Given the importance of WRCC in coordinating water resource management in West Africa in particular and that of ECOWAS generally politically and economically, and because of the many joint initiatives underway, GWP / WA met with the Director of WRCC, Ibrahim Babatunde WILSON. The GWP delegation led by its Chair, Prof. Afouda, included the Executive Secretary and the Mekrou and IDMP projects officers.
The two organizations raised a number of initiatives underway at GWP / WA of which WRCC is an integral part, including the Mekrou project, IDMP, or those in which the WRCC should take the lead like the initiative on the regional dialogue on the joint management of shared aquifers in West Africa.
From December 14 to 16, 2015, the “Regional Workshop on South-South Cooperation in Flood Management” was jointly organized by GWP China and GWPO in Guangdong, China.
The Tanzania Water Partnership (TWP) has formalised its working relationship with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The signing of the MoU took place at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Headquarters in Dar es Salaam on Monday 15 August 2016.
The GWP Technical Committee is launching three new Technical Focus Papers and introducing an upcoming Background Paper on 28 August in Stockholm. The event will be live streamed.
The Chair, Regional Coordinator, the IDMP project officer and Communications Manager of GWP West Africa took part in to the GWP Regional Days meetings in Stockholm from 8 to 13 May 2016.
One of the critical challenges facing the water sector is climate change. Studies have shown that Uganda is highly vulnerable to climate change and variability. This means that the economy and wellbeing of its people are tightly bound to climate. This has been demonstrated by increasing climate variability and occurrences of floods and droughts over the last two decades. These changes are likely to have significant implications for water sources, agriculture, food security, and soils.
The National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) that was adopted in July 2014 was officially launched by the Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the 19th of November 2015 at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. The launch was attended by senior government officials, representatives from different organisations in the water sector and the local leadership drawn from the 9 Provinces around the country. The launch came at a time when Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts towards climate change adaptation and mitigation as witnessed by the development of the Strategy and the Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) to support the process.