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.
GWP promotes youth inclusion in water resources management. One of those ways is through a robust internship programme. Civil Engineer Axel Martinez, 26, from Nicaragua, spent five months with GWP Central America as a Young Professional Development Initiative Intern under GWP’s Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP). He says the experience has helped him to grow professionally.
The governments of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger have committed to develop their national drought plans in the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The UNCCD adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 is one of the three Rio Conventions adopted by 193 countries including Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. Like other countries, the three (3) West African countries have committed to develop a national drought plan as part of the first phase of the UNCCD drought initiative.
The West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU) held on 17 to 19 December 2018 a workshop in Ouagadougou to validate a study on the status of IWRM implementation in its eight (8) member states.
During the months of December and January the Country Water Partnership of Mali undertook to closely sensitize main stakeholders to raise the dwindling political will in the country on IWRM. On Thursday, December 27, 2018, a meeting was held with the Malian Association of Municipalities (AMM), to exchange with local authorities on Integrated Water Resources Management.
Isabella Pagotto of the Swiss development Cooperation met with a Gambia Country Water Partnership (GCWP) team comprising Mrs. Ndey Sireng Bakurin, chair, Mr. Momodou BE Njie, Executive Secretary, Mr. Yusupha Bojang, National IWRM Focal Point and Mrs. Fatou Sima Steering Committee and GWP-WA Technical Committee member on Tuesday 4th December 2018.
Boyla BASSOUROU and Cheick Aboubacar BAMBARA are the two young professionals selected after a recruitment process for professional immersion at the GWP-WA Regional Secretariat since July 2018. After six (06) months each one draws the first lessons from a stay at the Regional Secretariat.
The Chair of the Country Water Partnership of Guinea met successively from 05 to 10 December 2018 with Mr Philippe GUETTIER, Director General of the French Water Partnership
GWP, Cap-Net UNDP, and other partners have introduced a new tool to foster Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) on a global scale. The online course, Unpacking the Opportunities of IUWM for Sustainable Cities, was held in October-November 2018. It attracted 154 applications, with 72 accepted, and a follow-up course is being planned for 2019. “The great thing with the course is that it can be adapted to fit any project as needed,” says GWP Senior Network Specialist François Brikké, who sees a big potential in further developing the course at regional and country level.
