Starting point of the Integrated Watershed Management Network was the first workshop of the DAAD-sponsored university cooperation project on "Integrated Watershed Management Network" in 2004 . It was initiated by University of Siegen and Freie Universität Berlin with the intention to develop and implement a regional master's programme “Integrated Watershed Management” at all partner universities in Eastern Africa: Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), Makere University (Kampala, Uganda), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Morogoro, Tanzania), Arba Minch University (Arba Minch, Ethiopia). 2006 the MSc on IWM was endorsed at Kenyatta University. 2007 first students enrolled at KU for the IWM MSc Programme with a DAAD sponsorship.

Since 2006 several summer /winter schools on IWM took place (see network activities). The focus was already directed to capacity building on Integrated Watershed Management. In addition to the technical objectives also capacity building on e-Learning for IWM was part of the activities (e.g. GeoLearning). The IWM network is actually running several projects in Africa and Central Asia.