On January 31, 2018, the Chair of Global Water Partnership (GWP) visited the Ministry of Water Resources of China (MWR) in Beijing, China to promote a closer relationship between two parties.
Water Management and the provision of safe sanitation services, being a public good, rarely attract private investment, which explains – in part – the limited success of numerous initiatives for Public-Private Partnerships in the sector in Africa. Indeed a number of River/Lake Basin Organisations (R/LBOs) have in the past 10 years conducted relevant studies and developed investment plans, the implementation of which is still constrained by inability to attract investment. However, it goes without saying that inadequate provision of safe sanitation services has grave implications for freshwater availability, not to mention being a key factor in environmental degradation in Africa.
The Eighth World Water Forum is scheduled to take place from 19th to 23rd March 2018 in Brasilia, Brazil. The Regional Process is one of the key processes used to prepare for the Forum. Among other objectives are to provide opportunity to take stock of achievements and challenges in addressing global targets on water and to provide opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to the dialogue on water.
GWP is coordinating consultations on "Valuing Water", an initiative of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW). On July 24, the third consultation was held in Mexico City with about 50 stakeholders.
The governments of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger have committed to develop their national drought plans in the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The UNCCD adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 is one of the three Rio Conventions adopted by 193 countries including Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. Like other countries, the three (3) West African countries have committed to develop a national drought plan as part of the first phase of the UNCCD drought initiative.
In the context of the project, thematic briefs were prepared on the gender dimensions in water management and on the role of CSR in the context of the water sector.
The briefs are available in English, French and Arabic as pdf files by clicking on the respective image below.
2015, with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement, was a year of key commitments to sustainable development by governments, civil society, and the private sector.
Nine Country Water Partnerships (CWP) are now accredited out of the thirteen in West Africa. At the end of September 2017, the Assembly of Partners of GWP West Africa recommended that Senegal and Ivory Coast CWPs make necessary steps to submit needed documents for their accreditation.