How consolidated efforts can help to reach sustainable development in the region of the Mediterranean Sea to ensure preservation and improvement of the environment and the rich biodiversity, was discussed and presented at the Side Event “Challenges and Opportunities for a Mediterranean Green Growth.”
In October 2009 Central Africa adopted a Regional Water Policy. Within the Secretariat of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) a unit responsible for coordinating the management of water resources was created.
Senior Officials from the 43 country members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) recently approved a project entitled "Overcoming governance challenges to the mobilisation of financing for the Mediterranean water sector", aimed to identify and provide solutions to the lack of basic elements for a sound governance framework for the mobilisation of financing for the water sector in many Mediterranean countries, including absorption capacity at both national and local levels.
In response to country requests, GWP Mediterranean has carried out a regional review of IWRM plans and strategies.
‘Closing the Knowledge Gap: Integrated Water Resources Management for Sustainable Agriculture’ was the theme of an international seminar in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 22-26, 2010, which sought to discuss strategies for developing comprehensive information and knowledge support systems in integrated water management for productive agriculture in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.
The Challenge Programme for Water and Food (CPWF) research in the Volta basin has been developed to respond to challenges in the river basin of “improving rainwater and small reservoir management to contribute to poverty reduction, and improved livelihoods resilience in Burkina Faso and Northern Ghana while taking account of implications for downstream water users including ecosystem services”.
Sudan, situated by the Red Sea is bordered by Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan. The final alignment between Sudan and South Sudan is still under pending negotiations and demarcation. The Nile and its tributaries are cutting through the country. Despite the presence of the Nile, the climate is arid desert; hot and dry. In terms of natural resources, Sudan has deposits of petroleum as well as small reserves of iron ore, copper and chromium ore.
Overall Objectives of the Regional Water Partnership in Central Asia and Caucasus
According to the Johannesburg Declaration (2002), the ultimate goal of the activities of Central Asia and Caucasus Partnership Network is to support and assist the countries in implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles towards the World Summit on Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals. This process must be accompanied by public involvement in decision-making, support for the political will for cooperation between sectors and countries, initiating dialogue among all stakeholders and supporting practical activities locally implemented including capacity building.
A River Basin Management Plan of the Sava river basin is under development, the first attempt in the Southern European region to draft a River Basin Management Plan according to the EU Water Framework Directive. GWP Mediterranean and GWP Central and Eastern Europe have significantly contributed to the stakeholder involvement process related to development of the Plan.
The investigation and survey on water resources in islands, rural drinking water safety and small watershed management carried out by GWP China Fujian, with the support from Fujian Provincial Water Resources Department, starting from earlier this year, ended in August.