On July 26-27, 2010, GWP China Shaanxi organized the Dialogue on Groundwater Development and Utilization.
The programme aims to integrate water security and climate resilience in development planning processes, build climate resilience, and support countries to adapt to a new climate regime through increased investments in water security.
Water is central to Africa's development. To implement the climate change commitments in the Sharm el Sheikh Declaration and address the threat of climate change in Africa, the management of water resources must move to the top of the development agenda. This is the overall goal of the Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa, that runs from May 2011 to April 2016.
GWP Country Water Partnerships met November 6 to start work on a road map for an initiative between the GWP Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa (WACDEP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Nile Basin Initiative. Participants agreed that WACDEP will be implemented as a joint programme with the UNEP climate change adaptation project on the Nile Basin. GWP Eastern Africa is supporting UNEP to build stakeholder capacities.
The challenges China is facing with the rapid growth of urban centres, and the corresponding demands on limited water and related resources, is immense. This is true on the Loess Plateau which covers an area of some 640,000 km² in the upper and middle of China's Yellow River. A workshop on “Efficient Use of Water Resources and Ecological Compensation” was co-organized by GWP China-Yellow River and the Yellow River Research Institute on 27-28 September 2010, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
– Report from GWP’s Side Event at Astana 2011
At the Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, GWP convened a side event titled, “Economic Growth and Water: An Integrated Approach Helps” on September 23, 2011. GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng emphasized that “When we speak about the economy and economic growth we speak about water resources.”
Recently the GWP ToolBox, a free online database for those interested in better water management, has been improved with a number of new features and resources.
The Global Water Partnership and the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) launched a joint programme to support water and climate change adaptation in Africa.
This publication was launched at the 6thWorld Water Forum in Marseille by the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), the Global Water Partnership (GWP), UNECE, UNESCO, GEF, EVREN and AFD who worked together to produce it.