Media Release, March 8, 2011 -- Rising food prices and alarm over climate change was the context for a workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 24-25, 2011. How water is managed is central to both issues.
Media Advisory, February 21, 2011 -- South Asia is among the areas expected to be hardest hit by climate change. Severe flooding in 2007 along the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers affected over 13 million people in Bangladesh; flooding in Pakistan in 2010 severely affected 20 million people. India has likewise suffered numerous events of extreme rainfall, flooding and droughts. In addition the rise of sea level is a real threat to low lying areas in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. And there are the floods going on today in Sri Lanka.
Former Editor and Videographer at CNS TV6 in Guyana, Mr. Shane Hubbard has claimed the top spot in GWP-C’s first Media Awards on Water. Entries by Ms. Veoma Ali, Regional Advertising Manager at One Caribbean Media Limited in Barbados and Mrs. Latoya Minott-Spence, Reporter and Producer at Television Jamaica were selected for Honourable Mention. Press release available here.
GWP Southern Africa is actively involved with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Water Division and other Partners in preparations for the 5th SADC Multi-stakeholder Water Dialogue which will be held in Swaziland in June 2011.
A successful Capacity Building Workshop on “Flood Management in a Transboundary Context” was organized on the 13th and 14th of December in Zagreb, Croatia, under the Petersberg Phase II / Athens Declaration Process by the Global Water Partnership- Mediterranean (GWP-Med) with the support of the German Ministry of Environment and GEF IWLEARN.
At the request of the countries, a mission from GWP West Africa visited Gambia and Sierra Leone 19-28 September 2011, to follow up on the will expressed in 2009, during the development process of the IWRM roadmap, to set up GWP Country Water Partnerships. Exchanges on the importance of transboundary waters and their management mechanisms such as the UN Convention on International Water Courses were also discussed.
Highlighting the Role of Water in Climate Change Adaptation
December 1st, 2010. Cancun, Mexico. This morning the Dialogs for Water and Climate Change were inaugurated in Cancun, Mexico, by a high panel of representatives, among them Dr. Letitia A. Obeng, Chair of GWP.
Cancun, Mexico. December 7. On Saturday, December 4, Dr. Letitia A. Obeng, Chair of Global Water Partnership (GWP) spoke briefly to the participants who attended The Oceans Day at Cancun.
“We have to work together,” said Dr. Obeng, referring to the need to coordinate and unify efforts between those who work on integrated water resources management and those who work with oceans.
GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki participated in a meeting of the Integrated Flood Management HelpDesk,with WMO and other Support Base Partners (SBPs) in Geneva on 4 and 5 October - to discuss achievements so far and what can be done in the future. Since the HelpDesk´s launch in June 2009, 26 requests from 14 countries have so far been received, and dealt with in various different ways depending on the level of the request.
Invitation to Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING on Wednesday September 8, 2010 at Stockholm World Water Week, Press Room at 13:00 hrs where the Global Water Partnership launches a report about GWP’s work developing IWRM plans in Africa, “Water Security for Development”.Until the world puts water at the top of the development agenda, efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals will falter.