In 2011, GWP Nicaragua was asked by Autoridad Nacional del Agua, the national water authority, to help prepare a guide to be used as the basis of all basin management plans implemented in the country.
To celebrate World Water Day, the President of El Salvador through the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, presented the General Water Bill to the National Congress on the 22nd of March. The Bill recognizes the human right to water. GWP El Salvador has been advocating for this billfor several years.
A key part of ensuring that future water practitioners take an integrated approach to managing water resources is to target those training young water professionals. GWP Central America is strengthening its work with universities to provide them with knowledge and information on water resources management. In recent months, Country Water Partnerships and the Regional Secretariat have organized events for the academic community.
The National IWRM Plan for Panama was approved in November 2011. This is the culmination of a long process, under the National Environment Authority (ANAM), supported by GWP Panama. The Plan aims to improve the welfare of communities in the basins, without compromising the sustainability of their natural or cultural systems. The Plan will benefit 3.4 million people and contribute to the operation of the Panama Canal, which in 2011 contributed US$1.043 million to the country's economy.
In 2011, GWP Central America published an updated version of the Status of Water Resources in Central America, a compilation of data on water resources in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. This publication presents advances and challenges in water resources management at country and regional level.
Central America is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, so recognising that water is essential to adaptation is crucial to national and regional strategies. To this end, GWP Central America has contributed to the water component in the Action Plan of the Regional Strategy for Climate Change (ERCC) and organised a regional workshop on water and climate change.
Held in Buenos Aires in November, the 12th Conference of Ibero-American Water Directors (CODIA) confirmed the 11 targets and the key political messages initially proposed as part of the Americas' preparatory process for the 6th World Water Forum.
The National Water Law, approved in 2009 (see GWP in Action 2009 Annual Report, p. 24), aims to establish a national framework for water management and stipulates the establishment of watershed councils to improve water governance through stakeholder participation.
In order to place climate change adaptation higher on the regional agenda, GWP Central America co-organized a two-day workshop on “Regional development and its relationship to water and climate change.”
With the support of GWP Honduras, a coordination platform was established on June 7, 2011, to manage the Tulián River Basin.