A validation workshop of the Africa Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW) Sub-Regional Report for the World Water Forum 7 took place on 15th January 2015 at Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop was aimed at obtaining technical alignment from country contributions at sub regional level, under a sub-regional workshop organized by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)– as a sub region secretariat of AMCOW.
A press event was held at the Athalassa Center for Environmental Education on December 2nd, 2014 to mark the conclusion of the first phase of implementation works for the installation of new and the reinstatement of existing greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting systems at public schools and centres of environmental education.
The Ziquejie Terrace is one of the three famous Chinese ancient terraces in Hunan Province. The crops cultivated in the terraces can manage to thrive through drought and flood without reservoir or other water storage constructions. This traditional primitive gravity irrigation system is a model for ecological construction of irrigation systems. However, the mechanism of Gravity Irrigation and water allocation within Ziquejie Terrace has not been well revealed, which to large extent affects the efficiency of environmental and ecological protection for this extraordinary natural reserve.
The Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development assured that the Malawi government is working hard to address the challenges rocking the water sector in the country. Malawi hosted the SADC national week whose focus is on mainstreaming gender in water issues. The event was held from 13-15 May, 2015 at Crossroads Hotel, Lilongwe. The SADC Water Week, held under the theme “From Vision to Action” was attended by delegates from government ministries, civil society and the private sector.
In his address to the participants during the official ceremony of the Integrated Drought Management Project in West Africa (IDMP-WAF), the Chair of GWP-WA, Pr. Abel AFOUDA made a vibrant plea inviting organizations represented at the workshop and other regional institutions and governments in the region to add their voice to the GWP in the campaign for a dedicated "Water Goal" in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be adopted in September 2015 on the occasion of the 70th ordinary Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Several processes that place water at the center of the development are underway worldwide (IWRM, MDGs, SDGs ...).
At the level of West Africa, ECOWAS as the main political body for development, has undertaken, among other actions, the creation of the Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring (PFCM), and the development of the Regional Water Policy in West Africa (PREAO).
IUCN-PACO and Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) announced the winners of the 2nd edition of the Journalism competition « Water and Environment". The topic of the competition is "Water, an endangered resource, what solutions for the future? "