GWP Country Water Partnerships met November 6 to start work on a road map for an initiative between the GWP Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa (WACDEP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Nile Basin Initiative. Participants agreed that WACDEP will be implemented as a joint programme with the UNEP climate change adaptation project on the Nile Basin. GWP Eastern Africa is supporting UNEP to build stakeholder capacities.
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.
GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki participated in a meeting of the Integrated Flood Management HelpDesk,with WMO and other Support Base Partners (SBPs) in Geneva on 4 and 5 October - to discuss achievements so far and what can be done in the future. Since the HelpDesk´s launch in June 2009, 26 requests from 14 countries have so far been received, and dealt with in various different ways depending on the level of the request.
GWP has joined the Sanitation and Water for All initiative as a Multilateral Partner, together with other GWP Partner organizations. Sanitation and Water for All aims to address the barriers to achieving universal and sustainable sanitation and drinking water for everyone, including poor water resources management.
One thing became clear at the Doha climate negotiations. As governments struggle to reach any agreement on climate mitigation, the urgency and importance of agreement on adaptation is now coming to the fore.
In an effort to engage the youth and help them understand the value of access to potable water, the Grenada Community Development Agency (GRENCODA) held a four-day Student Assistance Programme (SAP) Camp for students between the ages of 12-16 years under the theme “Water a Critical Development Resource, Seriously Challenged.”
Ukraine, situated by the Black Sea is bordering Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. It is the second largest country in Europe, placed in the crossroads between Europe and Asia, giving it a very strategic position. The climate is temperate continental (although Mediterranean in the southern Crimean coast). The precipitation is disproportionally distributed being the highest in west and north; summers are warm across the country. Most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains and plateaus. In terms of natural resources, it is among other materials rich in iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas and oil.
GWP Country Water Partnerships met November 6 to start work on a road map for an initiative between the GWP Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa (WACDEP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Nile Basin Initiative. Participants agreed that WACDEP will be implemented as a joint programme with the UNEP climate change adaptation project on the Nile Basin. GWP Eastern Africa is supporting UNEP to build stakeholder capacities.