The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) together with the African Union Commission (AUC), Global Water Management (GWP) and Africa Water Investment Program Secretariat (AIP Sec) organised a training on Climate Resilient Water Projects, Investment and Integrated Water Resources Management in Dakar, Senegal on 7 and 8 July 2025.
The AFCIA Mali project, funded by the Adaptation Fund under the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) program, represents a major step forward in climate risk management in Mali. Implemented by UNEP through the CTCN, with technical assistance from GWP-WA and carried out by AEDD, Mali Météo, and DNH, it runs from March 2024 to December 2025 with a budget of approximately USD 200,000.
After a long period of inactivity, marked in particular by the failure to hold statutory meetings of the Permanent Framework for the Consultation and Monitoring (PFCM) bodies for nearly a decade, a revitalisation of the regional IWRM process in West Africa has been underway since 2024, notably with the organisation of the 11th Ordinary Session of the Technical Experts Committee (TEC) and the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MCC), which were held in Abuja from 21 to 24 June 2024.
Sri Lanka Water Partnership (GWP Sri Lanka) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) organised the above stakeholder discussion on 28 August 2025 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Water, vital for sustaining life, is becoming increasingly scarce as global demand has surged tenfold over the past century. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries share 19 transboundary water resources, including surface and groundwater, most of which are managed bilaterally. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), formed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, aims to promote sustainable development, management, and conservation of the Mekong Basin. Despite growing cooperation, challenges remain, such as the lack of legal frameworks for managing shared aquifers and the absence of cooperation mechanisms beyond the Mekong region. Water diplomacy provides a vital approach, offering strategies to address disputes and foster joint water governance through political processes that extend beyond traditional water agreements.
