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Under the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans programme (“NAP-Ag”), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are working together with ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Planning and Finance, and key national stakeholders in selected countries to incorporate agricultural sectors into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) processes.

The Cholistan Desert area is one of the largest deserts in Pakistan and is home to a semi-nomadic population and their livestock.  The primary source of income for Cholistan is cattle breeding. The climate of the desert area, with scanty and unpredictable rainfall as well as long periods of drought, makes water a limited resource. To address the issue of water shortages and to secure access of water to livestock, the people of Cholistan have created water ponds, called “tobas”. However, due to their vulnerability to extreme weather conditions and infiltration, the ponds storage capacities are low. There are around 1500 water points (tobas) in the entire desert out of only 500 were in running condition. Most tobas are not constructed in proper places because their present localities have not been identified on scientific basis to receive maximum rainwater.

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Steering Committee announced the appointment of Dr. Monika Weber-Fahr as GWP Executive Secretary, effective May 7, 2018. Weber-Fahr joins GWP after 20-plus years in the development field, with diverse experiences in creating and sharing knowledge across global networks and communities. Weber-Fahr succeeds Rudolph Cleveringa who is retiring.

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.

The Volta Basin Authority (VBA), Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP - WA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) organized the regional training workshop on Integrated Flood Management (IFM), Preparation and Financing of IFM projects from 20th to 24th November 2017.

GWP co-organised a session on the topic of water and disaster risk reduction in Asia during the recent Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in Mongolia. The session's outcome document highlights a number of ways to combat water-related disasters.

GWP Executive Secretary Monika Weber-Fahr spoke at the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO’s) Commission for Hydrology Technical Conference “Future Hydrological Priorities and Arrangements” on 11 February in Geneva, Switzerland. She delivered a key message on the need for organising so that stakeholders can easily engage with the WMO: “From the perspective of our partners in over 180 countries, GWP is keen to see WMO continue to build its offer to be an easily accessible, reliable and credible entry-point to the world of data and knowledge on the climate/water interface.”