The goal of the Global Water Partnership South Asia (GWP SAS) is to work towards meeting water challenges through partnerships and promote Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in South Asia.
Morgan Katati is the Executive Director of the Zambia Institute of Environmental Management (ZIEM), a GWP Partner. Last summer he was one of the recipients of the joint GWP-University of Dundee scholarship, on offer for those interested in international water law and whose institution is a GWP Partner. His expectations were far exceeded, and he tells the story of how his newly gained knowledge resulted in an award for outstanding environmental work.
For centuries the Upper Guadiana Basin has been irrigated with groundwater, resulting in a drop in the water table of more than 20 meters. Actions were taken to address this issue, including regulations restricting aquifer abstraction and economic incentives to encourage farmers to improve irrigation efficiency and plant alternative crops. The key lesson learnt is that surface and underground waters cannot be managed separately.
Global Water Partnership and the OECD have launched a joint project to establish a Global Dialogue on Water Security and Sustainable Growth. The major output of the cooperation will be a milestone report to be presented at the World Water Forum in 2015 in South Korea.
One thing became clear at the Doha climate negotiations. As governments struggle to reach any agreement on climate mitigation, the urgency and importance of agreement on adaptation is now coming to the fore.
A scholarship is now available for a student from the Caribbean to develop knowledge related to climate change adaptation and water resources management that can be directed back to the region.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has a unique global water information system, AQUASTAT, developed since 1993 by the Land and Water Division. The main objective of the programme is to systematically select the most reliable information on hydrological resources and water use in each country, as well as to make this information available in a standard format for interested global, regional and national users.
Many climate change models predict that increasing temperatures, droughts, heavy precipitation and other extreme climatic events will have severe impacts on family farmers. Yields might be reduced by up to 50 percent in dry regions at the same time as family farming continues to be the basis unit of the agricultural economy in developing countries.
On February 27-28, 2013, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa’s (GWPSA) Executive Secretary, Ms Ruth Beukman participated in the Post- 2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management (WRM) and Wastewater Management & Water Quality (WWMWQ). Ms Beukman was invited by UN Water to be a panellist and was sponsored by UNECE to participate. The meeting was sponsored by the Government of Switzerland as part of the Thematic Consultation on Water, coordinated by UN-Water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).