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.
“Water is life, but water can also be a threat to life”. This was said by the Permanent Secretary in the former Ministry of Water Resources Development and Management (MWRDM) in a keynote speech read on his behalf at a Catchment and Sub-catchment consultation and action planning workshop. He further highlighted that water resources in Zimbabwe need to be treated with extreme care due to increased scarcity being brought about by the adverse effects of climate change.
Water security is a key issue for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to address in East African countries.
National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) partner the Global Water Partnership (GWP), in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis in Africa (CEEPA- University of Pretoria) and other partners, is providing support a number of African countries to integrate the economics of adaptation in the context of water security and climate resilient development.
The district of Tikamgarh has faced severe water scarcity. Action was thus taken to implement concrete measures to restore the water bodies in the surrounding area. Together with relevant stakeholders, the district administration initiated and implemented the project. The key lesson to draw from this case is the need for the participation by all relevant groups.
The GWP SA Consulting Partner’s (CP) meeting was held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 12-14 June 2013. The Consulting Partners Meeting is held every two years with the aim of engaging partners in discussions relating to network strengthening. Comprising a total of fifty participants, The CP meeting constituted GWPSA staff, 2 representatives from GWPSA’s Country Water Partnerships (CWPs), namely from ten countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; Members from GWPSA Steering Committee, and Regional Technical Committee; and representatives from GWPSA’s implementing partners were present on behalf of their agencies. These included CAPNET, and Chemonics and the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF).
On October 15, 2014, Dr. Li Tao, the Director, and Ms Wang Dan of the China Regional Office of IWA visited GWP China Secretariat and had discussion about cooperation between the two organizations on the Symposium on Water, Energy and Food Nexus scheduled on Nov. 11-13, 2014 in Beijing China.
In Uganda, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) provide most drinking water, however, this is predominantly in urban areas. Attempting to improve water provision in rural areas, a programme supported by the World Bank was initiated. The main action taken was to commercialising service delivery through public-private partnerships. Despite being viewed as a great success, this case study highlights that circumstances can change and thus be different from those anticipated during the bidding stage.