As an anticipation of drought problems, Indonesia Water Partnership held a dialogue with Local community on drought in a Meeting Room of Ministry of Public Work in Jakarta, Indonesia on 11 December 2013.
Indonesia is a country with two season, dry season and rainy season. During the dry season, drought has been a problem for society, industry and agriculture. There is not enough water to drink, cleaning, and washing for society. For farmers, it can be crop failure, late harvesting which make farmers lost their fund and start cropping from beginning. And for industry, there is also not enough water to run the business.
Unsustainable irrigation policies during the Soviet era have had devastating consequences for the Aral Sea. With the collapse of USSR, the riparian states took action and entered into agreement on Cooperation in the Joint Use and Protection of Water Resources of Interstate Significance. Furthermore, the international community took action and much attention has been devoted to re-establish the Aral Sea ecosystem. This case illustrates the importance of engaging all key stakeholders.
The Lempa River is shared by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, making its management a good example of transboundary cooperation. To reach consensus, action was taken to develop a treaty as part of a regional process. However, since the treaty was not accompanied by strategies designed by local actors, it is somewhat weak. Nonetheless, this case illustrates that political willingness is crucial for advancing towards IWRM in transboundary watersheds.
Towards more Drought Resilient Societies
11-15 March 2013 at the International Conference Center, (CICG), Geneva
Comment by Alex Simalabwi, Global Water Partnership Senior Network Officer and Climate Change Focal Point.
In Benin, water use has not been regulated. Furthermore, water management has been sector-based, fragmented and compartmentalised. To change this, action was taken to initiate IWRM in Benin. A baseline study was done followed by drafting of an IWRM action plan. From the experience, the lesson learnt is that advocacy for strengthening political will for supporting the process must be seen as a transversal and on-going action throughout the whole IWRM process.
Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has steadily continued building awareness on the usefulness of rainwater harvesting and the importance of water conservation with the help of its Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) model which was developed in late 2010.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) is implementing a Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) for the Caribbean. WACDEP aims to directly support the CARICOM agenda on climate change through support to the implementation of water related adaptation actions as defined in the Implementation Plan for a Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change.
President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of Mongolia visits GWP in Stockholm
Photo: President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of Mongolia, GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng, and Ambassador to Sweden Dr Baldan Enkhmandakh.