries across every geographic region.