Körös/Crisuri transboundary River Basin is in need of more transboundary cooperation and coordination to ensure sustainable management of the resource. To address this, Romania and Hungary jointly developed a strategy for integrated water resources management, aiming to strengthen cooperation. The key lesson is that access to, and management of data is at the core of decision-making in the case of transboundary water management.
The EU Water Framework Directive requires member states to identify and implement program of measures for reaching good water status for all water bodies by 2015. In Romania, this requires substantial investments. In response to address the pressures in the Romanian river basins, a number of measures have been identified, divided into basic measures and supplementary measures. The key lesson is the value of approaching the issue with several complimentary measures.
The Lempa River is shared by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, making its management a good example of transboundary cooperation. To reach consensus, action was taken to develop a treaty as part of a regional process. However, since the treaty was not accompanied by strategies designed by local actors, it is somewhat weak. Nonetheless, this case illustrates that political willingness is crucial for advancing towards IWRM in transboundary watersheds.
Thanks to an innovative partnership between the Global Water Partnership and the IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, under the auspices of UNESCO, based at the University of Dundee, the first joint group of International Water Law Scholars from Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Ukraine and Zambia were able to begin their studies by attending the 2nd Annual Workshop on International Law and Transboundary Freshwaters, held at the University of Dundee.
The Great Ruaha River is important in terms of the utilisation of its water for agriculture, meeting the ecological needs, and the generation of hydroelectric power. During the early nineties, a series of zero flows in this previously perennial river alerted the authorities to hydrological and environmental change. A project was initiated to investigate the reasons and possible solutions. This case illustrates the critical role and benefits of long-term, large-scale, interdisciplinary research in approaching complex problems.
The Pungwe River basin offers significant opportunity for economic growth for Mozambique. The rate of economic success depends to a great extent on the implementation of IWRM. Action was taken to assess the progress of IWRM using a set of indicators addressing relevant areas. It became evident that implementing IWRM takes time and in order to reach success, implementation of IWRM has to follow the pace that can be adopted by all involved parties.
The GWP Steering Committee Meeting was held 18-21 May 2010 in Beijing.
The First Preparatory Meeting for Rio+20, which will discuss the substantive themes, will be held from May 17-19, 2010 at the United Nations ECOSOC in New York.
GWP Executive Secretary and Chair of GWP Mediterranean will participate in the Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands, May 3-7 in Paris, France. The Global Oceans Conference 2010 is hosted by UNESCO and the Government of France and provides a major opportunity for all sectors of the global oceans community to make progress in advancing the global oceans agenda.
At a GWP press briefing on 8 June 2010 at the UNFCCC climate change negotiations in Bonn, Germany, GWP Executive Secretary Dr. Ania Grobicki called for water, climate and development to be integrated into the UNFCCC's work on adaptation.