The GWP 2021 Network Meeting of Partners took place online on 1 & 2 December under the Theme “Leading Change and Innovation through our Partners”. GWP-Med was actively involved, presenting examples of success stories from its work around the Mediterranean in several Breakout Sessions.
Back by popular demand, the Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance Train began its ‘Season 2’ in September 2021. This series of online engagement sessions follow a ‘train-like’ approach, stopping at various locations around the world and focusing on topics related to transboundary freshwater security. Each new stop explores a different topic from the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security. The Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance Train continues its journey on 16 November, with a 9th interactive session in the series. The topic for this event is water diplomacy and negotiation in international water law. It is a jointly organized by GWP and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)/International Centre for Water Cooperation (ICWC).
In an interview for GWP-Med Newsflow, Mr Almotaz Abadi, Managing Director for Water, at the Union for the Mediterranean - Water and Environment Division, discusses regional efforts to address water scarcity and climate challenges, the key ingredients of impactful UfM projects, ways to adapt to COVID-19 effects, and the necessity of adopting a proactive approach for realizing the SDGs.
With over 54 shared river basins in Africa, 15 being in the SADC regions, cooperation in the management and development of transboundary water resources is key to economic growth and integration.
On March 24, 2022, the National University of Public Service in Budapest, Hungary, conferred an honorary doctorate on Jerome Delli Priscoli, GWP’s Technical Committee Chair from 2016 to 2022.
The Consultation Framework of Non-State Actors in the Water and Sanitation Sector (CANEA) has succeeded in its advocacy, which began in 2013 and was strengthened in 2020 and 2021, thanks to the technical and financial support of NIYEL, with the vote by the National Assembly of Law No. 2022-04, on public hygiene in the Republic of Benin. Voted on Thursday 20 January 2022, this law replaces the old hygiene code dating from 1987.
Benin has developed its multi-sectoral National Adaptation Plan (NAP) which covers the eight most vulnerable development sectors, namely Water resources, Agriculture, Health, Energy, Forest ecosystems, Coastal zone, Infrastructures and urban development and, Tourism. This participatory development work benefited from the technical and financial support of GIZ and UNDP.
The tenth Assembly of Partners of GWP West Africa held on September 2021 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on the theme "Covid-19 Crisis Response Strategy for Water Security and Sustainable Development in West Africa”.
