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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.

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.

Water Integrity Capacity Building for the Middle East and North Africa region is a four year (2014-2017) regional programme implemented by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in collaboration with GWP-Med and other regional and local partners.

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.

The regional workshop on the adoption of the inventory of the types of scientific / technical data to be retained in the Mékrou Project was held in Cotonou from 5 to 7 November 2014. It brought together about thirty participants from the three countries covered by the project (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) and partner organizations (GWP, JRC, NBA, etc.).

GWP-Med aims at putting IWRM, as well as the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus approach, into practice to help countries towards growth and water security emphasizing good governance, appropriate infrastructure and sustainable financing. In doing so, it focuses on contributing to and advocating for solutions for critical challenges to water security, such as climate change impacts, urbanisation, food insecurity, energy insecurity, ecosystems threats, unemployment, migration, etc.

Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP), in collaboration with the Institute of Microfinance (InM), organised a seminar on 15 November on micro finance in climate change adaptation. The aim was to identify bankable projects and overcome challenges at village level in implementing climate resilience projects.

GWP Central America has been working closely with the Regional Committee for Water Resources (CRRH), which is part of the Central American Integration System, to strengthen regional capacity in the monitoring of climate to support decision making, especially related to agriculture, fisheries, water resources management, risk management and food security.

With active participation through a wide range of events, GWP advocated for a higher profile of water in the global climate change policy process in Lima, Peru, and promoted the need for a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for water.