The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) together with the United Nations Environment Programme, Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit (UNEP-CAR/RCU) and the Global Environment Facility’s Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (GEF CReW) were able to successfully bring together over thirty (30) regional organisations working in the areas of water and wastewater in the Caribbean on April 28th and 29th, 2014 in Barbados.
“It’s time for participating in the implementation of WACDEP activities in Lake Cyohoha catchment-” Governor tells stakeholders, in Kirundo Province, of Burundi, on the 25th of July 2013.
Confronted with serious water issues constraining development, Burkina Faso decided to implement IWRM. The process has been conducted following three key steps: 1) assessing the status, 2) adapting the legal framework to IWRM principles and 3) Identifying key water resources management issues and developing an action plan. The main lesson learnt is that political will at the highest levels should be established at an early stage.
“It’s time for participating in the implementation of WACDEP activities in Lake Cyohoha catchment-” Governor tells stakeholders, in Kirundo Province, of Burundi, on the 25th of July 2013.
GWP Executive Secretary Dr. Ania Grobicki participated in the second Global Soil Week at the end of October. She reaffirmed GWP’s support to the Global Soil Partnership and discussed the role of soils in the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus.
Due to substantial population growth putting increased pressure on the water resources, their quality has started to deteriorate. This is perceived as a serious issue since water is inseparably linked with the socio, economical and cultural aspects of livelihoods. Action was taken through an integrated lake conservation programme, aiming to improve water quality. The most important lesson learnt is that awareness raising, education and stakeholder participation are essential.
The Lempa River is shared by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, making its management a good example of transboundary cooperation. To reach consensus, action was taken to develop a treaty as part of a regional process. However, since the treaty was not accompanied by strategies designed by local actors, it is somewhat weak. Nonetheless, this case illustrates that political willingness is crucial for advancing towards IWRM in transboundary watersheds.
Reba Paul from Bangladesh was awarded a scholarship with the International WaterCentre (IWC) in Australia last year. Reba’s scholarship is a collaboration between GWP and IWC – one that will expand to a second scholarship in 2014. As the application deadline approaches, Reba tells her story below.
Poor domestic and international coordination between South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique has led to conflicts over the water utilisation of the Komati River basin. Despite these challenges, action has been taken to strengthen the institutional and legislative framework. These actions demonstrate that in the contexts involving transboundary water resources, a strong institutional framework can promote political and economic cooperation between riparian states.
To drive the interest of Integrated Water Resources Management at the political level in the Caribbean, since 2005, the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in collaboration with its partner, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) host an Annual High Level Forum of Ministers (HLFM).