This article is part of a wider coverage of the “MENA Focus” events, a set of four regional sessions dedicated to the Middle East & North Africa, officially launched at the Stockholm World Water Week 2016, alongside the Regional Days for Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) had been selected and serves as the overall coordinator for these “MENA Focus” events. The sessions were organized in partnership with a number of international regional institutions and organisations. “Seeking answers to the MENA water crisis” was the first out of the four sessions, held on the 30th of August.
Ivory Coast has celebrated World Water Day 2016 and the second edition of the National Water Week from March 22 to 24. The topic of celebration was inspired from the global theme: "Ivory Coast, emerging in 2020: what contributions of the water sector to creating jobs and wealth? »
Responding to the dramatic increase in extreme weather events and mega disasters is one of the great challenges of the Limpopo River Basin. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a top priority for the basin as it seeks to hold back the tide of rising economic and human losses through flood and droughts. To reduce risks from such disasters, GWPSA has over the past 2 years been involved in the development of a disaster risk reduction action plan for the Limpopo Basin. This Plan of Action presents a strategy for integrating disaster risk reduction into the Limpopo transboundary level operations. As part of the process to developing the plan, GWPSA held a workshop on the 5th of April, 2016, to validate the draft DRR action plan of the Limpopo Basin.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) staff in Zimbabwe attended World Water Day commemorations organised by Mukuvisi Woodlands Nature Reserve and Environment Centre incorporating the Eco Schools Environment Education Programme. The event was funded by the 3rd European Union Water Facility Programme in Zimbabwe and was held at Darwendale/Manyame Dam on the 25th of March 2015. Apart from GWP, the event attracted 449 children and 74 teachers from 27 schools and 13 other organisations which included the European Union (EU),Environment Africa (EA), Wildlife Conservation, Practical Action, Upper Manyame Sub Catchment Council (UMSCC) and National Parks.
Lebanon and Jordan are exploring the possibility of joining the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). To assist the two countries in this process, UNECE and the Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean (GWP-Med), with financial support provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), have organised national workshops to increase awareness and understanding of relevant stakeholders of the different legal and institutional frameworks for cooperation on shared waters resources, the specificities of the UNECE Water Convention, in comparison to the UN Watercourses Convention, as well as the complementarity of the two agreements.
The World Water Day was commemorated in Uganda on Monday, 23 March 2015. The celebration ceremony took place at the new premises of the Directorate of Water Resources Management in Entebbe under the theme of Water and Sustainable Development.
The Institute of Applied Science at the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) opened its doors to the public, on Thursday, 26 March, for the inauguration of its newly installed greywater recycling system and green roof, at the presence of Hon. Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth & Sport, and Prof. Michael Scoullos, Chairman of the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med).
The Institute of Applied Science at the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) opened its doors to the public, on Thursday, 26 March, for the inauguration of its newly installed greywater recycling system and green roof, at the presence of Hon. Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth & Sport, and Prof. Michael Scoullos, Chairman of the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med).