"Water and Environment" media award on the theme "Water Security and Climate Resilience of West Africa" was launched on 29 April 2014.
Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP/WA) and the West and Central Africa Programme of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN/PACO) have priced on June 14, 2014 the winners of the first "Water and Environment" media competition.
Morgan Katati is the Executive Director of the Zambia Institute of Environmental Management (ZIEM), a GWP Partner. Last summer he was one of the recipients of the joint GWP-University of Dundee scholarship, on offer for those interested in international water law and whose institution is a GWP Partner. His expectations were far exceeded, and he tells the story of how his newly gained knowledge resulted in an award for outstanding environmental work.
As an implementing partner in delivering components of the GiZ Transboundary Water Resources Management Programme Phase III in SADC, GWP SA is supporting stakeholder and Capacity needs analysis in the Limpopo and Orange-Senqu River Basins. This exercise falls under Programme 6 – Stakeholder Participation, under the “Mainstreaming Climate Change into the Water Sector within the SADC Region”.
The NAP-GSP Project Board-approved NAP-GSP work plan includes a number of Regional Training Workshops on developing frameworks and strategies for NAPs for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which request support.
NAP-GSP implementing agencies United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other partners and collaborators (GEF, UNITAR, IFAD, UNFCCC, WHO, GWP, FAO, GIZ), are holding the NAP Regional Training Workshop for African LDCs on 17-20 March 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The situation analysis for Bugesera transboundary catchment under the Water, Climate and Development Program (WACDEP) kicked off Wednesday, 21st November 2012 in Bugesera, borderline between the two countries.
The European rivers Mura, Drava and Danube form a 700 km long “green belt” connecting more than 800,000 ha of highly valuable natural and cultural landscapes in five countries (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia). This area is a symbol of unity among the countries and is planned to become a protected Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube” (TBR MDD).
In Uganda, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) provide most drinking water, however, this is predominantly in urban areas. Attempting to improve water provision in rural areas, a programme supported by the World Bank was initiated. The main action taken was to commercialising service delivery through public-private partnerships. Despite being viewed as a great success, this case study highlights that circumstances can change and thus be different from those anticipated during the bidding stage.
“Water is life, but water can also be a threat to life”. This was said by the Permanent Secretary in the former Ministry of Water Resources Development and Management (MWRDM) in a keynote speech read on his behalf at a Catchment and Sub-catchment consultation and action planning workshop. He further highlighted that water resources in Zimbabwe need to be treated with extreme care due to increased scarcity being brought about by the adverse effects of climate change.
Capacity development at transboundary and national levels is urgently required to enhance local technical, analytical and institutional capacity for climate resilient development. This is a key pillar of the WACDEP and NAPs process. Investment planning for climate resilient development needs to be informed by sound economic analysis of adaptation. In collaboration with AMCOW, CDKN, UNDP-GEF, CapNet and GWP, a Capacity Development Initiative on Economics of Adaptation, Water Security and Climate Resilient Development is implemented in Africa.