A Hungarian photograph has won the international Best Water Photo competition 2013. The photo competition took place in the frame of International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 and was organized by Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe.
The development of hydropower in the Mekong River basin can bring great economic opportunities for Laos. However, since this basin is shared with neighbouring countries, cooperation is crucial. Action was taken and the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed to coordinate the use of these resources for economic development. For Laos, this has been crucial to their success in regards to the MDGs.
Bridgetown, Barbados, September 18, 2013: Ministers with responsibility for Water in several Caribbean countries will gather at the 9th High Level Session (HLS 9) Ministerial Forum which takes place on 10 - 11 October 2013 at the Hilton Barbados Resort. This Ministerial Forum is part of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association’s (CWWA’s) 22nd Annual Conference and Exhibition, which is being hosted by the Barbados Water Authority (BWA).
The Country Water Partnership of Benin (Benin CWP) marked the celebration of the 21th edition of the World Water Day (WWD) on March 22, 2013 by mobilizing stakeholders of the departments of Mono and Couffo around the international theme of "Water cooperation ".A radio debate to inform people about the topic was moderated by stakeholders involved in the commune of Lokossa in the presence of the Training and Communication Officer of CWP-Benin.
A previous lack of clearly defined roles and jurisdictional responsibilities within the water sector led Zambia’s government to take action and establish the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council, which is presently responsible for the main water policy principles. From this case, it can be concluded that any reform process is inherently political, and requires the full commitment of its policy makers to correctly balance financial and political objectives.
In Chile, water has been privatised. However, in order to make sure that access was still available to all strata of society, the privatisation was accompanied by a robust regulatory framework, including a system of direct subsidies for drinking water consumption and sewage services for low income households. This case thus illustrates that in case of privatisation, a direct subsidiary scheme should be considered.