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As part of the preparation of a national workshop on Climate Services to provide priority areas defined by the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), GWP/WA participated to the national meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso initiated by the Coordinator of GFCS for the Sahel region.

 

The WACDEP regional programme officer took part in the review and validation workshop of Volume 1 or updated status inventory report within the development process of the Master Plan for the Development Scheme and Water Management (SDAGE) of the Nakanbé Management area. The workshop organized by the Directorate General for Nakanbé Water Agency (DG-EAN) brought together members of the multisectoral monitoring committee Monday, November 24, 2014 at Nomgana, 20km from Ouagadougou.

The WACDEP/ West Africa team is supporting the Volta Basin Authority and regional partners institutions and partner governments to enhance project preparation and financing for climate resilience and water security projects. During the month of November this activity continued.

 

The 3^rd Capacity Development workshop was held at the conference room of the SSNIT Guest House from 10^th to 13^th November, 2014 in Accra. The purpose of the workshop, among other things was to “Highlight Delivering of Investment Solution” for water security and climate resilient development. Also, it afforded participants the opportunity to increase their knowledge of practical steps needed to integrate no/low regret investments into the development planning process as well as how to develop financing strategies. The four-day programme was very educative and fun as participants embarked on an educational tour to the Akosombo dam, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Fisheries division, and Kpong Harbour, a fishing community at Kpong. Participants were provided with first-hand information on coping and adaptive strategies.

This is a selection of some of the news in 2014 that featured Global Water Partnership and/or GWP representatives.

Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP / WA ) as part of its work program and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Central Africa and West African Programme (IUCN/ PACO) as part of its new program "Partnership for environmental Governance in West Africa - PAGE" are launching the second edition of the "Water and Environment " media contest.

Water Integrity Capacity Building for the Middle East and North Africa region was a four year (2014-2017) regional programme implemented by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in collaboration with GWP-Med and other regional and local partners.

A large percentage of the region’s water resources is shared between countries. Sustainable management of transboundary water resources through integrated approaches, presents a unique opportunity towards avoiding conflicts and can assist advancing cooperation towards shared benefits. Tackling transboundary water pollution is a key area for improvement. Particularly in the north of the region, hydropower production in transboundary basins remains challenging towards securing ecosystem’s integrity. Food security is more in the focus in the southern Mediterranean. Successful cooperation cases in the EU and the Balkans (e.g. Danube, Rhine, Sava, Drin) may inform and inspire transboundary synergies throughout the region.

Water governance remains a key challenge in the Mediterranean. Efforts of countries focus on improving policies making and action planning, institutional settings, law and regulation, enforcement mechanisms, innovative financing, application of cost recovery and polluter pays principle, etc. To achieve sustainable models of development, water must be mainstreamed into other sectoral policies such as agriculture, land planning and use, energy, industry, tourism and trade. Political will is key for making these happen. The importance of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, equity, poverty and rights, is increasingly recognized but is still relatively poorly tackled.

Freshwater is under acute pressure from climate change in North Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, COP20 delegates heard on Wednesday. Experts from countries as diverse as Tunisia and Belize urged visionary leadership from politicians to protect natural resources, reports CDKN’s Mairi Dupar from Lima, Peru. The experts from the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW), Global Water Partnership and CARICOM also called for water managers to build on their local innovations for climate resilience – and to get savvier about communicating solutions to policy-makers. The event was an opportunity to learn about common problems and possible solutions across Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, based on a South-South learning project supported by CDKN.