In Kpélé, Togo, 20 delegates designated by beneficiaries were trained as trainers on agroecological practices so to allow them give feedback when they are back in their respective communities.
August 12 marks International Youth Day, and the 2021 edition has the theme, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health.” We spoke with youth in West and Southern Africa about their involvement in GWP activities around water and food. What are the challenges and how can youth contribute to securing the water-food chain?
The application of the Water Energy Food Ecosystems Nexus approach to farming plots and the development of green business ideas of local youth from Ghar El Melh led to impressive results: water usage for irrigation was cut by 44%, crop productivity increased by 66%, while 4 new green startups launched their services successfully.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has reiterated the need for member states to use an integrated approach for the development of water, energy and food sectors, stating that it helps improve natural resource use efficiency and result in accelerated development.
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.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is celebrated annually on 17 June to raise awareness around desertification and drought. GWP Senior Water & Climate Specialist Valentin Aich, who works on the Technical Support Unit of the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), shares some insights on what’s currently on the IDMP agenda. One of the major activities is expanding the programme to Caucasus and Central Asia (CACENA). Aich is passionate about this but explains that it is a process that will take years to achieve – however, all the elements are now in place and the time is right.
The countdown to the world’s largest water event is under way and this year, for the first time, the World Water Forum will be held in sub-Saharan Africa.
OPTAIN (EU-funded research and innovation project) proposes a social and scientific journey towards the increasing and better understanding of the multiple benefits of Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM). OPTAIN will identify efficient NSWRM to better adapt to extreme events (floods, droughts) and reduce conflicts between agricultural water uses and other human and environmental demands in small catchments across different biogeographical regions of Europe in close cooperation with local actors.
