On February 27-28, 2013, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa’s (GWPSA) Executive Secretary, Ms Ruth Beukman participated in the Post- 2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management (WRM) and Wastewater Management & Water Quality (WWMWQ). Ms Beukman was invited by UN Water to be a panellist and was sponsored by UNECE to participate. The meeting was sponsored by the Government of Switzerland as part of the Thematic Consultation on Water, coordinated by UN-Water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
About 120 representatives of competent institutions, authorities, regional and national NGOs, academia, representatives of the private sector from the Drin Riparians as well as international organizations and donor countries participated in the 2nd Drin Basin Multi-Stakeholders Conference (Tirana, Albania, 10 -11 December 2013).
The Round Table "Zarafshan transboundary river - water resources use and its role in the valley environment" was held on 10 April 2013 in Samarkand organized by the Ecological Movement Group of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Kengash of the Republic of Uzbekistan and CWP-Uzbekistan under support of the Samarkand Agricultural Institute.
International water cooperation is essential. This was one of the key messages that Ambassador Robert F. Van Lierop delivered in his keynote speech at the GWP Consulting Partners Meeting in Stockholm. He made it clear that climate adaptation issues affect the entire world.
The lack of laws and regulations, as well as good administration and management, contribute to poor water governance. In the Naranjo river basin, action was taken to implement IWRM after initiatives stemming from individuals with personal conviction of its importance. This has led to the creation of some formal legislation and the process of implementing IWRM. This consequently illustrates the potential important role of individuals in driving policy change.
The Maltese islands experience acute water shortage as an area. To address this, leakage control has been developed to become a strategically important component for water resource management, and has been used to reach an optimum economic balance between water supply and water demand. The key lesson is that leakage management is an effective supply side action to increase efficiency in water use leading, and can be used as a strategic tool.
More than 55% of India’s population is practicing agriculture in climate sensitive areas; 53% of the area suffers from serious degradation; 30 million hectares of land experience haphazard grazing and the fall in per capita availability of water is 70 percentage points.
Suriname has taken a major step to manage its water resources by launching the country’s first Water Forum on 12 December 2012. The forum aims to promote an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach as the means of attaining water sustainability, as well as fostering regional and international partnerships with stakeholders sharing a common objective of sustainability.
More than 55% of India’s population is practicing agriculture in climate sensitive areas; 53% of the area suffers from serious degradation; 30 million hectares of land experience haphazard grazing and the fall in per capita availability of water is 70 percentage points.
Scientific and estuarine research on the Chesapeake Bay pinpointed several areas that required attention including nutrient over-enrichment, dwindling underwater Bay grasses, and toxic pollution. Action was taken and the Chesapeake Bay Commission was established to address the issues. This case illustrates how the use of modelling can be a cost-effective tool in helping to implement watershed restoration actions and monitor goals set by stakeholders.