Water Management and the provision of safe sanitation services, being a public good, rarely attract private investment, which explains – in part – the limited success of numerous initiatives for Public-Private Partnerships in the sector in Africa. Indeed a number of River/Lake Basin Organisations (R/LBOs) have in the past 10 years conducted relevant studies and developed investment plans, the implementation of which is still constrained by inability to attract investment. However, it goes without saying that inadequate provision of safe sanitation services has grave implications for freshwater availability, not to mention being a key factor in environmental degradation in Africa.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Steering Committee announced the appointment of Dr. Monika Weber-Fahr as GWP Executive Secretary, effective May 7, 2018. Weber-Fahr joins GWP after 20-plus years in the development field, with diverse experiences in creating and sharing knowledge across global networks and communities. Weber-Fahr succeeds Rudolph Cleveringa who is retiring.
Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) joined hands with Central Environment Authority (CEA) and Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) to mark World Wetlands Day (WWD) on 2 February 2018.
Global climate is changing at an unprecedented rate and necessity of global political awareness that decisive action addressing climate change has risen over the last decades, but has often not translated into adaptation action. Especially the populations of global river deltas and coastal zones are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change occurring due to rising sea levels, increased magnitude and frequency of storms, flooding and salinisation. One of the main challenges faced by global institutions are to share gained knowledge, experience and expertise about adaptation in order to provide and implement the best possible adaptation measures to ensure human well-being.
On 16 January 2018, India Water Partnership (IWP) in collaboration with TARU Leading Edge kick-started constructing rainwater harvesting (RWH) tanks with a demo project, at the Senior Secondary Government School in Village Garhi Harsaru, Gurgaon.
The final preparation meeting of the lead partners for the Africa Regional Process to the Eighth World Water Forum and the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) Africa Legacy Initiative- “African Water Investment Program (AIP) was recently held in Pretoria, South Africa.
The GWP network used the 8th World Water Forum, the world's largest water-related event, to demonstrate the impact of its multi-stakeholder partnership on improving the way the world manages its water resources. GWP was involved in over 40 events during the week and many network Partners were present, as well as representatives of the global office and the GWP regions.
GWP continues engaging on WASH climate resilience through its collaboration with UNICEF. A Strategic Framework was developed to provide WASH service delivery that is resilient to climate change, and a series of technical briefs and learning modules support the implementation of the Framework. All materials are now available on a new website.
On 26 December 2017, the Malian Minister of Energy and Water, Malick Alhousseini, opened a three-day workshop to inform and sensitize stakeholders on the state of the Niger River. Organized by the Department of Energy and Water in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development, the workshop aims to inform and sensitize all water stakeholders on the state of the Niger River and the current year's hydrological deficit.
