Capacity building and professional development refers to the ability of individuals and institutions to manage and govern water resources.

The capacity to manage water resources varies from country to country in the Greater Mekong. In addition, water management has become much more complex because of very large numbers of development interventions that affect water resources.

Institutions and individuals have: knowledge and skills to more constructively engage in water-related governance, management, monitoring and research; and to analyse water trends and interventions.

Projects focusing on this theme apply themselves across all of the other WLE Greater Mekong technical themes. The predominant model employed by these projects is fellowships programmes that aim to improve how water management and governance are analysed; as well as improving regional capacities in water research.