Freshwater is under acute pressure from climate change in North Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, COP20 delegates heard on Wednesday. Experts from countries as diverse as Tunisia and Belize urged visionary leadership from politicians to protect natural resources, reports CDKN’s Mairi Dupar from Lima, Peru. The experts from the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW), Global Water Partnership and CARICOM also called for water managers to build on their local innovations for climate resilience – and to get savvier about communicating solutions to policy-makers. The event was an opportunity to learn about common problems and possible solutions across Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, based on a South-South learning project supported by CDKN.
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, the Hon Nomvula Mokonyane, has confirmed her wholehearted and enthusiastic support for the conference by endorsing the dates 3 – 7 November 2014, and we urge all delegates and prospective delegates in turn to confirm their attendance and participation at the conference to the Secretariat.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) hosted a National Stakeholder Consultation in Trinidad, on April 16th, 2014 which formed part of a global consultation exercise to get country level feedback from twenty-six (26) countries on proposals for a dedicated Water Goal in the United Nations (UN) Post-2015 Development Agenda.
The fourth and final workshop within the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) was held on 21-22 April 2015 in Bucharest, Romania.
For the first time in its 24 year history, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) will convene its Annual Conference and Exhibition in the mainland USA. It takes place at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami from the 24th to 28th August 2015. The theme is “Improving the Quality of Life with Water and Waste Management Solutions.
Following the in-country consultations with the key stakeholders and institutions to review and update into an Action plan ‘the Limpopo Basin Strategic Plan for reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts’, GWP SA conducted in country consultations in Zimbabwe. This review is part of the assistance being given to the LIMCOM in order for it to develop a Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan.
Last year a group of youth from more than 20 countries started a global initiative where they produced a white paper in the lead up to COP21, which allowed for a Youth Commitment under the Lima-Paris Action Agenda. GWP and partners are now taking the next step in launching a youth portal, where the voices of the young people will be gathered in one place. The portal is launched on World Water Day, 22 March.
The National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) that was adopted in July 2014 was officially launched by the Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the 19th of November 2015 at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. The launch was attended by senior government officials, representatives from different organisations in the water sector and the local leadership drawn from the 9 Provinces around the country. The launch came at a time when Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts towards climate change adaptation and mitigation as witnessed by the development of the Strategy and the Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) to support the process.
Global Water Partnership has interviewed women in the water community across the Network on their journey to become successful in their professions, how to overcome obstacles they face as women, and also recommendations to other women.
The 7th edition of the World Water Forum, the largest regular interface of the global water community with an outreach to actors outside the water box, will convene on April 12-17, 2015 in the Republic of Korea. The dedicated Mediterranean Cross-Continental Process to coordinate and prepare the regional contribution and key messages for the World Water Forum is co-facilitated by the Mediterranean Water Institute (IME) and the Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and steered by a multi-stakeholder Committee involving national and regional water actors.