A major impetus has been given to the Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) for Africa at a wide-ranging Technical Coordination Workshop held in Pretoria, South Africa, January 28 to February 1, 2013. Participants from the eight implementing countries and seven key partner agencies shared achievements to date, lessons learned, and challenges to come in implementing the Programme.
GWP Central America, through the Water, Climate and Development Programme, has developed a socioeconomic analysis of the sectoral impact of the drought of 2014 in Central America. The study concludes that losses are substantial in the agriculture, hydropower and water services sectors – exceeding US$ 650 million.
A training workshop was held on effective regulation targeted at Catchment officers due to their future roles in the catchment regulations, facilitation of the development of Catchment Management Plans (CMPs) and production of Water Charters to be signed by riparian State Governments within the hydrological area. The training was held on 2nd and 3rd February 2016.
Costa Rica has made significant progress in the past decade in expanding access to water supply and sanitation, but the sector still faces challenges in low sanitation connections, poor service quality, and low cost recovery. GWP Costa Rica is organizing workshops as part of a consultation process to be carried out from November 2012 through January 2013 for the elaboration of the Water Agenda 2013-2030.
Steadily shrinking for decades due to unsustainable irrigation policies, the Aral Sea is under increasing pressure, making both allocation and availability major challenges. Action has been taken and the Basin Economic Allocation Model has been developed as a long-term decision support system to facilitate putting “value on water use”. This demonstrates that economic models can be applied to assess economic value maximization of different water uses.
In the Danube hydrographic basin, agricultural practices continue to be the main source of water pollution. A pilot project “Best Agricultural Practices” was initiated focusing on e.g. nutrient management, conservation tillage and manure management. Awareness campaigns were initiated, training and education of farmers were emphasised. The key lesson is that these projects should be complimented by other technical and investment measures.
Management of the Upper Vistula basin is guided through the project Continuation of the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive, which is a joint French-Polish initiative. This project provides avenues for exchange of practical experiences between Polish and French partners, mobilises different stakeholders within basin borders. The most important lesson learned is to remember that documents should be transparent and comprehensible.
The area around Lake Moyua is experiencing severe soil degradation resulting from inappropriate agricultural practices. To reverse and control the degradation process, an IWRM Plan is implemented. By involving the communities, the aim is to restore the soil, the hydrological systems, forests and biodiversity, as well as the harmonisation of policies and implementation of management regulations. This case study consequently demonstrates the value of a bottom-up approach.
The Segura Basin in Spain is the driest in Europe. With 365 mm of annual rainfall, this basin has the lowest rainfall in the European Union. Nevertheless, it is also a region which exports fruit and vegetables. The Segura River is thus the main water sources for irrigation. In 1986, when Spain became a member of the European Union, the production of agriculture and canned food significantly increased. As a consequence, a rise in wastewater discharges and lack of water in the already water-stressed Segura River brought extreme deterioration of the water-related ecosystem and a strong social discontent.