The 2nd High-Level Regional Policy Workshop focusing on “Adapting to Climate Change Induced Water Stress in Nile River Basin,” resolved to bridge the gap between science and policy, enhance the efforts of generating and sharing knowledge about climate change and conducting hotspot analysis at country level.
To inspire Caribbean journalists to report more on water, GWP Caribbean launched its first annual Media Awards on Water on 5 March 2012. The winner is Mr. Shane Hubbard, an Editor and Videographer from CNS TV6 in Guyana who produced a television piece under the theme “Water and Food Security”.
Poor domestic and international coordination between South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique has led to conflicts over the water utilisation of the Komati River basin. Despite these challenges, action has been taken to strengthen the institutional and legislative framework. These actions demonstrate that in the contexts involving transboundary water resources, a strong institutional framework can promote political and economic cooperation between riparian states.
The twin challenges of accessing water and energy for food and agriculture are central to reducing poverty and hunger in Asia. GWP’s latest Technical Focus Paper compares and contrasts the ways in which India and China tackle the challenge of harnessing water resources under growing water scarcity and competing demand. It argues that a global water battle is likely to be focused on Asia.
The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) is an implementing partner for SADC providing programmatic support to the implementation of the RSAP III and is providing support to increasing engagement of stakeholders within the Phase III of the Transboundary Water Resources Management Programme. In the RSAP III, GWP SA is included as an implementing agent in delivering components of the SADC/ GIZ“Mainstreaming Climate Change in the SADC Water Sector”. The programme aims to ensure that more investments are made in the management and development of shared water courses and is being implemented under three work packages, namely:Work Package 1 (WP1) – Increasing and harnessing knowledge for us, Work Package 2 (WP2): Increasing stakeholder involvement; and Work Package 3 (WP3): Increasing Investments.
In this regard, GWPSA is facilitating four studies within the SADC region, under work package 1 – “Increasing and harnessing knowledge for use”, with the following objectives:
To improve the state of the Balikpapan Bay coastal ecosystem, a coastal zone management project was initiated. After initial project failure, action was taken for policy reform and an adaptive management approach was developed, focusing on inter-agency integration. This case illustrates the importance of active project learning and adaptive management.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
GWP Lithuania and Poland together with the Stockholm International Water Institute are organizing a workshop in Kaliningrad, Russia on 18-19 June 2013.
GWP South Asia, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network, has published a report on Issues related to Water and Agriculture in South Asia to help improve the exchange of information on water resources management and climate change adaptation among South Asian countries and pave the way for improved cooperation and policy reform.