As an official intergovernmental observer to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and a core partner of COP27’s Water Pavilion, GWP actively prepared for this year’s COP by promoting discussion of the vital role of good water management for increasing climate resilience throughout the year.
A historical reservoir of 800,000 litres was restored for rainwater harvesting to service the sustainable development vision of Birgu City, which becomes Malta’s first Water Saving City, marking 10 years of collaboration between GWP-Med, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Malta’s Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development, the Energy and Water Agency and local stakeholders. Over 10 years, non-conventional water resources applications under the Alter Aqua programme have saved more than 20 million litres of water annually, benefiting 20% of Malta’s population.
The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security has entered its second year, and coinciding with this, the interactive series of sessions that explore related topics resumed on 21 September. Over 100 participants joined the event on the topic of international water law and dispute settlement. The speaker presentations highlighted the complex and long-running nature of international water disputes.
GWPO Working in Virtual Environments (WiVE) team is coordinating a series of five training sessions in May and June, with the objective of enhancing our skills in facilitation in virtual environments. The sessions are optional and open to all global and regional GWP staff.
A two-day meeting convened - March 23 and 24 - by Zambia’s Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, has recommended key water investment focus areas that will form the composition of the Zambia Water Investment Programme (ZIP), to be launched in July 2022, on the margins of the African Union Heads of State Summit in Lusaka.
“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.”
Building on the 10-year legacy of the "Mission Water" program, which implemented 19 technical solutions in Cyprus that save more than 38 million litres of water every year, "Zero Drop - Mission Water" is a new program which aims to promote the use of recycled water and improve the irrigation of green spaces in Cyprus, while saving 5,000,000 litres of water annually.
The UNEP-UNDP National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) organized a joint webinar on accessing the GCF Readiness Support for National Adaptation Plan (NAP) on Wednesday, 8 December 2021. The webinar was attended by close to 100 participants representing GCF National Designated Authorities (NDAs), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Focal Points, GCF Direct Access Entities (DAEs) and technical advisors, water, and climate specialists.
Last week, an online ceremony marked the end of Danube Art Master 2021 environmental arts competition. Despite hard times, competitors submitted hundreds of artworks.