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24 November 2008, Tirana, Albania

 

The Consultation Meeting on Integrated Management of the extended Drin River Basin was organised in Tirana, Albania, 24 November 2008 by the Albanian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med), with the financial support of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

GWP Central and Eastern Europe and GWP Slovenia are now able to support water management processes and be involved in activities related to public participation and education through GWP's observer status at the International Sava River Basin Commission.

To protect the Panama Canal Watershed, which was created when the Panama Canal was constructed, formal limits to its utilisation was set up, including the Panama Canal Treaty and the creation of a Panama Canal Authority.  This case study predominantly illustrates the peculiar problems that arise when a highly artificial watershed is managed by a modern, internationally oriented public corporation with a country that is still copping with the hydraulic culture and a national water policy.

A series of 22 country consultations took place from February to May 2013 to address the importance of water to national development. These national stakeholder consultations were part of the process taking place to listen to country needs and priorities regarding the post-2015 agenda for water and sustainable development.

GWP SA, on behalf of SADC is currently making preparations for the forthcoming SADC Water Weeks which have been slated from April – October 2014. The SADC Water Weeks are aimed at ensuring that the Regional Water Programme is well understood and embraced by stakeholders from various sectors at the national level. The SADC Water Weeks were last held in the year 2000 and led to the development of the SADC Water Vision for Water, Life and the Environment

In order to achieve water security for an area, decision makers need to not only understand the physical resource itself, but also its surroundings and the possible impacts that their management decisions have on those surroundings. For that reason, a good planning process should include social, environmental, economic, and risk assessments.

Despite an almost abundance of water, most water users in the South-western region of Burkina Faso regularly face water shortages due to an intensification of irrigated agriculture. Action was consequently taken to set up the Local Water Committee. The lesson learnt is that in the realm of the water sector, it is crucial for the state, local authorities, civil society and the private sector to collaborate to find new potential solutions.

In Kazakhstan, the issue is not one of scarcity but of management, a problem that can be solved through applying the principles of IWRM. The government of Kazakhstan consequently initiated a water resources management project aiming at strengthening water management organisations and by instituting the practice of IWRM. In this process, training, workshops and dialogues both within and outside the water sector are crucial. 

The legal and regulatory framework of water utilities in Peru provides opportunities for local financing of investments. Despite this, the sector remains heavily dependent on public financing. Action has been taken by the World Bank to initiate a study investigating the barriers to local private funding. This case study illustrates that public loans, private loans and equity investment are appropriate to fund the necessary investment.