Preliminary planned Project Manager’s trip to the pilot sites at the end of 2013 could not be implemented due to various organizational, financial and visa problems. Starting from the first quarter of 2014 the familiarization with the ongoing work on the program pilot sites began in coordination with the national project teams.
The 1st Drin Day was celebrated on 17th of May 2014, in numerous locations across the Drin Basin, from Lake Ohrid till the outlet of the Buna/Bojana River on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, in order to mark the willingness for transboundary cooperation aimed at the protection of the shared water resources and its supporting ecosystems.
Towards "innovative financing and investments to accelerate access..."
The GWP’s annual Consulting Partners Meeting and the Regional Days were held from June 23 to 28 in Port of Spain, the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, sponsored by the GWPO and organized by the GWP Caribbean Region. The delegation of the GWP China was sent to participate in all the events and the discussions.
Körös/Crisuri transboundary River Basin is in need of more transboundary cooperation and coordination to ensure sustainable management of the resource. To address this, Romania and Hungary jointly developed a strategy for integrated water resources management, aiming to strengthen cooperation. The key lesson is that access to, and management of data is at the core of decision-making in the case of transboundary water management.
After the USSR was dissolved, Romania has experienced water scarcity for agriculture. The World Bank and USAID are providing loans/funds for irrigation projects and to strengthen water users associations. This case thus illustrates that irrigation subsidies may be needed to support agriculture until farming efficiency improves and returns from the sale of agricultural products can cover costs.
The Global Water Partnership will cooperate with McGill University in Canada on an IWRM online course by providing knowledge resources on all aspects related to IWRM including Water Resources Planning and Water Governance, Law and Policy through its knowledge platform the IWRM Toolbox.
In the village of Parakar, untreated wastewater contaminated agricultural lands, jeopardised food safety and posed severe health risks. In 2010, the Parakar community supported by partners from the Country Water Partnerships of Armenia initiated and developed a demonstration pilot project for domestic wastewater treatment. Particular attention was given to community involvement. This case illustrates the value of small scale solutions.