The speech below was given by GWPSA Chair, H.E. President Jakaya Kikwete, during the “Towards an International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa” event on 2 November 2021, held at COP26’s first ever Water Pavilion.
Back by popular demand, the Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance Train began its ‘Season 2’ in September 2021. This series of online engagement sessions follow a ‘train-like’ approach, stopping at various locations around the world and focusing on topics related to transboundary freshwater security. Each new stop explores a different topic from the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security. The Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance Train continues its journey on 16 November, with a 9th interactive session in the series. The topic for this event is water diplomacy and negotiation in international water law. It is a jointly organized by GWP and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)/International Centre for Water Cooperation (ICWC).
On 21 October 2021, GWP and GWPSA supported the National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP), implemented by UNEP and UNDP with funding from the Global Environment Facility, in convening a webinar which explored Integrating Climate Risks in the Water Sector” with a focus on National Adaptation Plan (NAP) formulation.
The Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance ‘train’ stopped at its second destination in the new season on 19 October, where webinar participants discovered linkages between transboundary freshwater systems and the marine environment in the framework of the Source-to-Sea approach (S2S). This topic was introduced by speakers who provided a comprehensive overview of this approach, and highlighted challenges with possible solutions.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many meetings, workshops, and consultations suddenly went online. In many parts of the world, in-person meetings were impossible for a long time, and only now are slowly resuming. In other parts, hybrid meetings with online presence and in-person participation are becoming the new norm. Each of these formats comes with its pros and cons. In-person meetings allow for broader and deeper discussions, while online meetings are logistically easier to manage and make it easier for more participants to join. A new publication analyzes the impact that different formats can have on the quality of the interaction in the context of multi-stakeholder consultations.
The 2nd Danube Floodplain (Online) Webinar was successfully held on 7 October 2021 with over 50 participants who actively engaged with questions and comments to the discussion.
The 8th Africa Water Week (AWW8) and the 6th Africa Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (AfricaSan6) are being jointly organised this year as a virtual conference on 22-26 November. Joined together as the Africa Water and Sanitation Week (AWSW), the conference is convened by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission and organised with other development partners.
After three years of intensive work, the GEMWET project has successfully concluded, proving that environmental conservation and sustainable development is a win-win recipe that benefits communities, promotes economic prosperity and ensures the protection of natural resources.
Join GWP for the online interactive session on transboundary financing which takes place on 14 October 2021 at 14:00 – 16:30 CEST. If you are interested to explore key funding ‘windows’ for transboundary water, various financing options and ‘e-meet’ new friends and colleagues in this area, this event will provide perfect learning and networking opportunities, especially for GWP colleagues from the Regional Water Partnerships (RWPs) and Country Water Partnerships (CWPs).
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction takes place on 13 October. It is an opportunity to acknowledge the progress being made toward reducing disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health. The 2021 edition will focus on “International cooperation for developing countries to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses”.
