Global Water Partnership Southeast Asia (GWP SEA) was invited by WMO Regional Office Asia to attend The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) – WMO Regional Forum held in Singapore 4-6 September 2024.
On 25 October 2024, the Swedish Minister of Development Aid, Benjamin Dousa, announced in an interview published in the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) that Sweden would be initiating action to end the Host Country Agreement with GWPO and withdraw formally from the Organisation.
From 30 September to 2 October 2024, Global Water Partnership Southeast Asia (GWP SEA), represented by our Interim Regional Coordinator, Mrs Louise Desrainy Maryonoputri, received a sponsorship to participate in the Drought Resilience +10 Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, at the WMO Headquarters.
On 23-25 October, more than 500 representatives of Ministries from about 80 countries responsible for water, environment, foreign affairs and development cooperation – from both Parties and non-Parties to the Water Convention – together with representatives of joint bodies, international and non-governmental organizations, international financial Institutions and academia from all regions of the world meet in Ljubljana, Slovenia for MOP10.
The recent article in Svenska Dagbladet on 19 October, reporting on GWP’s finances, presents a biased and incorrect picture of the organisation. The article fails to take into account the major shift in development aid financing generally that has also affected GWP, and it does not report on the extensive development of programme and project financing that GWP has secured in recent years.
The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) approach is gaining increasing recognition, particularly for its importance in managing drought risks. At the grassroots level, various WEFE-based solutions have emerged, including agro-photovoltaics, biogas production, small-scale water conservation efforts, and solar desalination. The multiple co-benefits of the WEFE Nexus have led to its adoption in national policies across countries like Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia, while also gaining traction from the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
An article published in Svenska Dagbladet on 16 October presents several claims about the travel practices of GWP and its leadership that are misleading and do not accurately reflect the actual circumstances. This response aims to provide a clearer and more accurate picture.
In early 2023 the Malaysian Economic Planning Unit, under the Prime Minister's Department, released the Water Sector Transformation 2040 document (WST2040), as the strategic agenda for the water sector.
