In the Danube hydrographic basin, agricultural practices continue to be the main source of water pollution. A pilot project “Best Agricultural Practices” was initiated focusing on e.g. nutrient management, conservation tillage and manure management. Awareness campaigns were initiated, training and education of farmers were emphasised. The key lesson is that these projects should be complimented by other technical and investment measures.
Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe is the largest transboundary lake in Europe. Action has been taken by riparian governments of Russia and Estonia to develop and sign an Agreement on the Protection and Sustainable Use of Transboundary Water Bodies. An intergovernmental commission was established to co-ordinate the implementation of this agreement. Co-operation over Lake Peipsi demonstrates how integrated water resource management tools can be applied to transboundary waters shared by countries in transition.
GWP Egypt and the Delta Alliance jointly organised a workshop in Cairo in June within the framework of the ‘Enabling Delta Life’ initiative. The main aim was to identify elements of a programme that can complement and add value to on-going activities in the Nile delta.
Myanmar Water Partnership together with Irrigation Department (ID), Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) of the Government of Union of Myanmar, with sponsorship support from Global Water Partnership - South East Asia (GWP-SEA) held a dialogue on Water-Food-Energy Security as a Major Contributing Constituent for Sustainable National Development in Myanmar.
The New Senior Managers of Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat notably Engineer Teferra Beyene Asfaw, the Executive Secretary and Ms. Dorothy Kaggwa, Head of Strategic Planning and Management were briefed on the Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa (GWPEA) programmes, activities and working framework.
Karachi was characterised by inadequate water and sanitation services and wasteful and injudicious use of water by consumers. To address these issues, the Karachi Water Partnership was formed as a platform for collective action by all concerned stakeholders to better manage water resources through IWRM. The experience illustrates that there can be great value in simply improving the existing delivery mechanisms as a compliment to the implementation of new ideas.
Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will launch a joint Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) at a Side Event on March 13, 2013, at the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Sponsoring Partners announced the appointment of Prof Lučka Bogataj among 5 new members for the GWP Steering Committee on 28 August.
At a time of increasing water demand and the prospect of climate change, the problem of water scarcity in the Mediterranean region and in particular the Greek islands deepens and becomes more critical. Hence, there is an urgent need to enhance water efficiency and to explore further alternatives to ensure water availability using innovative approaches. The revival of traditional water harvesting and management techniques, which have been overlooked in favour of modern technologies, sometimes less sustainable, appears to be one of the most promising alternatives for supplying freshwater in the face of increasing water scarcity and escalating demand.