Lake Naivasha is an internationally renowned Ramsar site located in the Rift Valley in Kenya. But unlike most other designated wetlands of international importance, the water in Lake Naivasha also anchors a flourishing horticultural industry. The Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA) was established in 1929 to protect local land owner’s rights. and the LNRA became more strident in trying to balance the impact of the expanding commercial interests surrounding the lake with protecting its environmental integrity.
Despite high water availability in Jamaica, uneven distribution in both time and space creates local scarcity. Hence, it is problematic to distribute water adequately to all sectors, and to develop abstraction points for water treatment. To address the issues, action was taken and a Water Sector Reform was proposed, including a Water Sector Strategy and Action Plan. From this experience, the lesson learned is the importance of coordinating activities and harmonising policies, legislation and institutions.
In Kyrgyzstan, lack of drinking water and access to sanitation is a pressing problem which reinforces social vulnerability and poverty. Financed by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, actions have been taken to improve access to drinking water and sanitation by the Ministry of Health. These projects had a high level of community involvement which increased the sense of ownership.
GWP Eastern Africa’s communication and knowledge management strategies and activities are informed by the objectives imbedded in the overall GWP communications strategy and work plans.
To protect the Panama Canal Watershed, which was created when the Panama Canal was constructed, formal limits to its utilisation was set up, including the Panama Canal Treaty and the creation of a Panama Canal Authority. This case study predominantly illustrates the peculiar problems that arise when a highly artificial watershed is managed by a modern, internationally oriented public corporation with a country that is still copping with the hydraulic culture and a national water policy.
A training workshop was organized in Tunis, in the framework of the Water, Climate, Development Program for Africa (WACDEP), on 20-23 October; the second one out of a series of five training workshops composing the capacity building program “The Economics of Adaptation, Water Security and Climate Resilient Development”. This series of workshops follows the Framework cycle developed under WACDEP for water security and climate resilience.
In Marocco, rapid urbanisation has led to increased demands for quality and quantity of water resources. To meet the challenges posed by the growing water scarcity, Morocco has adopted an integrated approach to water resources management through mutually reinforcing policy and institutional reforms, including the adoption of a long term IWRM strategy. The key lesson is the importance of introducing economic incentives to water management.
The Country Water Partnerships invited to take part in the inaugural session of the Steering Committee meeting of GWP met with the Regional Secretariat and the Network Officers in the afternoon of November 25. This was an opportunity to review the latest version of the GWP 2014-2019 Strategy and GWP West Africa 2014-2016 Work Programme as well as initiatives and opportunities that may be of some interest to CWPs.
A secure water world is emerging as a top human development priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. But to truly deliver secure and sustainable water for all, policy makers need sound evidence connecting water security to economic growth and development.