Recent floods across Central Europe have affected thousands of people, driving them from their homes. The Elbe, the Danube, the Vltava, and other rivers have overflowed their banks after several weeks of heavy rain. The floods caused extensive damage in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.
The Lempa River is shared by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, making its management a good example of transboundary cooperation. To reach consensus, action was taken to develop a treaty as part of a regional process. However, since the treaty was not accompanied by strategies designed by local actors, it is somewhat weak. Nonetheless, this case illustrates that political willingness is crucial for advancing towards IWRM in transboundary watersheds.
In Australia, a new approach to water management was needed to allow imported water to be used for irrigation without increasing the salinity of the soils or groundwater. Action was taken to develop a framework to enable irrigators to identify and to manage the environmental risks associated with the use of River Murray water for irrigation. The key lesson is that a salt management strategy is relevant wherever there are plans to irrigate land.
The Murray-Darling Basin was subjected to widespread environmental degradation. In response to this problem, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission was established in January 1988 under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, focusing on protecting and improving water quality. The key lesson is that the participatory approach used with its Community Advisory Committee has helped the Commission to be successful in winning and maintaining community interest, involvement and support.
A national consultation on Adaptation to Climate Change and Drought in Slovenia was organised on 6 February 2014 by GWP Slovenia and the Centre for Management of Drought in South-Eastern Europe. Over 40 participants attended the meeting at the Slovenian Environment Agency in Ljubljana.
The United Nations World Water Day is set for 22 March 2014. This year’s theme is Water and Energy.
In Carabobo State, the urban and agricultural expansions are the main causes of watershed problems resulting from degradation of forests, deforestation and inadequate solid waste management. Since 2009, action has been taken to combat these developments through participatory public policies which focus on environmental education and sustainable development. The key to the success of the project has been extensive capacity building in combination with concrete management tools.
More than 50 countries and numerous international organizations, including a GWP delegation, met at the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes in Rome, Italy, on 28-30 November 2012.
AMCOW President, Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt and GWP Executive Secretary launch the Technical Background Document on World Water Week, 27 August 2012.
A national consultation on Adaptation to Climate Change and Drought in Slovenia was organised on 6 February 2014 by GWP Slovenia and the Centre for Management of Drought in South-Eastern Europe. Over 40 participants attended the meeting at the Slovenian Environment Agency in Ljubljana.