Actualité 28 jan, 2026

BRIDGE Gender Grants: Supporting Women’s Leadership in Transboundary Water Governance

IUCN’s BRIDGE (Building River Dialogue and Governance) programme received over 130 applications for funding through the Gender Grants process. Thirteen applications were selected, advancing gender equality and women’s leadership in transboundary water governance across Africa, Asia, and South America.

The selected organisations include six recipients of Gender Mainstreaming Grants and seven recipients of Women Leadership Grants, covering basins in a wide range of countries such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chad, Ecuador, India, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe. Below, we introduce the selected projects and the work they will carry out.

The BRIDGE Gender Grants include two complementary types of support. Gender Mainstreaming Grants are intended to support River Basin Organisations and transboundary water institutions integrate gender equality into their operations and governance, strengthening institutions and promoting women’s participation in decision-making. Women Leadership Grants support women-led or women-focused initiatives that build leadership in freshwater governance and ecosystem restoration, enhancing the capacity of women and their organizations to lead actions that benefit shared basins and foster resilient freshwater ecosystems. Selected organisations:

Gender Mainstreaming Grants:

The Face for Change in Mara River Basin led by Mara River Water Users Association - MRWUA in Kenya.

Women Leading the Tide: Gender-Transformative Water Governance in CharLata led by OBHIZATRIK Foundation in Bangladesh.

Empowering Women’s Leadership in Mekong Transboundary Water Governance led by Community Resource Centre Foundation - CRC in Thailand.

Building Bridges for Women’s Leadership in Water Management led by EnviroPress in Zimbabwe.

Shared Waters, Shared Power: Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Mano River Basin Water Governance led by The Nature Compact in Liberia.

Women of the Medjerda: a network for clean and sustainable water led by Green Compass in Tunisia.

Woman Leadership Grants:

Strengthening Women’s Leadership and Participation in the Sustainable Management of the Lake Chad Basin led by the Association des Jeunes pour la Citoyenneté Active et la Démocratie - AJECADIF in Chad.

Inclusive Freshwater Governance for Sustainable Communities in the Ruvuma Basin Voices for Water led by Youth Environmental Justice and Gender Equality - YOGE in Tanzania.

“Jal Sakhi” – Women’s Leadership in Freshwater Governance led by Joint Endeavour for Emancipation Training & Action of Women - JEETA in India.

The ‘Warmi Yakukamak’ – Amazon Water Guardians, building resilience and strengthening Women’s Leadership in Water Boards in indigenous communities led by Fundación Ingenieros en Acción - Ecuador (FIEA).

Seeds of Advocacy: Paralegal and AI Training for Women Leaders of Lake Titicaca and Relevant Sub-Basins led by Agua Sustentable in Bolivia/Peru.

Women-led Water Stewardship in Mara River Basin led by Blue Victoria Organization in Tanzania.

Women Artisans Safeguarding Health and Ecosystems (WASHE) led by Uganda National Women Fish Organization - UNWFO in Uganda

Capacity building and leadership training

Nearly all projects include training programmes to strengthen women’s skills in water governance, leadership, advocacy, and environmental management. Examples include:

Training 30 women leaders and 20 youth in environmental governance (Chad)

Training 60 women in leadership and negotiation (Bangladesh)

Training 45 women in water policy, governance, and effective participation (Zimbabwe)

Some projects also train participants in specialised areas such as:

Paralegal and AI training for women leaders (Bolivia and Peru)

Water quality monitoring and pollution identification (Uganda)

Eco-restoration and afforestation (India)

These activities aim to strengthen women’s technical knowledge while also building confidence and leadership capacity.

Participatory research and knowledge generation

Several projects focus on generating knowledge about gender and water governance through participatory research methods:

Participatory gender audits of local water governance institutions (Bangladesh)

Survey documenting the impacts of water pollution on rural women and their families (Tunisia)

Gender assessments of Mano River Basin governance frameworks, strategic plans, and operational systems to identify gaps and opportunities for inclusion (Liberia)

Participatory diagnostic of barriers to women’s participation to local governance of water resources (Chad)

These processes help identify structural barriers and inform gender-responsive governance strategies.

Community engagement and awareness

Various projects engage communities through dialogues, awareness campaigns, and participatory activities:

Community dialogues on water quality and fisheries (Uganda)

Mapping of freshwater sources and reviving traditional water bodies (India)

Awareness campaigns on water governance and environmental health (Tunisia)

Media campaigns and advocacy initiatives to challenge discriminatory norms, raise awareness of women’s rights, and promote shared responsibility in water governance (Tanzania)

These activities strengthen community ownership of water management while raising awareness of gender equality.

Policy advocacy and governance engagement

Several grants connect grassroots women leaders to policy processes and governance institutions:

Policy recommendations to the Mekong River Commission and Thai government agencies (Thailand)

Policy briefs and advocacy dialogues in the Mara River Basin (Kenya)

Multi-stakeholder forums to improve water governance practices (Uganda and Tanzania)

By linking community knowledge with policy processes, the projects aim to ensure that women’s perspectives are reflected in water governance decisions.

Direct beneficiaries

Across the 13 grants, more than 660 women and community representatives should receive direct training:

20–30 Indigenous women leaders and 6 paralegals trained in the Lake Titicaca basin

30 women and 20 youth trained in environmental governance in Chad

45 women trained in water governance leadership in Zimbabwe

60 women trained in leadership and negotiation in Bangladesh

100 rural women trained on water governance, leadership, environmental health, and sustainable practices in Tunisia

50 women and 30 youth from local communities trained to engage in basin-level water governance in Kenya

30 women trained as champions in water quality monitoring in Uganda

At least 50 women trained on water management, eco-restoration, and governance participation in India

At least 20 participants (70–80% women) trained on business and human rights, water governance, and gender-responsive advocacy in Thailand

At least 200 women and youth leaders trained in leadership, governance, and water resource management (Tanzania).

Indirect beneficiaries

Indirect reach is significantly higher due to community awareness activities and institutional change. For example:

Uganda’s project aims to reach at least 500 community members through awareness dialogues.

India’s project trains 50 women leaders directly, who then share knowledge with an additional estimated 100 women from the community.

Ecuador’s project strives to have at least 50% female leadership and participation on the water boards.

Institutional reforms, such as gender strategies and action plans, may influence entire basin governance systems.

With over a decade of experience across more than twenty transboundary river basins worldwide, BRIDGE strengthens water governance and diplomacy by supporting inclusive institutions, safeguarding water security, conserving biodiversity, and promoting cross-border cooperation. Inclusive governance remains central to BRIDGE, recognizing that women’s voices and leadership are essential for fair, resilient, and effective management of shared water resources.

More information on each of the grantees can be found in page set up for each of their projects, under which we will also keep you updated on their progress: