Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, lies on the confluence of the Mekong and the Tonle and Bassac rivers. These rivers are the main source of freshwater for the city’s population of about 1.3 million. Many of the Asian cities’ publicly managed water utilities perform below their potential. Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) undertook major reforms and transformed a war-ravaged water utility into a commendable model that stands for other cities to emulate
The Lake Atitlán basin experiences serious problems of water pollution, soil erosion and forest and biodiversity losses. Action was taken to establish the Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Atitlán Basin. However, barriers such as lack of public participation, institutional coordination and investment funds have only ensured limited success. The key lesson learnt is that the main barriers to an integrated management of water resources in the basin are strongly interlinked.
The development of hydropower in the Mekong River basin can bring great economic opportunities for Laos. However, since this basin is shared with neighbouring countries, cooperation is crucial. Action was taken and the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed to coordinate the use of these resources for economic development. For Laos, this has been crucial to their success in regards to the MDGs.
Public institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Academia, Media and other national stakeholders from Water Sector, Agriculture and Energy discussed about key priority water issues that need to be incorporated in the next development agenda termed as Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
More than twenty (20) stakeholders in St. Lucia from Ministries of Public Utilities and Finance and other government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, water and wastewater managers, legal practitioners, among others were trained in the area of Water Financing in a workshop held in St. Lucia on May 28th and 29th, 2013 put on by the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and the National Water and Sewerage Commission (NWSC) of St. Lucia.
Mr. Bulat Yessekin, GWP CACENA Regional Council Member from Kazakhstan, is selected to the GWP Steering Committee for 2013-2015 by the GWP Nomination Committee.
Central America is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, so recognising that water is essential to adaptation is crucial to national and regional strategies. To this end, GWP Central America has contributed to the water component in the Action Plan of the Regional Strategy for Climate Change (ERCC) and organised a regional workshop on water and climate change.