For centuries the Upper Guadiana Basin has been irrigated with groundwater, resulting in a drop in the water table of more than 20 meters. Actions were taken to address this issue, including regulations restricting aquifer abstraction and economic incentives to encourage farmers to improve irrigation efficiency and plant alternative crops. The key lesson learnt is that surface and underground waters cannot be managed separately.
GWP Southern Africa has participated in national and international dialogues focusing on water in the post 2015 development agenda. The dialogues form part of the UN national dialogue (post Rio +20) process which will feed into the development of the UN post 2015 Sustainable Development Goal(s).
The Intersectoral roundtable "Country Consultations on Water Speak to post-2015 Agenda" was held on 7 March 2014 in Dushanbe at the Institute of Water Problems, Energy and Environment of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. The roundtable was organized by CWP-Tajikistan jointly with the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan under support of GWP CACENA.
Our approach is hinged on two mutually objectives: delivering GWP strategy in the region and responding to water and climate resilience needs and contexts at all levels in the Eastern and Greater Horn of Africa.
GWP Sri Lanka's Area Water Partnership in Nilwala helped resolve a contentious issue that had long affected the area.
The Lake Atitlán basin experiences serious problems of water pollution, soil erosion and forest and biodiversity losses. Action was taken to establish the Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Atitlán Basin. However, barriers such as lack of public participation, institutional coordination and investment funds have only ensured limited success. The key lesson learnt is that the main barriers to an integrated management of water resources in the basin are strongly interlinked.
"The Mékrou Project, which will test and correct our various national tools for integrated management of water resources is a vast field of institutional, technical and technological innovations and scientific research in order to better understand the resource and establish a real sustainable plan for its use." It is in these terms that the Secretary General of the Ministry of Water, Water Facilities and Sanitation of Burkina Faso, Mr. Ali TRAORÉ, spoke at the official launch of the project. He expressed himself on behalf of the Honourable Minister and noted the importance of the new project on March 18, 2014 in Ouagadougou.
Setting up search and the search scope for a regional site
The Upper Mur River is considered as one of the most ecologically valuable rivers of Austria due to the natural reproduction for the Danube salmon. The systematic regulation of the river began at the end of the 19th century, distributaries were cut off and large areas were drained in order to intensify agricultural land use. Restoration measures started in 1997 in the area of the Upper Mur and the “Grenzmur”. Various projects facilitated the renaturation of more than 22 km both in the upper course and the Slovenian border section of the river. A policy issue highlighted by the project is the importance to reconcile key needs for nature conservation with demands for renewable energy generation from small hydro power plants.
Climate change and the increasing number of competing water users have led to the overexploitation of the Pangani river basin resources. Action has been taken to establishing environmental, economic and social implications of different river flow scenarios under expected climatic conditions. This helped to prioritize the allocation of water resources to meet basic human needs and those of ecosystems. The main lesson learnt was that providing a platform for dialogue between key stakeholders and increasing knowledge about the climatic variability and future risk are essential for successful water management solutions.