Water and climate stakeholders convened for the 2025 Pan-African Transboundary Dialogue and Training on National Water Investment Programming in Africa from 28th to 29th April 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a bid to strengthen synergies between transboundary and national water investment priorities.
On the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris, France, on 12 February, OECD and IEEE are convening a session to explore the energy and water footprint of AI, drawing on GWP’s expertise in AI and water usage.
Water, vital for sustaining life, is becoming increasingly scarce as global demand has surged tenfold over the past century. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries share 19 transboundary water resources, including surface and groundwater, most of which are managed bilaterally. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), formed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, aims to promote sustainable development, management, and conservation of the Mekong Basin. Despite growing cooperation, challenges remain, such as the lack of legal frameworks for managing shared aquifers and the absence of cooperation mechanisms beyond the Mekong region. Water diplomacy provides a vital approach, offering strategies to address disputes and foster joint water governance through political processes that extend beyond traditional water agreements.
Cameroon’s Vision 2025 was set to achieve 75% access to safe water for all. With the country’s new 2020–2030 national development strategy (SND30), authorities have set a higher objective of 100% water access in urban areas and 85% coverage in rural zones by 2030. The National Water Policy provides a strategic plan on how to achieve this.
Drought resilience and biodiversity conservation are closely interlinked. Conservation efforts that protect and restore biodiversity help maintain ecosystem services, such as water retention and soil health, which are crucial for mitigating the impacts of drought. Healthy and diverse ecosystems can also withstand and recover from droughts more easily. Thus, preserving biodiversity strengthens ecosystems’ natural ability to endure drought conditions and enhances long-term sustainability.
Over 70 representatives from fifteen African Union Member States gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from the 13 - 14 February 2025 for a training on AU Guidelines for the development of National Climate Resilient Water Investment Programmes. The training was part of the build-up to the 2025 AU-AIP Water Investment Summit which South Africa will host in the context of the G20 Presidency, and the 2026 UN Water Conference to be co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal.
The AFCIA Mali project, funded by the Adaptation Fund under the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) program, represents a major step forward in climate risk management in Mali. Implemented by UNEP through the CTCN, with technical assistance from GWP-WA and carried out by AEDD, Mali Météo, and DNH, it runs from March 2024 to December 2025 with a budget of approximately USD 200,000.
