"Water and Environment" media award on the theme "Water Security and Climate Resilience of West Africa" was launched on 29 April 2014.
Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP/WA) and the West and Central Africa Programme of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN/PACO) have priced on June 14, 2014 the winners of the first "Water and Environment" media competition.
The constitutive texts for the establishment of the Mono River Basin Authority (MBA) have been approved by the two countries (Benin and Togo) after a meeting of Ministers on July 4th, 2014 in Cotonou. The meeting of Ministers was preceded by a meeting of experts on 2 and 3 July 2014 to analyze documents that were approved by Ministers.
River Indio’s watershed is the source of water supply for the growing demand in the metropolitan area of Panamá. However, due to extensive human activity and mismanagement the area has been affected by extensive deterioration. Action has been taken to reinforce natural resources restoration and water resources conservation, grounded in government strenthening and integrated management. Important lessons can be drawn from this in terms of IWRM, as it sets a clear example of active participation of the communities and the local authorities.
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.
Following up to the International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean and responding to the request expressed in June 2013 by the Arab Ministerial Water Council, the Workshop “Legal frameworks for cooperation on transboundary waters – Key aspects and opportunities for the Arab countries” took place in Tunis, Tunisia, on 11 and 12 June 2014.
Decades of underinvestment led to poor water and wastewater services and low coverage in Manila. Due to this poor service, the government was unable to increase its water tariffs due to customers’ unwillingness to pay. This situation translated into very low cash flows for the government, thus leading again to the issue of underinvestment, which soon turned to a vicious cycle.
The GWP’s annual Consulting Partners Meeting and the Regional Days were held from June 23 to 28 in Port of Spain, the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, sponsored by the GWPO and organized by the GWP Caribbean Region. The delegation of the GWP China was sent to participate in all the events and the discussions.
Professor John B.R. Agard held the GWP Annual Lecture at the Consulting Partners Meeting 2014 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on 28 June. The topic was “Climate Change and Water”.
A five day regional Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop with objective to “develop the capacity of stakeholders to better appreciate the impacts of climate change on water resources, and the ability to use the IWRM approach as a tool for climate change adaptation” was organized in Kinshasa from 12th -16th May 2014. The training was implemented by the Congo Basin Network for Research and Capacity Building in Water (CB-HYDRONET) with financial and technical support from CAP-NET, WATERNET, the Water and Climate Development Program (WACDEP) in GWP Central Africa and Southern Africa, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), University of Kinshasa and the DRC Ministry of Environment.