The Danube region is characterised by long-term cooperation. One of the most important agreements is the Danube River Protection Convention, aiming to achieve sustainable and equitable water management. To achieve this, the Danubian countries have taken appropriate legal, administrative and technical measures to at least maintain and improve the ecological and water quality conditions. The main lesson learnt is that strong cooperation among all the involved parties is required.
Two weeks later the Roundtable "National Consultations on water in the post-2015 development agenda" organized by CWP-Georgia, some participants were interviewed by the journalist of the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Gruzii" (The Truth of Young Communist League in Georgia).
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.
GWP SA is working closely with a number of partners namely GRID-Arendal and RESILIM in the development of an Atlas of the Limpopo River Basin. This initiative is a basin collaboration initiative known as the Limpopo River Basin of Our Changing Environment. An initial conceptualisation workshop was held by the partners on the 18th-19th August, 2014 at Cresta Churchill in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The workshop brought together 33 participants to share experiences and understand the environmental changes that have occurred in the Limpopo River Basin and conceptualise the development of an Atlas.
During 2012-2013, GWP Latvia co-produced a movie "Staburadze, are you still crying?", coordinated by Daugava Museum in Latvia.
Dr. Beatrice Mosello, from the Overseas Development Institute, shares her experience of the recent Water, Climate Development Programme training workshop in Addis Ababa, and her optimism for the integration of water security and climate resilience into development planning in Africa.
The Murray-Darling Basin was subjected to widespread environmental degradation. In response to this problem, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission was established in January 1988 under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, focusing on protecting and improving water quality. The key lesson is that the participatory approach used with its Community Advisory Committee has helped the Commission to be successful in winning and maintaining community interest, involvement and support.
On the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, GWP Central and Eastern Europe launches an international photo contest on 17 June.
The Meuse and the Scheldt river basins are subjected to pollution and seasonal water shortages, as well as political clash of interests regarding maritime access. Action was taken to solve these issues by the Belgian government. However, although an agreement was eventually made, political issues made the process complex. From this case, it is apparent that a cross-sectoral approach that looks beyond the water sector is often instrumental in developing attractive package deals.
Moldavian children won the „International Danube Art Master 2014“ competition, announced the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe.