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In the run-up to World Water Day (WWD) on March 22nd, 2016, the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) joins the entire Global Water Partnership (GWP) Network today in launching GWP’s 20^th anniversary video.

San Juan Olintepeque is a rural municipality located in the Department of Quetzaltenango in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.  44% of its territory is covered by an oak-pine forest (136.15 km2), which is managed by the municipality’s Forest Office. The water supply in the municipality is mainly through mechanical wells. Deforestation has impacts not only on energy availability but on water availability and the hydrological cycle.  

The 3^rd Regional Alumni Workshop in the framework of the Sida funded and Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) labelled programme ‘Water Integrity Capacity Building Programme for the MENA Region’[1] was organized by the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med), in collaboration with Al Akhawayn University, on 23-26 May 2016, in Ifrane, Morocco.

The IDMP WA carried out a Training of trainers in April 2016 which gathered 20 participants including 5 women from Mali, Burkina and Niger and some regional institutions in West Africa. It was meant to increase the participants’ knowledge on integrated risks management related to drought/ Climate change. After 8 months, a first assessment carried out via a survey through emails has revealed positive impacts for most participants.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with a broad range of partners - including GWP - launched the Global Framework for Action to Cope with Water Scarcity in Agriculture in the Context of Climate Change during the Agriculture Action Day of COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco. In April the Partners meet in Rome.

Drought in the central American region is characterized by a variation in rainfall distribution, manifested by a few rainy events among long periods without rainfall within the rainy season. This situation severely affects production cycles of agricultural producers, who heavily rely on rain-fed agriculture and lack adequate technology to face droughts; negatively influencing overall economic and social stability, and wellbeing. In the Honduran agricultural sector, drought mainly manifests itself through crop loss, reduced crop acreage and water supply problems in terms of both quantity and quality. The effects generated have significant impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is why this issue is very high up in the political agenda.

A far-reaching political and technical process towards establishing a joint vision for water security in the Mediterranean towards 2030 and beyond is on-going in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). It draws on integrated responses, focusing on the feasible and the tangible. Building trust among countries and stakeholders, it aims at linking capacities and financial resources towards addressing needs. GWP-Med contributes to the UfM process servicing as its technical facilitator.