A high–level conference launching the Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector project was organised by GWP-Med, in Barcelona, 28-29 May 2013, in close cooperation and under the auspices of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretariat.
The well-being of people all over the world depends on the various goods and services provided by ecosystems, including food, fuel, construction materials, clean water and air, and protection from natural hazards. Ecosystems, however, are under increasing pressure from unsustainable use of resources and other threats including outright conversion of lands, pollution, expansion of infrastructure and urbanisation.
Poor domestic and international coordination between South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique has led to conflicts over the water utilisation of the Komati River basin. Despite these challenges, action has been taken to strengthen the institutional and legislative framework. These actions demonstrate that in the contexts involving transboundary water resources, a strong institutional framework can promote political and economic cooperation between riparian states.
The Zimbabwe Water Partnership (ZWP) was formed in May 2000. The Partnership is operating under the vision promoting a “Water Secure Zimbabwe through application of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Principles”, and its’ mission is to support sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels in the country.
The climate in Somalia is mainly arid to semi-arid, with an average annual daytime temperature of 27ºC. Somalia is located in an extreme water scarce area, where most of the available water resources exist in rivers shared with neighboring countries and demand for water is increasing due to the population and urban growth.Somalia is lacking, not only easily available water resources, both also the human and financial resources to set up institutions and water infrastructures that are desperately needed.
“It’s time for participating in the implementation of WACDEP activities in Lake Cyohoha catchment-” Governor tells stakeholders, in Kirundo Province, of Burundi, on the 25th of July 2013.
On 23 October 2013, the joint GWP-Med/OECD Project Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector launched the national policy dialogue in Jordan during a consultation workshop held in Amman.
In Central America there are 23 transboundary basins which represent approximately 36.9% of the territory. But in most there are no joint agreements for their management. That is why GWP Nicaragua and the Latin American Water Tribunal (TLA) coordinated the regional forum, "Water in Central America: Opportunities for conflict resolution."
Tourism has placed great pressure on the natural environment of Jamaica. Action was taken through a USAID funded project that aimed to increase water use efficiency and improve environmental management. The key lessons are the value of demonstrating the benefits locally as well as to institutionalise the programme.