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GWPO has helped GWP-WAf secretariat to get an alternative power source based on solar energy technology to supplement it needs in Energy. The secretariat is based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso where power cuts are very frequent during the hottest period of the year, from March to June every year .

Mr. Antoine Diokel THIAW was elected Chairperson of the Senegalese Country Water Partnership (CWP) to replace Professor Serigne FAYE. The event occured during the last Partenres' meeting held in Dakar on December 6th, 2014. The regional secretariat was represented by the chair, professor Abel AFOUDA.

In Niger, the CWP held its Partners' meeting on December 13, 2014 in Niamey. Various reports were adopted in addition to 2015 work plan and budget. Participants elected Professor Bouréima OUSMANE as new Chair to replace Dr. Yahaya TOUNKARA. The vice-chair is the General Director of water resources and Mr. HAROUNA Mouminou is in charge of communication and Mrs Halimatou Mamane as the treasurer.

In Burkina Faso, Mr. Dibi MILLOGO was elected as new chair to replace Mr. Dieudonné NIKIEMA. He will be seconded by Mr. Robert NANA as vice chair. The Meeting was held on December 19, 2014.

In Ivory Coast, partners renewed the mandate of Mr. Ndri Koffi as chair during the meeting held on December 18, 2014.

GWP West Africa would like to acknowledge the great contribution of Dr TOUNKARA, Mr. NIKYEMA and Prof. FAYE to the network life.

The WACDEP/ West Africa team is supporting the Volta Basin Authority and regional partners institutions and partner governments to enhance project preparation and financing for climate resilience and water security projects. During the month of November this activity continued.

 

This is a selection of some of the news in 2014 that featured Global Water Partnership and/or GWP representatives.

A large percentage of the region’s water resources is shared between countries. Sustainable management of transboundary water resources through integrated approaches, presents a unique opportunity towards avoiding conflicts and can assist advancing cooperation towards shared benefits. Tackling transboundary water pollution is a key area for improvement. Particularly in the north of the region, hydropower production in transboundary basins remains challenging towards securing ecosystem’s integrity. Food security is more in the focus in the southern Mediterranean. Successful cooperation cases in the EU and the Balkans (e.g. Danube, Rhine, Sava, Drin) may inform and inspire transboundary synergies throughout the region.

Water governance remains a key challenge in the Mediterranean. Efforts of countries focus on improving policies making and action planning, institutional settings, law and regulation, enforcement mechanisms, innovative financing, application of cost recovery and polluter pays principle, etc. To achieve sustainable models of development, water must be mainstreamed into other sectoral policies such as agriculture, land planning and use, energy, industry, tourism and trade. Political will is key for making these happen. The importance of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, equity, poverty and rights, is increasingly recognized but is still relatively poorly tackled.

Freshwater is under acute pressure from climate change in North Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, COP20 delegates heard on Wednesday. Experts from countries as diverse as Tunisia and Belize urged visionary leadership from politicians to protect natural resources, reports CDKN’s Mairi Dupar from Lima, Peru. The experts from the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW), Global Water Partnership and CARICOM also called for water managers to build on their local innovations for climate resilience – and to get savvier about communicating solutions to policy-makers. The event was an opportunity to learn about common problems and possible solutions across Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, based on a South-South learning project supported by CDKN.

The UN-Water annual Zaragoza Conference serves as preparation for the annual World Water Day. GWP representatives participated in several of the sessions.

In the Maltese islands the Proramme is known as Alter Aqua. Both Malta and Gozo have limited freshwater resources and depend heavily on desalination. The need to mobilise Non Conventional Water Resources (NCWR) to secure local water availability is evident.