GWP-Med, along with partner organisation Lions' Club, is coordinating a national campaign in Tunisian primary schools for awareness raising with regards to water scarcity and the importance of water saving, during the month of February. The campaign is called ÔVI (eau=vie / water=life) and is taking place within the framework of the activity "La Jeunesse Francophone pour l'eau" [Francophone Youth for Water], jointly held by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse (OFQJ), as well as the BeWater Project and the work it does on raising the Tunisian youth's voice on water resources management.
This article is part of a wider coverage of the “MENA Focus” events, a set of four regional sessions dedicated to the Middle East & North Africa, officially launched at the Stockholm World Water Week 2016, alongside the Regional Days for Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) had been selected and serves as the overall coordinator for these “MENA Focus” events. The sessions were organized in partnership with a number of international regional institutions and organisations. “Strengthening Water Governance through Integrity and Sustainable Financing” was the second out of the four sessions, held on the 30th of August.
Five partner institutions are organising a joint training on International Water Law (IWL) in Africa. The experiences and lessons learnt will be used as a pilot to develop a 5-year-long (2016-2020) training programme on IWL, with the aim to improve transboundary water management in Africa. Interested candidates are welcome to apply for funded training before 25 June 2015.
The National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, headed by H.E. the President of Montenegro, Mr. Filip Vujanović, convened in Podgorica, on 15 June 2016, to review the draft National Strategy for Sustainable Development until 2030 that will be presented in July at the Political Forum's session of the UN Economic and Social Council. The National Council also discussed issues and actions related to the coastal zone management and the protection and management of water resources in Montenegro.
Reflection workshop on « Sustainable livelihoods in wetlands in developing countries: the vision of the African youth” initiated by Water For Life Cameroon within the context of the celebration of World Wetlands Day and in partnership with GWP-CAf was held on February 3rd, 2016 in Yaoundé, Cameroun.
21 Participants drawn from 13 Cameroon youth led-organizations working for the protection of environment and research centers attended the workshop on wetlands.
The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness on the position of youth on the importance of the interdependence between human livelihoods and wetlands in urban and rural areas in order to catalyze change in the utilization of resources offered/generated by the wetlands.
Research and Development (R&D) Institutions have a key role to play in Africa’s economic renewal and sustainable development, by improving conservation and utilisation of the continent’s water resources through R&D efforts. In its stride to continue collaborating with R&D institutions, GWPSA’s Executive Secretary, Ms Ruth Beukman participated at a kick off of the NEPAD Networks of Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Water Sciences Phase II meeting held at the Southern Sun- The Cullinan hotel in Cape Town, South Africa from the 24th to the 26th of May, 2016.
The Executive Secretary of GWP, Rudolph Cleveringa, says that GWP as a network needs to change: “We can’t use the same agenda as we did 20 years ago”. Approaching World Water Day 2016, Cleveringa takes a moment to reflect on GWP’s 20 years in the water world and talks about his vision on how to make the network fit for the future – local inclusion and diversity are words he uses to make his point.
The Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) and its stakeholders have continued efforts to improve the management of the Zambezi River Basin. A recent activity was an inaugural stakeholder consultation in collaboration with government agencies, academia, other RBOs, and local representatives, which ZAMCOM organised in Windhoek, Namibia from 27-28 September, 2016. The consultation was held under the theme “Enhancing Transboundary Cooperation through Stakeholder Engagement in the Zambezi Basin”.
On the 4th to the 6th of May, 2016, GWPSA contributed to the National Adaptation Plans (NAP) process through its participation in a Training of Trainers workshop in Zimbabwe, with the aim of advancing the Zimbabwe NAP through the NAP Global Support Programme (GSP). The workshop was held in Kadoma, Zimbabwe, and 40 people attended. The participants came from various government departments, which include; Climate Change, Water, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Local Government and Oxfam.