Water security in many urban areas is under threat due to the stresses of population growth, urbanisation, water pollution, the over-abstraction of groundwater, water-related disasters, and climate change. Current planning and management have proven insufficient to address the challenges of water security. There is a need for a paradigm shift, which was introduced during a GWP workshop attended by more than 200 participants at Asia Water Week on 13 March in Manila, Philippines.
A Regional Day under the theme of “Improved Efficiency for Increased Resilience to Climate Change: an Integrated Water Resources Management Perspective”, and a seminar on “Different Capacities, Different Roles – Empowering South Asian Women for Climate Change Adaptation” were jointly organised by GWP South Asia, GWP-India and WAPCOS Ltd at the recently concluded India Water Week 2013 held in New Delhi, India. Both events witnessed a large number of participants and lively panel discussions. The South Asia Climate Resiliency and Water Security Programme (WAter and Climate REsilience Programme – WACREP) was also launched as part of the Regional Day.
The project “Strengthening the Institutions for Transboundary Water in Africa (SITWA)” officially launched
The High-Level Roundtable on Water Resources Management System Development in China was organized by Global Water Partnership China on April 20, 2012 in Beijing
First workshop of the Integrated Drought Management Programme in Central and Eastern Europe was held on 15-16 October in Hodrusa Hamre.
The round table "Role of water for sustainable development of Kazakhstan" was held on 4 April 2014 in Astana within the national consultations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the National Program on Water Resources Development to Post-2015 in Kazakhstan.
GWP CACENA participated in the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on 19-20 May 2013, on the theme of “Water Security and Water-related Disaster Challenges: Leadership and Commitment.” The meeting was organized by the Royal Thai Government in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) and supporting regional and international organizations.
The Technical Report on issues related to water and agriculture in South Asia authored by GWP South Asia was launched recently.
Following up to the International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean and responding to the request expressed in June 2013 by the Arab Ministerial Water Council, the Workshop “Legal frameworks for cooperation on transboundary waters – Key aspects and opportunities for the Arab countries” took place in Tunis, Tunisia, on 11 and 12 June 2014.