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There have been many dialogues and seminars on river pollution in the past 20 years or so. Generally everyone agrees that as a country, we desperately need to do something about the sad state of our rivers, especially when we hope to achieve developed nation status by 2020. However, we have not been successful in translating consensus at these forums into changes on the ground.

Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) implementation team from Rwanda and Burundi resolved to fast-track the implementation activities and fill existing gaps identified in the 2013. The commitment was expressed during a joint review and self-assessment meeting bringing together 21 participants in Kigali, Rwanda November, 8th 2013.

For GWP, inclusiveness and gender sensitivity has always been a core value. GWP supports the Dublin Principle that women play a central role in providing, managing, and safeguarding water resources. The growing interconnectedness of gender, water, and sustainable development demand that we do more to ensure greater gender equity in all our efforts to properly safeguard and manage water resources for future generations.

A regional consultation on the social aspects of water infrastructures in West Africa

Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe is the largest transboundary lake in Europe. Action has been taken by riparian governments of Russia and Estonia to develop and sign an Agreement on the Protection and Sustainable Use of Transboundary Water Bodies. An intergovernmental commission was established to co-ordinate the implementation of this agreement. Co-operation over Lake Peipsi demonstrates how integrated water resource management tools can be applied to transboundary waters shared by countries in transition.

Irrigation infrastructure is crucial for economic development in Fujian. However, due to incomplete water management, the existing water facilities do not satisfy the current development.  Action has been taken by the infrastructure department of Fujian provinces to cooperate with local farmers and organisations to explore participatory management and new mechanism of local water management. This case indicates that direct involvement of water users will result in rational use of water resources. 

Astien groundwater aquifer has been subjected to over-use due to good water quality and over-extraction. To address this, SMETA, a syndicate of local authorities, was established to organise the management of the aquifer. Key lesson learnt is that an organisation like SMETA can prove to be a successful forum for groundwater protection. 

In preparation for the new Water Law in Bulgaria, as well as the EU Water Framework Directive, the watershed council was set up as a pilot to test on-site effective and participatory approaches to river resource management in the Varbitsa River. The key lesson drawn is that participatory, open, citizen-friendly and bottom-up approaches are more efficient than top-down administrative approaches.  

More than 20 million of people have no chance to use public waste water treatment systems in the future, says a study by Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe.