GWP Caribbean and Caribbean WaterNet in collaboration with the Government of Grenada, the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) and the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), held a three-day workshop in Grenada on ‘Hydro-Climatic Hazards in Water Resources Management’, May 16-18, 2011.
Water quality is a major issue in Sri Lanka. Pollution and waste dumping contaminate water supplies, leading to serious health impacts for nearby water users. In one of the country’s most serious cases of water pollution, 300,000 people in Gampula were at risk when an epidemic of viral hepatitis broke out; several people died. But GWP Sri Lanka has achieved some results. (In photo: GWP Sri Lanka Chair Kusum Athukorala)
Water quality is a major issue in Sri Lanka. Pollution and waste dumping contaminate water supplies, leading to serious health impacts for nearby water users. In one of the country’s most serious cases of water pollution, 300,000 people in Gampula were at risk when an epidemic of viral hepatitis broke out; several people died. But GWP Sri Lanka has achieved some results. (In photo: GWP Sri Lanka Chair Kusum Athukorala)
June 14, 2011 — Yesterday a coalition of water advocates organized a side event at a United Nations climate conference to highlight the urgency of recognizing water resources management as central to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
GWP Mediterranean is a Consortium Member and the Technical Director of the regional technical assistance project Sustainable Water Integrated Management – Support Mechanism (SWIM-SM) that was launched by the European Commission in December 2010 to promote the extensive dissemination of sustainable water management policies and practices in the Mediterranean. SWIM-SM Partner countries are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia. As a Technical Director, GWP Mediterranean oversees all activities and contributes technically to the implementation of the project.
GWP Mediterranean, as the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Component of the EU Water Initiative (MED EUWI), has since since 2005 supported the efforts of the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water towards an Integrated Water Management Planning in the country. Through technical assistance by the MED EUWI and GWP Mediterranean, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) aims to put in place a decision support system to examine alternative water development and management strategies to support IWRM Planning.
On May 19, 2010, Mr. Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, met with the GWP Steering Committee members at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and had a dinner together later. Some other senior leaders of the Ministry of Water Resources, the leader of GWP China’s host institute together with Mr. Wang Shucheng, Chair of GWP China, Dr. Dong Zheren, Standing vice Chair of GWP China, Prof. Wang Hao, Vice Chair of GWP China and Mr. Zheng Rugang, Coordinator of GWP China also joined.
The close nexus between water and energy, and the importance of policies integrating both sectors, were highlighted during multidisciplinary discussions leading to a preliminary evaluation of the state of water-related policies on adaptation to climate change throughout South America.
Building resilience through improved water management to better prepare for the impact of climate change is the best short-term strategy to combat the effects of climate change on water-related sectors of the national economy.
Level Roundtable on Strategy of Extreme Climate Adaptation in China was jointly organized by Global Water Partnership China, Asian Development Bank and Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on April 22, 2011 in Beijing with the co-sponsors of UNESCO Office Beijing, UNICEF Office for China, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), WWF Beijing Office, Research Center on Flood and Drought Disaster Reduction of the Ministry of Water Resources and Climate Change Research Center of the Ministry of Water Resources and 130 participants from the key water-related ministries under the State Council, and relevant departments of the Ministry of Water Resources, UN organizations’ offices in China, foreign embassies in Beijing, universities, research institutes and NGOs.