In the 2015accounts audit report, the auditor's conclusion was the following: "We believe that the financial report of the Regional Water Partnership for West Africa (GWP/WA) and the CWPs (Burkina and Ghana) accurately reflect the statement and financial position of the Regional Water Partnership for West Africa and the CWPs (Burkina and Ghana) as of 31st December 2015, consistently with the GWP financial procedures.”
The way forward in 2016 is to strive to implement all partially implemented recommendations including those made in 2014 and those made as of 31st December, 2015. It should be noted that almost all new recommendations dating from 31st December 2015 have already been implemented prior to the finalization of the audit report in 2015 in Burkina Faso and for the region.
The CWP Burkina organized a guided tour on Friday, March 4, 2016 on the pilot project on drip irrigation using solar energy on the site of Ramintenga in the municipality of Loumbila. Representatives of the town hall of Loumbila, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture (CRA) of the Central Plateau, the Regional Directorate in charge of Agriculture, hydraulics, sanitation and Food security (DRAHASA), the Malgb-Zanga Association, the local Water committee of Northern Massili, members of the SIDWAYA group, and CWP-Burkina took part in the tour.
GWP launched its new Youth Engagement Strategy at Stockholm World Water Week on 25 August. The youth strategy supports the wider GWP “Towards 2020” Strategy as does the GWP Gender Strategy, which was launched in August 2014.
Name: Maria Amakali
Occupation: Director of Water Resources Management
Country: Namibia
Country of Work: Namibia and SADC
What would you say are the main challenges in your work as a woman?
I started working as hydrologist in the Department of Water Affairs in the early nineties. I had studied in the US and was ready to come and work in a newly independent Namibia. My responsibilities included planning and execution of research and investigations regarding sustainable development of water resources; and providing advice on the effective utilization, protection and conservation of such resources. At a time I found a lot of males, in the department. Except for the two women scientist in Hydrology Division, most women were doing mostly secretarial or office administrative work. I remember one day standing outside, waiting for my ride home and this man came to me asking whose secretary I was. In an independent Namibia, I was quite shocked that the old stereotype mentality that women can only be secretaries still exists. Those days there were not many women or black hydrologists, but I was still offended.
Water resources are sensitive to variation in climatic pattern. Climate change is likely to intensify extreme weather event including droughts, floods and tropical storms. It is a fact in Indonesia that sustainability of freshwater is already threatened by severe watershed degradation, pollution, and over-allocation. Furthermore climate change will aggravate these threats to a point of irreversibility if no counter measures.
The series of themed water discussion under the “Water Salon” has been designed and prepared since October of last year. The first activity was held on May 11, 2015 in Beijing. Water Salon is organized by GWP China and its three regional partners, including the World Resources Institute (WRI) China, the WWF China and the IUCN China.
The Global Water Partnership West Africa Secretariat has validated the document on the monitoring and planning of activities of the project intitled "Water for growth and poverty reduction in the Mekrou transboundary river basin" or Mekrou Project.
