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Despite an almost abundance of water, most water users in the South-western region of Burkina Faso regularly face water shortages due to an intensification of irrigated agriculture. Action was consequently taken to set up the Local Water Committee. The lesson learnt is that in the realm of the water sector, it is crucial for the state, local authorities, civil society and the private sector to collaborate to find new potential solutions.

GWPSA is a key partner involved in the implementation of some WaterNet Activities. These activities are currently being guided by the Phase III WaterNet Strategy (2012-2016), themed “Achieving Sustainability by Increasing Impact”. GWPSA’s main area of involvement has been through the WaterNet/Water Research Fund for Southern Africa (WARFSA)/GWP-SA Symposia, which have been held annually in the Eastern and Southern African regions for the past thirteen years.

WACDEP CACENA was formulated by Global Water Partnership in Central Asia and Caucasus to initiate development of the regional agenda on climate change adaptation. There is a big differentiation in renewable water resources availability among the countries within the GWP CACENA region. The biggest part of the territory is located in the arid and semi-arid climate, and irrigated agriculture accounts for about 80-90 % of total water use. The most common challenging issues for the Caucasian sub-region are the low access to proper drinking water supply and sanitation, water ecosystems degradation, floods and, in some zones - water scarcity. For Central Asia they are increasing water deficit (droughts in irrigated zones) and water ecosystems degradation. Climate change aggravates all these problems. The programme will provide planning support to governments of CACENA countries for better preparing to climate change and for improving water security.

Groundwater depletion is a serious issue in India. The government has approached the issue of declining groundwater levels largely through regulatory means. For the policy to be successful, it is crucial that users understand groundwater occurrence, cycle, and limited availability. Much effort has thus been placed on engaging farmers and communities. This case study demonstrates the importance to work with capacity building and social mobilization rather than physical solutions. 

GWP Chair Dr. Ursula Schaefer-Preuss gave the introductory keynote to the Second Mekong River Commission Summit and International Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on 2 April. She presented some key elements related to the Post-2015 Development Agenda, stressing the need for a dedicated water goal in an ever-changing world.

The entire Global Water Partnership (GWP) network is commemorating 2013, the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation, with the launch of a publication entitled “Water: Catalyst for Cooperation.”

Many dialogues and seminars on river pollution have been organised over the past 20 years. Generally there is an agreement that countries desperately need to do something about the sad state of rivers, especially in countries which hope to achieve developed nation status by 2020.

The Volta River basin remained one of the few unregulated transboundary watercourses in Africa.  Action was taken to improve water governance and water management practices. Although this is still in progress, it has resulted in multi-scale participatory governance frameworks for joint management. From this process, it is evident that building a local knowledge base with good data and information systems is important in deciding the most efficient allocation of resources.