A River Basin Management Plan of the Sava river basin is under development, the first attempt in the Southern European region to draft a River Basin Management Plan according to the EU Water Framework Directive. GWP Mediterranean and GWP Central and Eastern Europe have significantly contributed to the stakeholder involvement process related to development of the Plan.
Building on the adoption of new water laws by Kazakhstan in 2003, Armenia in 2007 and Uzbekistan in 2009, GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA) pressed on to help put laws into practice.
GWP China Hebei and Hebei Provincial Senior Scientists Association jointly organised a workshop, Low-carbon Economy and Rational Use of Water Resources, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, in October.
The Drin Dialogue, a systematic process coordinated by GWP Mediterranean, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other actors, has advanced consultation among Drin Basin countries and stakeholders on a shared vision for sustainable management.
Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China and its basin is home to nearly 12 million people. Due to overuse, silting, sedimentation and decreasing inflows from the Yangtze River during the dry season, the environment is deteriorating, water shortages are more frequent and wetlands are shrinking.
GWP Central Africa technical experts helped the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) draft the regional water policy aligning country water policies within a coherent regional framework.
GWP West Africa and GWP Ghana organised a regional training for journalists and representatives of basin organisations on the "contribution of big water infrastructures to the sustainable development of countries in West Africa" in Accra, 17-21 May 2010.
In Benin, four years of lobbying and workshops culminated in the adoption by the Government, in July 2009, of a new water policy based on the IWRM approach. GWP Benin led efforts, working with parliamentarians, ministries, civil society, local communities and water user organisations, and establishing a task force. GWP Benin also arranged for consultants to review the first draft of the policy and organised a national workshop to validate the final draft.
The Central and Eastern Europe region of the Global Water Partnership (GWP CEE) has called for pollution prevention and the regular inspection of polluter operations in light of the toxic sludge disaster in Hungary.