One thing became clear at the Doha climate negotiations. As governments struggle to reach any agreement on climate mitigation, the urgency and importance of agreement on adaptation is now coming to the fore.
A landmark conference took place on 15-17 October 2014 at Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa to enhance discussions between SADC and SADC regional partners such as River Basin Organisations, International Cooperating partners and developmental partners, such as RESILIM, CRIDF and GWPSA on “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Resilience in Water Related Disasters”.
GWP Eastern Africa showcased Water, Climate Development Program (WACDEP) in the the 3nd Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-III), which took place in Ethiopia's capital Addis-Ababa from 20-24th October 2013.
The Water, Climate and Development Programme in South America has been developed to support the integration of water security and adaptation to climate change into development planning processes and investment, promoting Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a key strategy.
GWP SA (through GWPO), has now been engaged by UN Water to organize post 2015 national consultations on water between February and end of March 2014. The consultations have been held in three countries – Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. This process is facilitated by GWPO through its regional and country networks - UN Water having given GWP this role because of GWP’s stakeholder platforms across the world.
Overexploitation, contamination, and salinisation of aquifers are among the main problems Peru currently faces in groundwater management. To tackle these issues, GWP Peru, with the financial and technical support of GWP South America, held a workshop on “Groundwater: steps towards adaptive and sustainable management” at the National Water Authority’s auditorium in Lima on 9 August 2013.
The Bodrog River Basin is exposed to severe flooding caused by jumbled urbanisation and low connectivity between land (agriculture and forestry), urban and water planning. Management is made more complex by the transboundary nature of the basin. A project was, however initiated to strengthen cooperative management and to mitigate consequences of floods through achieving consistent and holistic management of flood risk in three basin countries. This case illustrates the importance of transboundary flood management.
River Indio’s watershed is the source of water supply for the growing demand in the metropolitan area of Panamá. However, due to extensive human activity and mismanagement the area has been affected by extensive deterioration. Action has been taken to reinforce natural resources restoration and water resources conservation, grounded in government strenthening and integrated management. Important lessons can be drawn from this in terms of IWRM, as it sets a clear example of active participation of the communities and the local authorities.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in partnership with the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) is seeking a suitable consultant to review and revise the Antigua and Barbuda Draft National Water Policy, with consideration of institutional changes to date, on-going processes and highlighting the evolving nature of the water sector due to climate change.