'Water for Life' UN-Water Best Practices Award 3rd edition: Water Cooperation

The United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015/UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) and the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) organized the 'Water for Life' UN-Water Best Practices Award on behalf of UN-Water.
The 3rd edition of the Award was launched at the Thematic Session on Water Cooperation organized by the Government of Tajikistan at the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil. The application period for the 3rd edition is now closed.
More information on candidates for this 3rd edition is already available online
The purpose of the Award is to promote efforts to fulfil international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015 through recognition of outstanding best practices that can ensure the long-term sustainable management of water resources and contribute to the achievement of internationally agreed goals and targets contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
The Award is open to projects or programmes achieving particularly effective results in the field of water management or in raising awareness in water issues.
The prize is awarded yearly in two categories, one in 'best water management practices' and another one in 'best participatory, communication, awareness-raising and education practices'.
This edition's focus is on Water Cooperation as 2013 is International Year of Water Cooperation and World Water Day 2013 is also dedicated to this important theme.
The 2012 edition was awarded at a special ceremony during World Water Day, on 22 March, in Rome, Italy, to the following initiatives:

• Category 1: Protection of Bangalore Lakes for Posterity – Setting a Legal Precedent for Conservation of Lakes as Commons, for its outstanding contribution towards the conservation of waterbodys in Bangalore, India, and its demonstrable and tangible impact on the food security of peri-urban and rural communities in the region;
   
• Category 2: A communication strategy for social and behavior change through the promotion of three key practices and the adequate use of services in four municipalities of the Department of Cochabamba, Bolivia, for its participatory approach to community-based empowerment and awareness raising, specially among vulnerable groups, and its outstanding contribution to addressing key challenges related to hygiene, water and sanitation in the region.