News 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 Organizations 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 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 citoyennet active le developpement integracion et la formation 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

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: