- 12 to 14 February 2015: National Forum of water and sanitation in Burkina Faso; theme "permanent access for all to water and sanitation by 2030: Strategies, concrete solutions and commitments of relevant parties";
- February 13, 2015: meeting of the Steering Committee of the IUCN PAGE in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso;
- 18 and 19 February 2015: Meeting of the ECOWAS Technical Committee of IWRM Experts in Lome, Togo;
- February 22 to March 22, 2015: The Great Walk for Water (SOS for Lake Chad);
- 6 to 9 May 2015: Steering Committee and General Assembly of GWP-WA partners in Cotonou, Benin.
GWP West Africa took part in the fourth (4th) meeting of the Sahel Irrigation Initiative Programme (SIIP) which is Worlb Bank funded initiative supported by the Permanent Inter-State committee to fight Drought in the Sahel (CILSS). The meeting took place on 3 to 5 February 2015 in Dakar, Senegal. GWP is a member of the task force and the topics for discussion of this 4th meeting were important for GWP's participation.
As part of ongoing national policy dialogues in Egypt and Lebanon within the framework of MED-EUWI and the GEF MedPartnership, GWP Mediterranean and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessed issues for governments to consider regarding private sector investment in the water sector.
Water Ministers representing four Caribbean countries endorsed recommendations for IWRM and water financing at the 2011 GWP Caribbean/Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) High Level Session (HLS) Ministerial Forum.
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.
Experts on water, urban construction, science and technology, forestry and agriculture agreed at a recent meeting that plans for an urban water environment should focus on the optimal allocation of water resources, be adequately funded and have an operational management system. Such a system must also play a functional role in flood control.
The Ghana Country Water Partnership (CWP-Ghana), in collaboration with the Federation of Environmental Journalists (FEJ) of Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the Ghana WASH Journalists Network (GWJN) organised a Symposium on Environmental Reporting. The symposium was held on 22nd April, 2015 at GIJ Seminar Room. In attendance were members of FEJ, the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), WACDEP National Training Coordinator, GWJN executives, students and a member of the photography faculty of GIJ. In all, there were seventy four (74) participants at the symposium.
Benin in West Africa belongs to the group of Least Developed Countries (LDC) with a low per capita GDP. Its economy is predominantly dependant on subsistence farming (extensive cotton production) and regional trade. The country is drained by a dense hydrographical network made up of seasonal flow rivers and less than 3% of its renewable water resources are currently used.
Provincial water directors at the “First National Workshop on the Economic Value of Water” in November 2010 agreed to promote the development of a legal framework incorporating elements of IWRM and water financing. GWP Argentina made a major contribution to the workshop by developing the agenda and drafting the framework and content for the discussion groups.
The Senegal River has seen considerable migration of people in view of worsening drought and desertification. Furthermore, it is subjected to threats such as loss of arable land, and pollution from waste. To address the problems and to realise the potential of the basin, the Senegal River Development Organisation was established by three of the riparian states. This case gives important insights into how an institutional and legal infrastructure can be built in stages.