The overall goal of the Coordination Action ASEMWaterNet is to promote science and technology co-operation between Europe and Asia on water resource management by focussing on the five main issues that were identified at the 1st ASEM workshop in Changsha: River-basin management, Water-use efficiency in agriculture, Floods, Pollution, Governance and strengthening the links between knowledge and action.

Considering these main areas of water research, the 5 main issues have been dispatched into 5 thematic workpackages and groups in order to:

• promote water management at the basin scale seeking transparency and equitable and sustainable benefits (WP 1 BASIN)
• help improve efficiency in agriculture for greater welfare and sustainable use of water resources (WP 2 AGRI)
• develop and/or reinforce approaches for the prevention of floods, as well as mitigation of their effects and preparedness (WP 3 FLOOD)
• increase knowledge on soil and aquifer pollution, in order to propose prevention and remediation strategies (WP 4 POLLUT)
• explore and promote best practices in water governance with emphasis on the human and institutional dimensions and participatory approaches (WP 5 GOVERN).