About us

Launched in November 2010 within the framework of the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille (France), the Butterfly Effect (BE) is a network of international and local CSO/NGO, from all over the globe, which advocates for effective local solutions that have a sustainable impact on improving access to water and sanitation and water resource management.

The Butterfly Effect promotes joint initiatives without competing with (or taking over from) other international, regional and local initiatives, and supports its members in their initiatives to strengthen their advocacy actions. As such the Butterfly Effect is a catalyzer for CSO/NGO voice in the water sector and in the international agenda

The Butterfly Effect is made up of over 150 civil society organizations, NGOs, networks as well as youths and women’s organizations.

The Secretariat of the Butterfly Effect is coordinated by the International Secretariat for Water (ISW)

The mission of the Butterfly Effect

The mission of the Butterfly Effect is to ensure that the NGOs/CSOs voice, from all world regions is strong and heard in the international agenda when it comes to advocating water’s essential role in a sustainable and equitable development.  

The role of the Butterfly Effect is to let civil society organisations globally, engage on water issues to express themselves on common aspects. The network speaks not on behalf but rather supports its members (NGO and CSO) from across the globe to voice the views of the sector in strategic water-related international fora (World Water Forum, Agenda 2030, climate change conferences, etc.) in order to influence consistently the political agendas of water-related issues. Getting together and working together under the Butterfly Effect umbrella benefits all members that participate.

 The Butterfly Effect objectives are to:

• Mobilize and facilitate meaningful NGO and CSO participation and contribution in World Water Fora and on the “Water” international agenda in general by pooling knowledge and resources and exert greater influence over the sector’s actors and decision-makers;
• Promote inclusive processes in the World Water Fora in order to ensure a prominent role for civil society organisations, both throughout the preparatory processes and during the Forum;
• Share innovative expertise: The Butterfly Effect proposes solutions based on human rights principles, communities’ experience that relate to policies, projects, information campaigns and empowering stakeholders. Crucially, these solutions are local, sustainable, adaptable, innovative, equitable, accountable and people-orientated.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is formed by all the members of the Butterfly Effect network. Its main roles are :

• To represent all the members of the Butterfly effect;
• To validate the candidatures for the Steering committee;
• To define the strategic orientations of the network; 
• Adopt new institutional regulations proposals presented by the Steering Committee;

The members of the General Assembly have the right to benefit from the activities of the network. Any member that fulfills the requirements could be proposed to any of the governing bodies of the Butterfly Effect.

Become a Butterfly Effect member!

Steering Committee 

The Steering Committee is responsible to the GA for the implementation of the strategic orientations decided by the latter and for the organisation of relevant actions and initiatives.

The Committee, which represents the network at the political level, is composed of representatives elected from among the member organisations worldwide, who ensure the representation of the network at the regional level. Elections to the Steering Committee take place every three years. The committee meets at least once a year.

Member orgabisations of the current Steering Committee are : 

• For Africa : ANEW and POSCEAS
• For Asia :  AOSED and FANSA
• For Europe : Coalition Eau and European Youth Parliament for Water (EYPW)
• For Latin America : FANMex and Redes del Agua
• For North America : ISW-SWE
• For the Global Organisation : Action Against Hunger and Women for Water Partnership

The Secretariat

The day-to-day coordination and management of the Butterfly effect is provided by the Secretariat, implemented by the International Secretariat for Water (Canada - Montreal). The Secretariat ensures the general coordinations and facilitates the internal and external communication of the network.

One of the main tasks of the Secretariat is to inform and consult members. In order to ensure a stronger collective impact, the Secretariat works hand in hand with the members of the Steering Committee to develop the vision and strategies of the network using operational and measurable tools.

 Working Groups

In order to ensure the implementation of the strategic orientations adopted by the General Assembly, and to develop the main themes addressed by the movement, the Secretariat sets up and leads working groups whose tasks include formulating messages to be conveyed on the themes and on the network's strategy.

The creation of a working group has to be validated by the Steering Committee after the evaluation of the proposal, according to the Butterfly Effect strategic plan and budget. A WG needs to be composed of at least one host member and at least 2 other members. The Secretariat facilitates and coordinates the work of the different Working Groups.

Currently the Butterfly Effect is made of the three following Working Groups :

• The Water and Climate Agenda
• The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development  
• The World Water Forum 

To join one of the Working Groups, contact the Butterfly Effect Secretariat: butterflyeffectcoalition@gmail.com

Governance Document: Butterfly Effect Internal

The Butterfly Effect has identified several advocacy themes related to key water governance issues that need to be addressed in order to respond to the water sector's current challenges:

• The human right and access to safe water and sanitation: Implement this human right quickly, by all appropriate means and at all levels. Develop human rights based national roadmaps (national action plans) for the implementation of the human rights to safe water and sanitation by 2015 and beyond.
• Governance: Integrate specifically the equity, participation and accountability dimensions of a human rights-based approach in water governance.
• Finance: Implement sustainable reliable finance mechanisms that are earmarked for water and sanitation services for the poor (namely where fiscal and grant financing takes precedence over loan financing)
• Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health linkages: Base sound policies on a “nexus” understanding of the critical linkages between sanitation, water, environment, health and nutrition.
• Capacity Development: Create a demand / needs-based capacity development program that enables and empowers civil society, community organizations and stakeholders to fulfil their roles in water governance.
• Peace and (transboundary) cooperation: Ratify and domesticate the UN Watercourses Convention, (and where appropriate the UNECE water convention) thus promoting basic rules for cooperation and sustainable and equitable use of international watercourses shared between States.
• Water and natural resources management and climate change: Empower local communities and relevant institutions at the lowest relevant level to plan and manage water and related natural resources through scaling-up and enhancing valuable community-based mitigation and adaptation strategies and programs
• Water and Food security: Recognize the value of local (indigenous and traditional) knowledge and ensure local voices are taken into account in policies and their implementation at all levels.
• Water and emergencies: Support the appropriation and application of the Hyōgo framework for action by all States facing chronic crisis.