The sixth statutory meeting of the Assembly of Partners of Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) was held on 7 and 8 May 2015 in Cotonou, Benin. The theme of the meeting was " The challenge of the post-2015 Development Agenda in Africa: what role for Partnerships in the context of Climate Change?'. Organized by the GWP Regional Secretariat in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, petroleum exploration, mining, water and renewable energy, and the Country Water Partnership of Benin, it was under the patronage of the Minister.
An onsite meeting was attended by the main actors involved in the implementation of the demonstration project in order to assess the progress.
As of April 29, 2015, IRRIFASO has completed the installation of drip irrigation system. They also tested the system with the existing pump on site. The conclusion is that the system is operating normally, the pressure achieved was 0.3 bar considered to be sufficient for such a system.
Burkina CWP has initiated a series of meetings with some foreign embassies in Ouagadougou. Thus, a delegation met with the Ambassador of Morocco in Ouagadougou, Mr. FARHAT BUAZZA on April 20, 2015 for a courtesy visit to present the CWP and its portfolio of projects for a possible collaboration. The Ambassador welcomed the visit and thanked the Chair and his team.
The delegation met on April 23, the Ambassador of South Africa, HE Mr. Gangumzi TSENGIWE, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium in Burkina Faso, Mr Philip HEUTS.
The Ghana Country Water Partnership (CWP-Ghana), in collaboration with the Federation of Environmental Journalists (FEJ) of Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the Ghana WASH Journalists Network (GWJN) organised a Symposium on Environmental Reporting. The symposium was held on 22nd April, 2015 at GIJ Seminar Room. In attendance were members of FEJ, the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), WACDEP National Training Coordinator, GWJN executives, students and a member of the photography faculty of GIJ. In all, there were seventy four (74) participants at the symposium.
The 7th World Water Forum was held from April 12 to 17, 2015 in South Korea. This event, which is now included in to the global sustainable development agenda has brought together thousands of participants from all continents of the world. Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) was represented by the WACDEP program Manager Mahamoudou TIEMTORE and Mrs. Felicite CHABI-GONNI Epse VODOUNHESSI IDMP Project Officer.
Margaret Catley Carlson who was the Chair and the Patron of GWP visited GWP China Secretariat and its Host Institute, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) on May 16, 2015, in Beijing.
On May 15, 2015, Angela Klauschen, Senior Network Officer of GWPO visited GWP China Regional Secretariat in Beijing.
With global change projections pointing to increasing water scarcity and drought in the Mediterranean, which are bound to cause significant environmental and socio-economic impacts, the development of a new management approach for water basins by integrating scientific thinking with sociological considerations seems essential.