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.
Limited land space, high population densities and population growth, coupled with increased urbanisation has led to a decline in freshwater and coastal water quality in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean.
According to the Johannesburg Declaration (2002), the ultimate goal of the activities of Central Asia and Caucasus Partnership Network is to support and assist the countries in implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles towards the World Summit on Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals. This process must be accompanied by public involvement in decision-making, support for the political will for cooperation between sectors and countries, initiating dialogue among all stakeholders and supporting practical activities locally implemented including capacity building.
A regional consultation workshop took place in Tunis, on September 11th 2014, aimed at supporting the development of the ten-year strategy (2015-2025) and the detailed five-year action plan (2015-2020) for the African Network for Basin Organisations (ANBO) to become an effective tool in strengthening and promoting institutional management mechanisms for shared water resources in Africa.
Water and energy are inseparable. To draw attention to the links between water and energy, GWP has released a new video about the theme of World Water Day 2014.
An Expert Task Force of the joint GWP/OECD project “Global Dialogue on Water Security and Sustainable Growth” has presented provisional results of research into the economics of water security. Although still a work in progress, some striking patterns stand out, and the experts believe this could be a game changer in the quest for a dedicated water goal in the post-2015 development agenda, as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be decided upon.
The National Consultation on Non Conventional Water Resources (NCWR) Management will be held on Tuesday, May 6th, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta.
To increase agricultural productivity, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has encouraged many farmers to organise water users groups. Yields are to be increased through the collaborative and efficient participation of beneficiary farmers engaged in irrigation. This has led to efficient water distribution throughout the managed watercourse. The most important lesson learnt is the importance of the strengthening of each water user group.