At a time of increasing water demand and the prospect of climate change, the problem of water scarcity in the Mediterranean region and in particular the Greek islands deepens and becomes more critical. Hence, there is an urgent need to enhance water efficiency and to explore further alternatives to ensure water availability using innovative approaches. The revival of traditional water harvesting and management techniques, which have been overlooked in favour of modern technologies, sometimes less sustainable, appears to be one of the most promising alternatives for supplying freshwater in the face of increasing water scarcity and escalating demand.
The Regional Secretariat of GWP Eastern Africa assisted with technical and financial support to a meeting in Mogadishu to launch a Somalia Country Water Partnership on 29th January 2014. As a result of the meeting, Somalia is soon set to join GWP by establishing a Country Water Partnership.
Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, have agreed to establish a strategic partnership to jointly undertake work on climate resilience and WASH. The initial collaboration is for six months, with a potential continuation.
GWP China addressed issues connected to climate change, flood control and use of rainwater in a workshop held in Baoding, in the Hebei Province, on 26-27 November 2013.
One of our partners, The Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO), held its 8th IWRM Training in Thulhiriya, SriLanka from 27 November-4 December 2013 to be hosted by Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka (MASL). The Training theme is "Enhanced Water Security through IWRM - Mahaweli Experience".
The eight days training program used a mix of participatory and trans-disciplinary case studies which aims to develop the capacity of participants in IWRM Implementation by using the "IWRM Spiral Model" which was introduced as part of the "IWRM Guidelines at River Basin Level" and issued by UNESCO in 2009. 27 Participants from 11 countries includes: Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
As an anticipation of drought problems, Indonesia Water Partnership held a dialogue with Local community on drought in a Meeting Room of Ministry of Public Work in Jakarta, Indonesia on 11 December 2013.
Indonesia is a country with two season, dry season and rainy season. During the dry season, drought has been a problem for society, industry and agriculture. There is not enough water to drink, cleaning, and washing for society. For farmers, it can be crop failure, late harvesting which make farmers lost their fund and start cropping from beginning. And for industry, there is also not enough water to run the business.
GWP SA (through GWPO), has now been engaged by UN Water to organize post 2015 national consultations on water between February and end of March 2014. The consultations have been held in three countries – Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. This process is facilitated by GWPO through its regional and country networks - UN Water having given GWP this role because of GWP’s stakeholder platforms across the world.
GWP SA, on behalf of SADC is currently making preparations for the forthcoming SADC Water Weeks which have been slated from April – October 2014. The SADC Water Weeks are aimed at ensuring that the Regional Water Programme is well understood and embraced by stakeholders from various sectors at the national level. The SADC Water Weeks were last held in the year 2000 and led to the development of the SADC Water Vision for Water, Life and the Environment
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) has been supporting the development of a Climate Change Strategy and actions plans for water related sectors in the Zimbabwe National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) consultation process since its inception in August 22nd 2013. A number of stakeholders, such as COMESA, UNDP, and UNICEF have been supporting this process.