“An integrated approach to managing and developing the world’s water resources is vital for not only driving world economies, ensuring human well-being and security from hunger, but can also serve as an essential building block for enhancing coherence on adaptation,” said Dr. Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, Chair of GWP at a side event at the Bonn climate change negotiations. “Water is the connecting link because climate impacts are largely felt through the medium of water,” she said.
Fragmented data collection made processing, use and interpretation of data challenging. To attain a more uniform data collection, the State Water Cadastre was initiated, designed to collect data on surface and ground waters, water users, water quality and water quantity. Through the implementation of this programme, data was more easily available and also provided for more accurate response to environmental challenges.
The Upper Tisza basin requires international cooperation for its management, recognised through bilateral agreements. To further improve management, action was taken to develop a complex joint flood and water management development plan. This project is being implemented in several stages, ranging from elaboration of methods, description of ecological status to the establishment of environmental objectives to improve the current status. The key lesson is the value of bilateral effort in water management.
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Conflicts over water use in the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin in northern Peru have increased sharply.
In Carabobo State, the urban and agricultural expansions are the main causes of watershed problems resulting from degradation of forests, deforestation and inadequate solid waste management. Since 2009, action has been taken to combat these developments through participatory public policies which focus on environmental education and sustainable development. The key to the success of the project has been extensive capacity building in combination with concrete management tools.
The water sector in South Africa is dynamic and facing major challenges such as reduction in capacity of the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) to engage as extensively with stakeholders. As a result of a weak partnership base, it has been difficult to ensure the implementation of equitable and sustainable IWRM. Although a South African Country Water Partnership (SA CWP) was launched in 2002, and was active in early GWP activities such as the Framework for Action (FFA) over the years the sense of purpose for a partnership among water actors diminished as the water sector changed it’s strategic dimensions. One of the challenges that the SA CWP of the Global Water Partnership faced was defining exactly what its role in South Africa would be and how it would partner with other Water sector stakeholders to ensure that it executes its tasks and achieves success.
Three more GWP Technical Background Papers are now also available in Spanish. GWP’s library of publications written by the Technical Committee is growing, and there are currently 18 background papers. Many of them have been translated into several languages.