Beneath the Drin River basin’s surface water bodies, lies one of the largest karstic areas in the world, comprised of tunnels, porous rocks, valleys and underground caves. The Drin basin’s groundwater system is a fascinating, yet still largely unexplored network, indispensable for human well-being.
The 15th Steering Committee meeting of the Regional Water Partnership for Central Africa (GWP-CAf) held from 3rd -4th November 2021 followed by the 7th General Assembly on November 5th, 2021, in Douala.
The United Nations system designated 2020 as the year in which most of the indicators under Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation were to be updated. GWP, through its SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme, committed to assisting at least 60 countries in mapping out progress on SDG 6.5.1 – the degree of implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Despite the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, about 2,400 participants in 61 countries were consulted, mostly online.
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting all West African countries and upsetting all activities planned by various communities. Movement is reduced in all countries with harder measures in some.
Integrative and inclusive investment project planning at the transboundary and regional levels is critical in the response to challenges and catalysing development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. This was one of the key issues raised at the transboundary water management session convened by the Lesotho ICM project and Partners at the Stockholm World Water Week (WWW) on 30 August in Stockholm, Sweden.
GWP and Wuhan International Water Law Academy are co-organisers of a 6-part series called the "Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance Train." The second session took place on 16 February on “Ecosystems, International Law, and Transboundary Water Cooperation”. The event gathered over 100 participants, led by a panel of international experts who agreed that ecosystems protection has been gaining increased political acceptance and technical understanding in recent years.
On 18 November, the Starting at the Source to Save the Ocean event was co-convened by members of the Action Platform for Source-to-Sea Management (S2S), as part of the United Nations ‘Ocean Decade’ (2021–2030). Participants learned of the importance of taking action on land in order to improve ocean health. The event focused on the interlinkages of freshwater and marine water resources.
Paraguay recently concluded a successful consultation workshop on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.1: Degree of Implementation of Integrated Management of Water Resources (IWRM). Paraguay is one of the countries that accepted support by GWP South America to carry out consultations on SDG 6.5.1. The first round of consultations started in 2016, and in Paraguay in 2017. Paraguay's 2020 consultation is one of many taking place worldwide to collect data and measure the progress made on IWRM.
