The Regional Technical Committee met for the first time since its establishment on 30 and 31 March 2016 in the offices of GWP / WA with the Secretariat and the President. The meeting allowed the members of the Technical Committee to update on the current dynamics within the GWP, in this transition period to the 2017-2019 work program in order to build its position to contribute in the way the most effective.
Several processes that place water at the center of the development are underway worldwide (IWRM, MDGs, SDGs ...).
At the level of West Africa, ECOWAS as the main political body for development, has undertaken, among other actions, the creation of the Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring (PFCM), and the development of the Regional Water Policy in West Africa (PREAO).
GWP and four of its partner institutions are organising a joint training on International Water Law (IWL) in Africa. The training will take place in Kampala, Uganda, 5-12 June 2016. It is open for up to 40 participants, and funding is available for 30 African-based participants.
A training course on International Water Law (IWL) in Africa took place in Kampala, Uganda, in June. It was the second year running that GWP and its Partners organised the course, with the aim to strengthen transboundary water resources management in Africa. The training was appreciated by the participants who lauded its significance in improving water governance in basins.
As part of the implementation of the GWP Gender Strategy, a workshop for 24 rural women on the installation and maintenance of a rainwater harvesting system as an alternative to water scarcity recently took place in Honduras. Participants included women who had previous experience in water management and who are leaders in their communities, NGOs, or work in a municipality.
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 Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has gotten even more social by joining Twitter on February 16th, 2016.