The Change Agenda was a big topic at this year’s GWP’s annual Regional Days, which took place in Stockholm 10-13 May. As the network is preparing the 3-year work programme (2017-19), discussions were held on how the network can stay relevant and continue as a frontrunner on global water issues in an ever-changing environment.
A capacity building workshop focusing on project preparation and financing in Zimbabwe for climate resilient projects was held at Monteclair Hotel in Nyanga from the 26th to the 28th of July 2015. The workshop was attended by 21 participants from selected government Ministries, such as the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate (MEWC). The workshop was aimed at equipping selected participants with information, knowledge and practical skills in the preparation of proposal writing involving mini hydro projects for possible funding. The feasibility study focused on Siya Dam mini hydro power generation project.
The Hebei province is experiencing severe water shortages resulting in serious environmental and socio-ecological problems. To combat these issues, the provincial government has encouraged rainwater utilisation for agriculture as well as improving soil and water conservancy and vegetation cover. The most important lesson is that rainwater is able to alleviate water shortage particularly in dry season or dry zones.
The government of Lao PDR is working very constructively to improve the water resources planning and management system in Lao PDR especially in the formal higher education system.
Through the Lao Water Partnership, Mr. Chanthanet Boualapha, Director General of Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment who acts as chairperson of Lao Water Partnership opened the consultation on mainstreaming the IWRM in the formal higher education system. He expressed on the important of IWRM progress and application in Laos context for a decade as well as capacity building on this field. He also addressed the importance of the strengthening the local capacity in the whole country for IWRM decentralization and human resource development including emphasizing on integration and mainstreaming IWRM /IRBM approach into education system in each level.
The Inception Meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported project “Enabling Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the extended Drin River Basin” took place in Tirana, on 16 December 2015, at the presence of Mr. Edmond Panariti, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration, Mr. Ferid Agani, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, as well as Mr. Stevo Temelkovski, Deputy Minister of Environment and Physical Planning.
The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) has established a formal agreement with the Department for Planning and Conservation of Agricultural Lands at the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture towards integrating climate change considerations in water and soil conservation planning, under the WACDEP (Water, Climate & Development) Programme; and in this context, it has entered a very fruitful collaboration with the Ministry, as well as the Regional Department for Agriculture in Bizerte, in Tunisia’s North, using the Douimis Basin in the Bizerte Region as a pilot for the development of the climate change mainstreaming methodology.
The Summer University of Samothraki 2016 took place on 9 - 22 July 2016 on the island of Samothraki in Greece. The summer university consisted of two parallel courses: Course A on “Aquatic and Social Ecology-Theory and Practice” and Course B on “Integrated Water and Coastal Management - Educational and Participatory Approaches”.
The Regional Workshop on South-South Cooperation in Flood Management will be jointly organized by GWP China and GWPO, on 14-16 December 2015, in Guangdong, China.