Michèle Okala coordinates the work of RECOJAC – the Network of Water and Climate Organisations of Central African Youth. She is one of the founding members and she is also in charge of youth issues for GWP Central Africa. Michèle has been volunteering for over 8 years, and she shares some insights to what she has learned – and what she hopes to leave as her legacy: “I created RECOJAC for the generation that will come after me. I am only laying the foundation.”
In the spirit of building resilience to climate change, GWPEA conducted consultations with different stakeholders in the three catchments of Uganda (Aswa, Awoja, Maziba) where EURECCCA Project is being implemented
On May 23-25, 2017, the fourth south-south interregional water cooperation gathered GWP China, Central Asia and Caucasus, South Asia and South East Asia, four Regional Water Partnerships, in Pokhara, Nepal.
On 6 June 2017, Kenya Water Partnership held an extraordinary General Assembly Meeting at Grace House Resort Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting objective was to address governance issues, elect new office bearers and meet requirements for accreditation
Bangkok, Thailand (12/8/2017). Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate change for several reasons. First and foremost, in many of these countries large portions of the population live in poverty. The proportion of the population living below the poverty line ranges from the lowest in Thailand at 10.2% to 53% in Lao PDR (ADB 2008). The poor are particularly vulnerable to climate change, as they lack the resources necessary for many types of adaptive actions. With its extensive coastlines, Southeast Asia is also home to many millions of people living at low elevations that are at risk from sea level rise. Moreover, ongoing social and environmental challenges in the region – notably growing income inequality, rising food prices, and widespread deforestation – contribute to social vulnerability and make climate change more likely to bring significant harms.
GWP took part in the COP 23 UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, on 6-17 November, to promote climate change adaptation through water resources management. Various streams of GWP’s work on climate resilience were highlighted, and financing for water was a key component in many discussions.
The International Water Summit (IWS) is a global platform for promoting water sustainability in arid regions by bringing together stakeholders to accelerate the development of new sustainable strategies and technologies. It takes place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 15-18 January 2018.
The significance of engaging young people in the design and implementation of policies, plans and standards in Disaster Risk Reduction has been recognized by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The Youth Forum at the Budapest Water Summit 2016 further showed that young people are unified across disciplines and scales to understand, innovate and adapt to the complex and dynamic nature of the global water system and climate change.
On March 27th, 2018, the Winward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF) became the new Host Institution (HI) of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C). Established in 1994, WINDREF is an independent non-profit organisation based at the St. George’s University (SGU) in Grenada. The organisation works to advance health and environmental development through multi-disciplinary research and education programmes. It also promotes regional and international collaborative relationships.
