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 .
“Water security is at the heart of our global development challenge”, said GWP’s new Patron, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she spoke at Africa Water Week 2014 (AWW5) in Dakar, Senegal.
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.
GWP Lithuania and GWP Poland successfully collaborated on a set of maps, a database and a video, to improve the management and protection of two transboundary rivers. The project brought together international experts from Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.
Regional Day- Global Water Partnership, South Asia
Side Event: “From Risk to Resilience: South Asia Regional Framework for Sustainable Water Management
AMCOW Executive Secretary Bai Mass Taal delivered a statement from Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia and Patron of Global Water Partnership, at the opening ceremony of World Water Week 2014:
The Upper Mur River is considered as one of the most ecologically valuable rivers of Austria due to the natural reproduction for the Danube salmon. The systematic regulation of the river began at the end of the 19th century, distributaries were cut off and large areas were drained in order to intensify agricultural land use. Restoration measures started in 1997 in the area of the Upper Mur and the “Grenzmur”. Various projects facilitated the renaturation of more than 22 km both in the upper course and the Slovenian border section of the river. A policy issue highlighted by the project is the importance to reconcile key needs for nature conservation with demands for renewable energy generation from small hydro power plants.
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) and the Resilience in the Limpopo Project (RESILIM – a USAID funded project) are working on behalf of the Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) to review and update into an Action plan - ‘the Limpopo Basin Strategic Plan for reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts’. This review is part of the assistance being given to the LIMCOM in order for it to develop a Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan.
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, on behalf of the Strengthening Institutions for Transboundary Waters Resources Management in Africa (SITWA) project held a regional consultation for about 20 participants to ensure regional stakeholder input into the draft 10-year strategy and a detailed 5-year action plan of the African Network of Basin Organizations (ANBO) was held on 30th and 31st July, 2014 at the Gaborone Sun hotel in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) network was tasked to facilitate consultations on water and food security at country level in order to provide concerned governments with widely shared position on water and food security issues and challenges in their respective countries. The Zimbabwe Water Partnership (ZWP) through a committee comprised mainly from the food and water sectors spearheaded the water-food consultations.