News and Activities

GWP hosted a special side-event on "Source-to-Sea action for Healthy Rivers & a Clean & Healthy Ocean" at the 9th 'Our Ocean' Conference in Athens, Greece on 16 April 2024, moderated by Dimitris Faloutsos, Deputy Regional Coordinator of GWP Mediterranean and Deputy Coordinator, Transboundary water cooperation theme, and co-organised with distinguished partners, Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), and SIWI.

Covering a geographical area of 20,361 km2 connecting 5 countries and 5 water bodies, the Drin Basin in Southeast Europe sustains unique ecosystems and endemic biodiversity, while supporting the economic activity of over 1.6 million people who call it home. However, four transboundary problems - deterioration of water quality, variability of hydrological regime, biodiversity degradation and disturbance of the natural sediment transport regime - are threatening the basin’s health with a direct impact on both the environment and livelihoods.

The GWP 2021 Network Meeting of Partners took place online on 1 & 2 December under the Theme “Leading Change and Innovation through our Partners”. GWP-Med was actively involved, presenting examples of success stories from its work around the Mediterranean in several Breakout Sessions.

The Drin Riparians and their partners pointed towards enhanced forms and arrangements of transboundary cooperation.

Stakeholders from the political sphere, scientists, activists, and professionals that participated at the online workshop “Gender dimensions in the sustainable management of natural resources through a Nexus approach in the Drina River Basin” acknowledged the fact that women are disproportionately affected by natural disasters and should have a more active role in decision making on environmental issues.

It is with great pride that we present the Drin Animated Story! A series of 4 animation videos will take you on a journey through the Drin’s complex water system and the challenges it faces.

Responding to the demand expressed by Mediterranean countries to accelerate access to GCF opportunities for adaptation projects, the 2nd Technical Workshop on GCF Project Preparation for Transformational Cli-mate Resilience Water Projects in the Mediterranean, with emphasis on Gender objectives and require-ments, was organised online, on Thursday, 11 February 2021, 09:30-12:30 CET.

The ad-hoc Steering Committee for the Nexus activities in the Drina River Basin under the SEE Nexus Project, supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), had its first online meeting on 15 October 2020. Representatives from the Ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia relevant to the water, energy and environment sectors, were informed about and commented on the project’s objectives and planned activities in the basin.

The Lake Ohrid Watershed Management Plan was presented and discussed with representatives from all related authorities of North Macedonia marking another step towards its official adoption.