Liza Debevec joined the global GWP secretariat in May 2020 as Senior Gender & Water Specialist. This is the first time GWP has a full-time person dedicated to gender, and Liza’s task will be to operationalize the gender dimensions of GWP's 2020-2025 Strategy, and more specifically the GWP Gender Strategy and Gender Action Piece. In this Q&A interview, Liza shares thoughts on her new role: “The biggest gender and social inclusion challenge in every sector, not just in water resources management, is that of access, or the lack of access to relevant resources that women and vulnerable communities face.”
This month, Howard Bamsey began his duties as the new Chair of GWP. He did so with a visit to the global secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden, where he met staff and got briefed on current issues around the network. We took the opportunity to discuss his thoughts on joining GWP, and his reflections on some of GWP’s most recent activities at the UN climate change conference, COP24, in December.
In one of its key activities at COP25, GWP announced a new collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other partners, to create plausible water solutions for a climate-resilient future in 2030 and beyond. The initiative is called "Water Resilience Frontiers: Pathways for transformational Climate Resilient Water Security in 2030 and Beyond".
The CWP Benin and PROTOS strengthen the capacity of local actors for the promotion of good hygiene and sanitation practices around agricultural production units and standpipes at Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) demonstration sites in the Mono and Couffo departments.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated on 11 February - it is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women, in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners. The day aligns with GWP's Gender Strategy, which addresses diversity and inclusion, social equity, and women's role in the integrated and sustainable management of water resources.
On 8 March 2019: International Women’s Day falls on 8 March with this year’s theme “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change” which focuses on innovative ways in which individuals can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of access to public services, social protection systems and sustainable infrastructure. Transformations, integrated approaches and new solutions are necessary particularly for advancing gender equality and empowering women on the journey to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In other words, “business as usual” will not be sufficient and should put forward innovative approaches that removes structural barriers and ensures no woman and no girl is left behind.
The Water ChangeMaker Awards are a new initiative that seeks to highlight experiences in the way water decisions have built climate resilience. The initiative was launched on World Water Day 2020, March 22.
On 31 January 2019, the German, Czech and Slovak partners of Danube Floodplain project organized a one-day stakeholder consultation meeting held back-to-back with a workshop on ecosystem services. The event took place at the Research Institute of Water Management in Bratislava and brought together key stakeholders from Slovakia and Czech Republic, giving the project partners the opportunity to present and discuss Danube Floodplain project with stakeholders from various areas.
