GWP SA joined approximately 38 other stakeholders on 12-13 March 2014 at the Lombardy Hotel in Pretoria in absorbing discussions that looked at Water Research Impact and Uptake. The workshop was hosted by the Water Resource Commission and the International Water Management Institute, Southern Africa to chiefly explore the complexities and responsibilities of research impact and uptake.
The official launch 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 under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean.
The “Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resources Management” was launched by UN-Water on 19 June 2012 at Rio+20 with GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng as one of the panelists. This Status Report, prepared by UNEP in collaboration with UNDP and GWP, is one of the official UN reports to the Rio+20 conference, and is based on a survey of countries carried out in 2011. GWP facilitated the completion of level 1 and 2 surveys through the Regional and Country Water Partnerships, and is very proud to have been a partner in this endeavour.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) faces considerable challenges in the delivery of sustainable and equitable access to sanitation in rural areas. Small steps have been taken towards increasing national ownership of and political commitment to sanitation in Lao PDR. As a lesson learnt; there is no one blueprint for progress in sanitation delivery. Services can be delivered in different ways– e.g. household investment or direct programmatic efforts.
During the month of September, Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) through the support of its partner, the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) of Grenada presented the winner of the 2013 GWP-C Media Awards on Water, Mr. Milton Coy with his winning prize.
The beauty and wilderness of Danube floodplains was continuously deteriorated by human impacts. Construction of the Gabcikovo water dam caused direct clearance of minimum 2,500 ha of floodplain forests and influence of water regime of other areas. A regional NGO BROZ located in Slovakia, has developed a project for EU funding scheme LIFE. The project aims to preserve last remaining natural floodplain forests in Slovak part of the Danube floodplain and to introduce sound, sustainable forest management in the area. As a result, a Sustainable Forest Management Strategy has been elaborated to give a base for new forest management plans.
In May, 2012, Global Water Partnership China Hebei conducted investigation and studies in four cities and nine counties.
Climate change and the role of water in socio-economic development was the theme of a workshop for journalists organized by GWP Central Africa in Douala, Cameroon, 17-20 December 2012. News reporting, writing techniques and tools for effective storytelling and reporting were also on the agenda for the 21 participants who came from print media and broadcasting.
A large proportion of Brazil’s population is lacking access to water and sanitation, and development is slow, in particular in rural areas due to lack of funds and political will, but also due to inefficiency in the resources allocation. Action has been taken by the State of Ceará to implement the model called Integrated Rural Water Supply and Sanitation System, illustrating that the most important component of attaining sustainable management is user participation.