The largest international gathering of water stakeholders, held every three years, the 10th World Water Forum - 'Water for Shared Prosperity' - was held in Bali, Indonesia, from 18 – 25 May, as the culmination of a multi-annual political, thematic and regional preparatory process. It attracted 64,000 participants and visitors from 160 countries.
Mali has taken a decisive step in the sustainable management of its water resources by officially launching the process to develop its National Water Investment Programme (PIE).
Over 80 participants representing African Union Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been trained in tracking and reporting water investments using the AIP-PIDA Water Investment Scorecard, a key tool under the African Union’s Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP).
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.
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.
Over fifty stakeholders from government institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, local communities, and technical and financial partners met at the Hotel Oubangui, Bangui, on February 7th, 2024, to validate the national response strategy to barriers hindering the implementation of resilient water resources in the country.
Jakarta 9 November 2023, located at the All Seasons Hotel, the Decision-Makers round table discussion was organized by GWP-SEA and Water Stewardship Indonesia, with support from the FINISH MONDIAL. The discussion aimed to share information on the successes and the challenges of safe WASH in Indonesia, notably where these efforts connect to micro-credit, shared ideas and solutions to successfully scale up WASH and WASH micro-credit and discussed the potential to build PPP collaboration to achieve safe WASH in Indonesia by 2030.
