The Country Water Partnerships invited to take part in the inaugural session of the Steering Committee meeting of GWP met with the Regional Secretariat and the Network Officers in the afternoon of November 25. This was an opportunity to review the latest version of the GWP 2014-2019 Strategy and GWP West Africa 2014-2016 Work Programme as well as initiatives and opportunities that may be of some interest to CWPs.
Tanzania is facing increasing pressures on its water resources due to a growing agricultural sector and the effects of climate change. In order to ensure environmental and economic sustainability in the face of water scarcity the local communities of Kiroka village, Morogoro, conceived a project to build capacity for climate adaptation through sustainable land and water management. The participatory approach coupled with capacity building and holistic problem solving that also addresses livelihood issues has proven to be an effective method of implementing an IWRM plan that is sustainable and can be readily subscribed to.
The Expert Task Force of the joint GWP/OECD Global Dialogue project met in Paris in November to evaluate their work on the economics of water security. The report will be finalized in the coming months, before the official version is presented at the World Water Forum in South Korea in April 2015.
Lake Naivasha is an internationally renowned Ramsar site located in the Rift Valley in Kenya. But unlike most other designated wetlands of international importance, the water in Lake Naivasha also anchors a flourishing horticultural industry. The Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA) was established in 1929 to protect local land owner’s rights. and the LNRA became more strident in trying to balance the impact of the expanding commercial interests surrounding the lake with protecting its environmental integrity.
Hungary has joined the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) in 2013. National organizer of the SJWP is GWP Hungary Foundation in agreement with the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The patron of the Hungarian competition Mr. János Áder President of the Republic.
The “Financing of sustainable water resources management and development: economics, financing opportunities and project preparation” is the focus of high-level regional training and knowledge exchange in Pretoria, South Africa from the 21st -24th July, 2014. 27 Delegates from African countries and River Basin Organisations working in the water are meeting to increase their knowledge and skills, to attract investors and financial development partners for both water governance and water infrastructure development.
In preparation for the new Water Law in Bulgaria, as well as the EU Water Framework Directive, the watershed council was set up as a pilot to test on-site effective and participatory approaches to river resource management in the Varbitsa River. The key lesson drawn is that participatory, open, citizen-friendly and bottom-up approaches are more efficient than top-down administrative approaches.
The regional workshop on the adoption of the inventory of the types of scientific / technical data to be retained in the Mékrou Project was held in Cotonou from 5 to 7 November 2014. It brought together about thirty participants from the three countries covered by the project (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) and partner organizations (GWP, JRC, NBA, etc.).