The goal of the Global Water Partnership South Asia (GWP SAS) is to work towards meeting water challenges through partnerships and promote Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in South Asia.
Morgan Katati is the Executive Director of the Zambia Institute of Environmental Management (ZIEM), a GWP Partner. Last summer he was one of the recipients of the joint GWP-University of Dundee scholarship, on offer for those interested in international water law and whose institution is a GWP Partner. His expectations were far exceeded, and he tells the story of how his newly gained knowledge resulted in an award for outstanding environmental work.
In Romania, water is subjected to deteriorating quality. In rural areas, 70% of the population depend on small scale water supply systems, which are often exposed to human and animal manure. To combat this, the project Safe Sanitation, Health and Dignity was initiated. This project shows that programmes could connect local communities, regional and national authorities, and contribute to the realisation of the allocated targets of the protocol of water and health.
For centuries the Upper Guadiana Basin has been irrigated with groundwater, resulting in a drop in the water table of more than 20 meters. Actions were taken to address this issue, including regulations restricting aquifer abstraction and economic incentives to encourage farmers to improve irrigation efficiency and plant alternative crops. The key lesson learnt is that surface and underground waters cannot be managed separately.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) together with the United Nations Environment Programme, Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit (UNEP-CAR/RCU) and the Global Environment Facility’s Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (GEF CReW) were able to successfully bring together over thirty (30) regional organisations working in the areas of water and wastewater in the Caribbean on April 28th and 29th, 2014 in Barbados.
A scholarship is now available for a student from the Caribbean to develop knowledge related to climate change adaptation and water resources management that can be directed back to the region.
GWP conducted a training course on the “Application of the GWP IWRM ToolBox” at the Yerevan State University in Armenia, 25-26 April 2012. One of the main purposes of the training was to demonstrate how the GWP IWRM ToolBox can be used in university curricula.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has a unique global water information system, AQUASTAT, developed since 1993 by the Land and Water Division. The main objective of the programme is to systematically select the most reliable information on hydrological resources and water use in each country, as well as to make this information available in a standard format for interested global, regional and national users.
Following up to the International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean and responding to the request expressed in June 2013 by the Arab Ministerial Water Council, the Workshop “Legal frameworks for cooperation on transboundary waters – Key aspects and opportunities for the Arab countries” took place in Tunis, Tunisia, on 11 and 12 June 2014.
GWP SA, on behalf of SADC is currently making preparations for the forthcoming SADC Water Weeks which have been slated from April – October 2014. The SADC Water Weeks are aimed at ensuring that the Regional Water Programme is well understood and embraced by stakeholders from various sectors at the national level. The SADC Water Weeks were last held in the year 2000 and led to the development of the SADC Water Vision for Water, Life and the Environment