After learning about more than 350 Water ChangeMaker stories from around the world, we are excited to share with you the list of 78 semi-finalists that have been identified by our qualified and diverse technical jury to pursue the next stage in the Awards selection process. While the possibility to submit stories was offered in six languages, a majority of the semi-finalists come to us from South Asia, South America and Central America, with wide representation from 11 other regions.
August 31, 2020 – Enhancing water security between nations has become an imperative with water use in river basins surpassing sustainable limits and roughly 60% of the world’s freshwater resources crossing national borders. As a response, a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) aims to deliver the skills and knowledge for water cooperation. GEF IW:LEARN has been driving the development of the MOOC, coordinated and produced by Global Water Partnership (GWP), and with contributions from leading organisations.
GWP’s ongoing country consultations to evaluate the degree of implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is progressing as planned, with July being a busy month. In Central America alone, consultations were held in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama (shown in the above photo).
In celebration of International Youth Day 2020 on 12 August, GWP organised an online discussion with GWP Youth Engagement Specialist Rianna Gonzales, who interviewed GWP Southern Africa Youth Coordinator Paseka Lesolang about his achievements as an entrepreneur and influencer. Paseka said that one of the most important skills that has brought him to where he is today, is self-knowledge. This has allowed him to stretch himself to the next point. “Know thyself” was therefore one of his key messages.
GWP kicked off its first GCF Readiness workshop for 2020 – one of 30 being planned for this year – on July 28-29, in Uganda. The workshop, held at the request of the Government of Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), trained participants on how to access support from the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme.
In July, a 3-part webinar series was held on “Coordinating, Implementing, and Financing National Climate and Water Policy Frameworks”. The series was developed by GWP and Cap-Net, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), and the Water Governance Facility. The sessions highlighted climate and water linkages in national frameworks such as the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and various investment mechanisms.
The Water ChangeMaker Awards closed its submissions on 14 June – with 350+ individuals and groups from over 80 countries having submitted their personal experiences on how they have influenced water decisions that build climate resilience. Since that time, all submitted projects have undergone eligibility and verification screening.
GWP co-designed a webinar series on farmer-led irrigation (FLI) in partnership with the World Bank, the International Water Management Institute, and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. The 2-part series, which concluded on 9 July, highlighted the need for innovative water solutions to support agricultural production systems in a changing climate. FLI development has gained increased attention as one of the solutions to build climate resilience for smallholder farmers. GWP is involved with stakeholders in several countries on FLI initiatives.
GWP and the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) collaborate on a storytelling initiative to make the voices of youth heard on water. Reflecting on the current times, with the world battling a health crisis, we asked youth around the world how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed their daily routines. This is the third and final instalment in the series.
GWP Central America is coordinating a series of workshops regarding integrated drought management in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, which are part of the project “Increasing Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity due to Floods and Drought and Promoting Resilience in Central America”, financed by EUROCLIMA+.
