To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) among Central Asian countries, a Central Asian International Research and Practice Conference took place 20-21 September 2012 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to discuss past experience and future challenges of water cooperation in the region. GWP Central Asia and Caucasus, which celebrated its 10 years at the conference, has been instrumental in regional water cooperation and took active part in the conference.
Involving small water service providers (SWSPs) as partners in sustainable water service provision has undergone a major change. Prior to the efforts of GWP Philippines and its Partners, SWSPs were not formally recognised as government partners in achieving the MDG target on water service provision.
Costa Rica has made significant progress in the past decade in expanding access to water supply and sanitation, but the sector still faces challenges in low sanitation connections, poor service quality, and low cost recovery. GWP Costa Rica is organizing workshops as part of a consultation process to be carried out from November 2012 through January 2013 for the elaboration of the Water Agenda 2013-2030.
Karachi, one of the world's largest cities with a population of more than 14 million, as with the rest of Pakistan, was severely hit by the floods last summer. The Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), whose founding in 2007 was inspired by the GWP model, has, through the Hisaar Foundation, raised significant funding to address the longer-term issues related to flooding and water management.
Karachi, one of the world's largest cities with a population of more than 14 million, as with the rest of Pakistan, was severely hit by the floods last summer. The Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), whose founding in 2007 was inspired by the GWP model, has, through the Hisaar Foundation, raised significant funding to address the longer-term issues related to flooding and water management.
In 2010, the Togo Parliament passed a new water law that embraced IWRM principles. Adoption of an IWRM plan to turn words into action is pending. These milestones on the path to better water management were achieved in part as a result of sustained effort by GWP Togo.
‘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 objective of World Water Day on 22 March 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. This year’s theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.
The Dialogue Workshop on Water Resources Protection and Emergency Response Mechanisms of Water Pollution of Yellow River was co-organized by the GWP China Yellow River for deep discussion about the experiences of river protection, current challenges of water resources management and protection, emergency responses of river basin pollution and problems of emergency response mechanisms.