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Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP / WA ) as part of its work program and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Central Africa and West African Programme (IUCN/ PACO) as part of its new program "Partnership for environmental Governance in West Africa - PAGE" are launching the second edition of the "Water and Environment " media contest.

The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) will be hosting a National Stakeholder Consultation in Trinidad on April 16^th, 2014 which forms part of a global consultation exercise to get country level feedback from twenty-six (26) countries on proposals for a dedicated Water Goal in the United Nations (UN) Post-2015 Development Agenda.

GWP SA joined approximately 38 other stakeholders on 12-13 March 2014 at the Lombardy Hotel in Pretoria in absorbing discussions that looked at Water Research Impact and Uptake. The workshop was hosted by the Water Resource Commission and the International Water Management Institute, Southern Africa to chiefly explore the complexities and responsibilities of research impact and uptake.

Transboundary basins account for roughly 60 percent of global freshwater resources. Of 192 countries, 153 share 310 rivers and lakes, and 592 aquifers. These water resources serve 2.8 billion people, or 42 percent of the global population.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched its new project “Mega-cities and their Watersheds: Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Drinking Water Sources” on November 26, 2013 in Beijing.

The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa has been a collaborating partner in the National Adaptation Plan – Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) process through association with the Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP).  NAP-GSP  is assisting LDCs to identify technical, institutional and financial needs to integrate climate change adaptation into ongoing medium and long-term national planning and budgeting in Twenty-six least developed countries (LDCs). GWP has joined other NAP-GSP partners in supporting LDCs to advance NAPs through:

GWP SA’s Executive Secretary, Ms Ruth Beukman joined other key stakeholders at the much awaited Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) Official Launch which was held at Maputo, Mozambique on July 24^th 2014. The launch of LIMCOM follows the finalisation of the process of ratification of the Agreement for the establishment of LIMCOM.  

GWP-Med aims at putting IWRM, as well as the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus approach, into practice to help countries towards growth and water security emphasizing good governance, appropriate infrastructure and sustainable financing. In doing so, it focuses on contributing to and advocating for solutions for critical challenges to water security, such as climate change impacts, urbanisation, food insecurity, energy insecurity, ecosystems threats, unemployment, migration, etc.

Right at the heart of Namibia, “the land of the brave”, in the capital Windhoek was the venue for the 7th SADC Multi- stakeholder Water Dialogue held from the 29th to the 30th of September, 2015. Held under the theme, “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialization” the dialogue was attended by 150 delegates from across the region representing the water sector, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), cooperating and development partners, academia, the media, and other relevant stakeholders from non-water entities (energy, agriculture, industrialization). The delegates, of which a good number were youth were brought together to deliberate the role that water will play in driving industrialization in the region.

Water governance remains a key challenge in the Mediterranean. Efforts of countries focus on improving policies making and action planning, institutional settings, law and regulation, enforcement mechanisms, innovative financing, application of cost recovery and polluter pays principle, etc. To achieve sustainable models of development, water must be mainstreamed into other sectoral policies such as agriculture, land planning and use, energy, industry, tourism and trade. Political will is key for making these happen. The importance of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, equity, poverty and rights, is increasingly recognized but is still relatively poorly tackled.