A secure water world is emerging as a top human development priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. But to truly deliver secure and sustainable water for all, policy makers need sound evidence connecting water security to economic growth and development.
More than a 120 Members of Parliament, journalists and NGOs from 22 Mediterranean countries met on 22-23 October 2012, in Athens, Greece, and pledged to accelerate their efforts towards de-polluting the Mediterranean by the year 2020.
Over twenty lecturers and researchers from universities across the Caribbean will meet in Barbados at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus for the first-ever Integrated Water Resources Management Knowledge Management Workshop to be held in the region on 5-6 June 2013.
GWP organised a workshop in partnership with Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, on 5-6 December. The aim was to explore educational needs and find out how GWP’s IWRM ToolBox can benefit present and future water managers in Eastern Africa.
“Media is our strategic partner—without it, we expect low levels of awareness, and slow change in water unfriendly practices and policies-”
WRCC/ECOWAS: 8th session of the Technical Committee of Experts
Desires to maximise irrigated agriculture during the Soviet era has resulted in degradation of water resources. After independence, most countries in the region adopted national policies dealing with water supply and sanitation. Furthermore, since 2002, Global Water Partnership in Caucasus and Central Asia (GWP CACENA) promotes and supports introduction of IWRM. The main lesson learnt is that an IWRM approach should include any essential infrastructure needed for development.
The Veluwe Randmeren lakes in the Netherlands were negatively affected by the discharge of phosphates and nitrates from agriculture and household use. Furthermore, increase in population pressure posed further challenges. To address these issues, a group consisting of national and local authorities undertook a project, which gradually increased the water quality. The case study demonstrates the importance of allowing integration among stakeholder groups.
“Water is a thread that runs through every development sector. The land and water of Sri Lanka is our oil and our gold… We can no longer afford to make water a sectoral matter. We cannot make it someone else’s business.” These were some of the comments made by Ms Kusum Athukorala, Chair of the Sri Lanka Water Partnership at a felicitation ceremony conducted to honour her achievement on receiving the bi-annual Women in Water Award presented by the International Water Association.