This is a selection of some of the news in 2014 that featured Global Water Partnership and/or GWP representatives.
Five old, hand crafted rainwater storage cisterns located in the villages of Pyrgos, Mesa Gonia and Exo Gonia, were in the focus of a research project recently concluded in Santorini. The project aimed at advancing rainwater harvesting in the island of Santorini, undertaken by the University of Cornell and Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean, with the support of the Municipality and the Water Supply and Sewage Authority of Thera (Santorini).
The partnership operates under 7 thematic areas. These focus areas are in line with the overall GWP strategy and have been identified to address the various challenges in the water sector in Tanzania.
GWP WA is one of the Focal points of the African Water Information and Documentation System (AWIS) managed by the ANBO through its Strengthening the Institutions of Transboundary Basins Organizations (SITWA) Project based at the OMVS in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop was to identify the main directions for a work plan addressing the identified needs and gaps of the African Water Information System (AWIS).
The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) will be a key supporter of the Malta Water Week, to be held on March 25-26, 2015, along, among other, the Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit of the Maltese Ministry for Energy and Health, the EIP (European Innovation Partnership)-Secretariat, the European Regions Research and Innovation Network, as well as the Maltese Water Services Corporation. The Malta Water Week is being organised by Paragon Europe, within the framework of the “Water Efficiency in European Urban Areas” - WE@EU Project, with the aim to create an open platform for EU excellence in sustainable and efficient urban water management that will enable participating clusters and regions to bring together knowledge and innovation potential by collaborating and mutually learning on a trans-national basis.
The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) contributed to a key UNESCO handbook on science diplomacy and transboundary water management published in late 2015, focusing on the Orontes River case in Lebanon; this was the outcome of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project “New technologies for an integrated and sustainable management of natural resources in Lebanon” financially supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren is the appointed Chair of GWP, effective July 1, 2016. Dr. Oyun is a former Member of Parliament of Mongolia, former Minister of Environment and Green Development, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. She currently serves as President of the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP.