The sixth SADC Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue was held on 1-2 October 2013 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia. The dialogue was sponsored by DANIDA and other cooperating partners (German Cooperation, Australian Aid, UK Aid).
The DIKTAS Project (2010 – 2014) is initiated by the aquifer-sharing states and is a full-size GEF regional project, implemented by UNDP and executed by UNESCO. The activities of the project focus on Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. Several other countries and international organizations have also joined this challenging project and provide valuable contribution to realisation of its objectives.
The lack of laws and regulations, as well as good administration and management, contribute to poor water governance. In the Naranjo river basin, action was taken to implement IWRM after initiatives stemming from individuals with personal conviction of its importance. This has led to the creation of some formal legislation and the process of implementing IWRM. This consequently illustrates the potential important role of individuals in driving policy change.
The Kumbo water supply system has always had contested ownership claims. After decades of protest, action was taken and management was transferred to Kumbo Urban Council, resulting in the establishment of an inclusive and participatory community water governance structure. From this, the lesson can be learnt that the command and control paradigm can provoke social and political instability. The case also demonstrates how community based platforms can enhance community mobilisation and participatory governance.
In light of the recent development of its Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) model in 2010, Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has and continues to engage in a series of public education activities targeted at building awareness on rainwater harvesting as a means of water conservation.
Five (5) Caribbean Ministers with responsibility for water resources management from Barbados, Anguilla, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Nevis and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and five (5) senior ministerial/ government representatives from Saint Kitts, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe and Belize have endorsed recommendations for placing greater value on wastewater in the region and its role in the holistic management of water in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
A one day sensitization workshop took place on 30 July 2013 in Banjul, Gambia. The meeting brought together about twenty (20) journalists from various media houses and freelance journalists from The Gambia with the aim to inform participants on the ratification process of the UN 97 Law on the use of international watercourses for purposes other than navigational in the country.
The preparation of the Buna/Bojana Transboundary Integrated Management Plan aims to assist in identifying steps towards the reduction of pollution and the preservation of biodiversity in the area. Through multi-stakeholder consultations, the Plan will identify problems and issues in this basin shared between Albania and Montenegro. The Plan is prepared in the framework of the GEF MAP UNEP MedPartnership Programme by UNEP MAP PAP/RAC, GWP Mediterranean and UNESCO
To drive the interest of Integrated Water Resources Management at the political level in the Caribbean, since 2005, the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in collaboration with its partner, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) host an Annual High Level Forum of Ministers (HLFM).