The Roundtable on Flood Control and Adapting Measures for Economic Development in Flood Plain for Lower Reaches of Yellow River was held on October 23, 2014, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. The event was organized by GWP China Yellow River and Yellow River Research Association with the support by GWP China. Over 50 participants from Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC), research institutions, Henan and Ningxia Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Offices, universities attended the roundtable. Mr. Zheng Rugang, Secretary General and Coordinator of GWP China Region, gave a welcome speech.
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) and the Resilience in the Limpopo Project (RESILIM – a USAID funded project) are working on behalf of the Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) to review and update into an Action plan - ‘the Limpopo Basin Strategic Plan for reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts’. This review is part of the assistance being given to the LIMCOM in order for it to develop a Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan.
Based on country studies on Local Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (LIKSP) and how they contribute to enhancing climate resilience in each of the 14 countries in the SADC region, Qandelihle Simelane (regional consultant of LIKSP studies) gave a regional summation from country studies undertaken in the region during the 6th SADC River Basin Organisations (RBOs) Workshop held from the 15th to the 17th of October 2014 at Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa under the theme “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Resilience in Water Related Disasters.”
The Director of the National Water Agency of Brazil, Gisela Forattini, who is also a GWP Steering Committee member, introduced the GWP Gender Strategy at the Governmental Forum of Social Responsibility held on 18 September in Brazil.
Mongolia was recently established as a GWP Country Water Partnership (CWP). Professor Davaa Basandorj is the Executive Director of the new CWP. He says that the biggest water problem in Mongolia is water shortage, and that the water management in the country has to be improved.
As part of GWP’s programme to introduce its knowledge database, the IWRM Toolbox, into relevant university curricula, two workshops were held in China in September.
This conference takes place in East London, South Africa 3-7 November 2014. The programme includes a mixture of papers and parallel sessions with key stakeholders in policy and advocacy.
A presentation on Gender Mainstreaming in the SADC Water Sector was made during the 6th RBO workshop held on 15-17 October, 2014 at Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. GWP SA has facilitated the organization of the RBO workshops, which are aimed at enhancing and building the ability of the RBOs to prepare, respond and recover from water related impacts (flood and droughts) and build resilience to climate change within the RBOs through all aspects, including gender mainstreaming.
On October 15, 2014, Dr. Li Tao, the Director, and Ms Wang Dan of the China Regional Office of IWA visited GWP China Secretariat and had discussion about cooperation between the two organizations on the Symposium on Water, Energy and Food Nexus scheduled on Nov. 11-13, 2014 in Beijing China.
Cameroon’s Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) in collaboration with Global Water Partnership (GWP) Cameroon and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Cameroon country office organised a national workshop to present and validate the country’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP).