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
Guizhou already experiences the effects of climate change, including droughts. Action was taken with the approval of a new policy document which provides funds supporting water quality improvements, water and soil conservation, ecosystem rehabilitation, irrigation, and managing increasing demand. Steps have also been taken for preventive actions for subsequent droughts. The most important lesson that can be learnt is that the greatest challenge to building resilience to droughts is institutional.
Clearing for logging, combined with expanding agriculture and palm oil plantations has led to increased flooding, and pollution of the Kinabatangan River due to pesticides and fertilizers. Working in partnership, the Sabah Wildlife Department and the WWF took action and have established the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The key lesson of this case is the value of starting with small-scale feasible projects before scaling up.
In Marocco, rapid urbanisation has led to increased demands for quality and quantity of water resources. To meet the challenges posed by the growing water scarcity, Morocco has adopted an integrated approach to water resources management through mutually reinforcing policy and institutional reforms, including the adoption of a long term IWRM strategy. The key lesson is the importance of introducing economic incentives to water management.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), formalising a collaborative relationship for addressing regional water priorities.
Both water and energy are essential to every aspect of life; social equity, human health, ecosystem integrity and economic sustainability. The longstanding division between energy and water considerations is particularly evident in the case of energy and water management. These resources are fundamentally intertwined; energy is used to secure, deliver, treat and distribute water, while water is used to develop, process and deliver energy.
The EU Water Framework Directive requires all EU member states to achieve satisfactory water quality of all waters by 2015. Although each country is individually responsible, cooperation over transnational water resources is required. In the Körös/Crisuri river basin, a project was initiated using the expertise and experience of Hungary and Romania, involving all key stakeholders. The key lesson is the importance of public participation.
25 October 2007, Larnaca, Cyprus
The “Nostrum-Dss & INECO Joint Event” was successfully held on the 25 Oct. 2007, Larnaca, Cyprus. A large number of EU project coordinators, researchers, and representatives of relevant International Institutions (i.e. MED-EUWI, GWP-Med, DFID, CEDARE, Cap-Net UNDP, EC-DG EuropeAid, ICS-UNIDO), including European Commission representatives participated to exchange scientific knowledge and project results on different topics in the domain of water resources management in the Mediterranean Region.