On 22 August 2025, a groundbreaking pilot project was launched with the mission to accelerate the protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems across Pakistan. Just days later, momentum continued in Islamabad with the first Country Stakeholder Workshop, held on 2 September.
Water, vital for sustaining life, is becoming increasingly scarce as global demand has surged tenfold over the past century. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries share 19 transboundary water resources, including surface and groundwater, most of which are managed bilaterally. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), formed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, aims to promote sustainable development, management, and conservation of the Mekong Basin. Despite growing cooperation, challenges remain, such as the lack of legal frameworks for managing shared aquifers and the absence of cooperation mechanisms beyond the Mekong region. Water diplomacy provides a vital approach, offering strategies to address disputes and foster joint water governance through political processes that extend beyond traditional water agreements.
In June 2024, Somalia concluded the implementation of a two-year Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme aimed at enhancing the country’s capacity to access climate finance. Approved in November 2021, the project was designed to strengthen the institutional capacity of Somalia’s Federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as the country’s National Designated Authority (NDA) to access and manage climate finance, develop GCF Country Programme and develop investment concept notes. Implementation of these three main activities under the GCF Readiness Programme and its successful completion is a significant step in Somalia's journey towards climate resilience and sustainable development.
The governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe have pledged their commitment to tackling social, economic, and environmental challenges on the increase in the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save (BUPUSA) River Basins, shared exclusively by the two countries. The commitment was expressed through the signing of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the BUPUSA Watercourses by ministers for water in the two countries, on 29 November 2024. The 10-year SAP was developed by the two governments with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and technical support from the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
On 17 December 204 Global Water Partnership Southeast Asia (GWP-SEA) held its 6th webinar series of Innovative Solutions for Water Secure and Sustainable Development webinar series, focusing on remediation of The Tukad Rangda River and the surrounding areas in The City of Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia with 85 attendees online.
The ‘Development of three Green Climate Fund (GCF) Concept Notes: Concept Notes Validation Workshop’ was held on Wednesday, the 6 November 2024, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
As a long-standing co-sponsor of the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) is proud to have played a central role in organising the Drought Resilience +10 Conference. This conference, marking the 11th anniversary of the launch of IDMP by GWP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), served as a critical milestone in the global conversation on drought and water scarcity. It highlighted the pressing need for unprecedented collaboration to address the escalating threat of drought and water scarcity worldwide.
