On 31 March 2013 (Sunday), Water Association of Selangor Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (SWAn) together with Rotary International District 3300 and Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) and event supported by Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) and Malaysian Water Partnership (MyWP) had successfully organised the “Walk for Water 2013” at Dataran Petaling Jaya.
The official launching of the project “Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector” will take place in Barcelona, 28-29 May 2013, during a regional Conference organised by the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean.
The United Nations World Water Day is set for 22 March 2014. This year’s theme is Water and Energy.
The Meuse and the Scheldt river basins are subjected to pollution and seasonal water shortages, as well as political clash of interests regarding maritime access. Action was taken to solve these issues by the Belgian government. However, although an agreement was eventually made, political issues made the process complex. From this case, it is apparent that a cross-sectoral approach that looks beyond the water sector is often instrumental in developing attractive package deals.
New case study on GWP ToolBox presents results of Safe Sanitation, Health and Dignity Project in Romania.
The GWP SA Consulting Partner’s (CP) meeting was held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 12-14 June 2013. The Consulting Partners Meeting is held every two years with the aim of engaging partners in discussions relating to network strengthening. Comprising a total of fifty participants, The CP meeting constituted GWPSA staff, 2 representatives from GWPSA’s Country Water Partnerships (CWPs), namely from ten countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; Members from GWPSA Steering Committee, and Regional Technical Committee; and representatives from GWPSA’s implementing partners were present on behalf of their agencies. These included CAPNET, and Chemonics and the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF).
After some devastating floods in the Yangtze, the Chinese government took action and issued a policy to counter floods, including wetland restoration. WWF further assisted and developed four pilot sites to demonstrate the benefits of wetland restoration for biodiversity, and to seek alternative income options for farmers, based on the sustainable use of wetlands. This case illustrates the value of a participatory approach.
Complex environmental, social, economic and political structures make the Nile hard to manage. The Nile basin states have, because of these issues, collectively recognised the need to protect, manage and utilize the Nile basin in an integrated sustainable manner through a close co-operation. Action was taken and the Nile basin states formed the Nile Basin Initiative. This illustrate the opportunities created by multidisciplinary networks to solve complex environmental problems, stemming from their broad platform.
South Africa started its internal broad stakeholder engagement process on Water in the Post 2015 Development Agenda earlier this year. The first stakeholder workshop was held in Durban from 19-20 February 2013. A second workshop, was held in Irene, Gauteng on 4th April 2013.