Reba Paul from Bangladesh was awarded a scholarship with the International WaterCentre (IWC) in Australia last year. Reba’s scholarship is a collaboration between GWP and IWC – one that will expand to a second scholarship in 2014. As the application deadline approaches, Reba tells her story below.
To extend the reach of the GWP Toolbox on IWRM to university education and training institutions, GWP organized a workshop in Dakar, Senegal on 14-15 May 2013. In total 16 university lecturers and representatives from government agencies in West Africa participated and discussed the role and importance of the Toolbox for providing IWRM knowledge in education and harmonising IWRM curricula in West Africa.
GWP CACENA Regional Council Meeting was held on 23-25 December 2013 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Regional Council Members considered the following main five items:
- Joining the Country Water Partnership of Mongolia into GWP CACENA network;
- GWP CACENA regional work program and budget for 2014;
- GWP CACENA Calendar of Events for 2014;
- Climate Change Adaptation Program for the period 2013-2015 (funded by GWPO);
- Organizational issues.
The Country Water Partnerships invited to take part in the inaugural session of the Steering Committee meeting of GWP met with the Regional Secretariat and the Network Officers in the afternoon of November 25. This was an opportunity to review the latest version of the GWP 2014-2019 Strategy and GWP West Africa 2014-2016 Work Programme as well as initiatives and opportunities that may be of some interest to CWPs.
Groundwater is a critical source of fresh drinking water for the citizens and also supplies irrigated agriculture in Shaanxi Province. Groundwater is also important in sustaining streams, lakes, wetlands, and associated ecosystems. In the meantime , effects of climate change on groundwater resources are closely linked to other global change drivers, including population growth, urbanization and land-use change, coupled with other socio-economic and political trends.
Two of the regional ‘sister networks’, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP-SA) and WaterNet held a regional knowledge exchange workshop from the 12th to 13th of August 2014 at Protea Edward Hotel in Durban, South Africa. The workshop was aimed at strengthening the partnership between the two networks in knowledge management and professional capacity development. The workshop addressed three critical issues: providing an overview of GWP’s Knowledge Management strategic thrust and the GWP IWRM Toolbox; strengthening the GWP-SA and WaterNet partnership on ‘research for development’; and building on professional capacity development.
Are you interested in studying Climate and Water? Through the Water and Climate Education Programme, you can do this for free!
Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, lies on the confluence of the Mekong and the Tonle and Bassac rivers. These rivers are the main source of freshwater for the city’s population of about 1.3 million. Many of the Asian cities’ publicly managed water utilities perform below their potential. Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) undertook major reforms and transformed a war-ravaged water utility into a commendable model that stands for other cities to emulate
The Veluwe Randmeren lakes in the Netherlands were negatively affected by the discharge of phosphates and nitrates from agriculture and household use. Furthermore, increase in population pressure posed further challenges. To address these issues, a group consisting of national and local authorities undertook a project, which gradually increased the water quality. The case study demonstrates the importance of allowing integration among stakeholder groups.
Climate change is expected to severely affect water resources in the low-lying part of the Netherlands. It was decided to take an integrated approach and a process was set up in which all parties claiming space in the area were invited to discuss the water issues. The key insight from this case is the additional water needs can be integrated in the spatial planning through an open planning process.