Hebei has only met water demand through overdraft of deep groundwater, resulting in the formation of a groundwater overdraft depression. This issue is further exacerbated by saline water intrusion into the groundwater tables. The water administrative department has taken measures accounting for IWRM principles, for example by establishing the Water Users Association to encourage participatory management. The lesson learnt is the value of a participatory approach in management.
The online registration and the call for papers and proposals for the 5th Africa Water Week is now open. The deadline for papers and proposals is March 22nd 2014. The 5th Africa Water Week will be held in Dakar, Senegal from 26th to 31st of May 2014. Overall theme: Placing Water at the Heart of the Post 2015 Development Agenda!
GWP participated in a meeting of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) in Lima 2-4 December 2013. The topic was urban water management, and the meeting enabled advances in the elaboration of the IANAS book “Urban water in the Americas”, to be launched later this year.
TWG 7 Meeting held
The 7th meeting of the WACDEP Technical Working Group (TWG) was held on 28th July, 2015 at the Water Resources Commission (WRC) conference room. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Ben Ampomah, Executive Secretary of WRC. The meeting considered the progress made so far with WACDEP implementation, challenges faced and the way forward to enhance efficiency in the project management. The draft 2015 Semi Annual Report was also discussed and approved during the meeting. Also present at the meeting was the newly appointed Chairman of the GWP-WA Technical Committee, Dr. Yaw Opoku-Ankomah.
The Water, Climate and Development Programme in China has the objective to integrate water security and climate resilience in development planning processes, build climate resilience and support provinces to adapt to a new climate region through increased investment in water security.
The Water, Climate and Development Programme in the Caribbean has been developed to support water security and climate resilience in Caribbean states as a key part of sustainable regional and national development for economic growth and human security.
The consultation workshop in West Africa on the strategy of the African Network of Basin Organizations (ANBO) was held on 21 and 22 July 2014 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). It brought together representatives of Transboundary water management organizations, regional institutions, civil society in the region and the government of Burkina Faso.
The Lake Basin Development Authority was set up to manage the entire catchment area of all rivers draining into Lake Victoria. However, its performance was not to the expectation. A further, action was taken to decentralise management and priority was given to achieve access to basic water requirements for the poor, as well as quality of water and improving availability of water for livestock and irrigation. The key lesson learnt is the importance of a participatory approach.