The ministers in charge of water of Benin, Burkina and Niger have signed on 22 December 2015 in Cotonou, Benin the framework agreement of cooperation for the promotion of political dialogue and sustainable development of the Mékrou basin, an affluent of the Niger River shared by the three countries.
The general objective of this Cooperation Framework Agreement is to promote political dialogue and sustainable development of the three states in order to facilitate good governance in the planning and the integrated and sustainable management of the natural resources of the Mekrou Transboundary sub-basin, taking into account socio-economic needs, food security, poverty reduction through the preservation, the conservation of ecosystems and the improvement of the living conditions of local communities.
Ms Christine GBEDJI VYAHO, Benin Minister of Water
On January 14, 2016, Mr. Chen Lei, Minister, Ministry of Water Resources(MWR), accompanied by Mr Jiao Yong and Mr Zhou Xuewen , the Vice Ministers , director generals and related leaders of the MWR visited GWP China’s Host Institute in Beijing.
Here are some of the news of 2015 where GWP or its representatives were mentioned.
The Inception Meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported project “Enabling Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the extended Drin River Basin” took place in Tirana, on 16 December 2015, at the presence of Mr. Edmond Panariti, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration, Mr. Ferid Agani, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, as well as Mr. Stevo Temelkovski, Deputy Minister of Environment and Physical Planning.
The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21) adopted a new climate agreement in Paris, France, on 12 December. GWP welcomes the landmark agreement, which was signed by nearly 200 countries, and is committed to support it.
An International Water Law workshop took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 16-20 November. The event promoted international cooperation and good transboundary water resources governance in the Amazon and Rio de la Plata basins.
GWP Chair Dr. Ursula Schaefer-Preuss participated in the Sixth Meeting for High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) and the Second UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters in New York, USA, in November.
From December 14 to 16, 2015, the “Regional Workshop on South-South Cooperation in Flood Management” was jointly organized by GWP China and GWPO in Guangdong, China.
The Chair of GWP West Africa, Prof. Abel AFOUDA accompanied by the Regional Coordinator and Communication took part in the GWP regional days 2015 in Stockholm from 22 to 25 November. This meeting was an opportunity to review the progress made by the global network in its fields of action and to make projections into the future. GWP and several partners express satisfaction since their efforts to have a water dedicated sustainable development goal come true. Discussions are underway to better position the network of partners in supporting countries to be successful in the implementation of the SDGs as a whole but especially the goal 6 with its different targets. Discussions at the regional days gathered ideas for a better positioning of GWP.