“Integrated water resources management says it all. We have to talk about the inter-dependencies of water. Water is life, we say, and it really connects to everything … If water is connected to everything, we have to act on that, but we shy away from the real understanding of what water means … either because of its complexity … or because it is connected to past practices and vested interests.”
The third Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC2020) will take place 3–5 June under the theme “Circular Economy in a Sustainable Society”. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be held online.
The first platform with harmonized data for the Drin River’s environment, societies and economies has just been launched. The Integrated Management System is a free online tool available to all that allows regular information exchange among competent institutions in the Drin basin, facilitating effective transboundary cooperation.
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Social inclusion and gender equality are long-established, core values of the GWP Network and manifested in the GWP Gender Strategy and the GWP Gender Action Piece. In a series of inter-regional discussions, GWP Senior Gender & Social Inclusion Specialist Liza Debevec sets out to identify what GWP as an institution can do to apply the concepts in these documents. Her first discussion is with Amy Sullivan and Andrew Takawira, who are both involved in a large Pan-African project on gender transformative water and climate investment. The discussion topic is institutional leadership and commitment, which is the first of 4 action areas in the Gender Action Piece. Their message is clear: leadership makes all the difference.
“Water in our region – where 98% consists of desert – means much more than anywhere else. It is an interesting subject, with an interesting expert community – and it is also the subject of interest to various players. My female ancestors lived under very hard pressure, but they were leaders, and they passed this gen on to me”, says Guljamal Nurmuhamedova, Regional Coordinator for GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA). In celebration of International Women's Day (IWD2020) she shares the story of the females in her family, which shaped her own destiny: “I am part of my family”.
The national technical workshops to review and consolidate the draft baseline analysis on Early Warning Systems (EWS) and related recommendations for the development of flood and drought risk maps and the establishment of an Early Warning System were held in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on October 8 and 9, in Bamako (Mali) on October 27 and 28, 2020.
In the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” In that spirit, we are delighted to share the personal journeys from 78 Water ChangeMaker semi-finalists who have changed the world for the better.
Water governance must embrace gender equality and social inclusion if it is to truly contribute to poverty reduction as the world closes in on 2030, the world’s deadline for meeting the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals. Only by integrating gender and poverty issues into scientific research that informs and finances more equitable and inclusive policies, can we hope to move closer to these important goals.
