Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year on 17 May to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.
From 2 to 4 September 2019 in Lomé and Danyi-Apéyémé-Todome in Togo, GWP-WA and its partners CWP Benin, CWP Burkina Faso, Eau Vive Internationale Togo and the ISW met to review the implementation of the three country microprojects in order to draw lessons and recommendations to be taken into account for the consolidation of the results and the scaling up of the initiative.
Fifteen media representatives in Cameroon have been trained on issues related to the water, climate and environment sector and some key national and regional laws that seek to address them. This media mobilization workshop was organized by GWP-CAf from June 9th - 10th, 2021 in Douala, Cameroon. .
GWP will be represented in a 2-day online conference on the topic of women, water and climate on 2-3 November. The event, which is free and open to everyone, is the culmination of a series of webinars led by Women for Water Partnership (WfWP), and its partners NetWwater (NWW) and Soroptimist International of the Southwest Pacific (SISWP). GWP is also one of the sponsors of the event.
As part of the implementation of the Regional Partnership on Water and Environment in Central and West Africa (PREE) project, GWP West & Central Africa and IUCN Regional Offices for Central and West Africa organized a regional training workshop on the theme "Concepts, approaches and tools for mainstreaming Gender in IWRM Implementation and Monitoring and Evaluation" from 5 to 7 May 2021 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Mekrou Project Phase 2 – Niger component has started an active implementation phase with the beginning of consulting missions for the operationalization of IWRM in the Mekrou sub-basin in Niger.
In its new Strategy for 2020-2025, GWP has committed to “purposefully reach out to and mobilise youth groups and younger individuals to confront water resources management challenges”. This statement is based on a commitment that GWP made in 2015, in its Youth Engagement Strategy. Now, a very tangible outcome is being introduced – a close collaboration with GWP and youth organisations to make sure that the voices of youth are heard.
In their support to the Government of Togo GWP WA, UNICEF and UNDP have recruited consultants for a mission to develop a high-quality concept note and conduct a pre-feasibility study for the project: "Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities in Togo through IWRM and Climate Sensitive WASH Services".
The national reforestation campaign launched on July 12, 2021, in Koundara, one of the prefectures under threat of desertification, is supported by non-governmental organizations for the protection of natural resources.
