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.
This World Water Day, 22nd March, is about tackling the water crisis by addressing the reasons why so many people are being left behind. GWP joins the worldwide celebrations of the day, and shows online support on its newly launched Instagram account.
The Caribbean Science Symposium on Water is an opportunity to bridge that gap by bringing together representatives from the research, development, economic, legislative and policy communities to share and discuss ideas on ongoing scientific studies and best practices related to enhancing water secure developments and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Caribbean.
Since CWP Benin is aware that the promotion of integrity has to start at the local level in order to have an impact at the national level, it is committed to supporting municipalities in the implementation of good integrity practices. This support is given to municipalities that have freely committed themselves to adhere to the Charter for Good Governance in the Water Sector.
GWP-WA chair, Prof. Amadou Hama MAIGA and Executive Secretary, M. Armand HOUANYE made a working visit in Niamey, Niger from 9 to 13 November 2020 to inform project stakeholders, exchange with partners on the priorities and next steps in the implementation of project, discuss potential synergies to be developed in the implementation of the project and other ongoing and future initiatives in Niger and the sub-region and develop a roadmap for the strengthening of the governance of the Country Water Partnership of Niger.
The Zambian Government has launched an almost USD $6 billion Water Investment Programme, aimed to provide access to clean water and decent sanitation and create hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2030.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5), the effects of climate change will reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources in most dry subtropical regions. These changes may intensify competition for water among all sectors, strain already water-scarce environments, and negatively impact water quality and quantity globally. Transboundary water basins are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, says Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of the UNECE Water Convention, as she highlights the up-coming Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on freshwater security that GWP is developing together with partners.
Hurricane relief efforts are underway in Abaco and Grand Bahama. Search and recovery efforts continue, as you have probably seen or heard in the news. Shortly, our Partner, the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) of The Bahamas, will start rebuilding the water and sewerage infrastructure.
