A far-reaching political and technical process towards establishing a joint vision for water security in the Mediterranean towards 2030 and beyond is on-going in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). It draws on integrated responses, focusing on the feasible and the tangible. Building trust among countries and stakeholders, it aims at linking capacities and financial resources towards addressing needs. GWP-Med contributes to the UfM process servicing as its technical facilitator.
Coinciding with the meeting of the GWP Steering Committee (SC), a High Level Roundtable on Water Security and the SDGs was held in Yangon, Myanmar on May 24, 2016.
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 fourth capacity building workshop was held from July 28 to 29, 2015 in Ouagadougou. This workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of planners and policy makers who are beneficiaries of the program to ensure the monitoring of progress and lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategic Framework for water security and resilient development to change climate produced by AMCOW.
A training course on International Water Law (IWL) in Africa took place in Kampala, Uganda, in June. It was the second year running that GWP and its Partners organised the course, with the aim to strengthen transboundary water resources management in Africa. The training was appreciated by the participants who lauded its significance in improving water governance in basins.