GWP participates at the 2014 NAP Expo, taking place in Bonn, Germany on 8-9 August 2014. It is the second NAP Expo, organized by the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) under the UNFCCC.
The development of hydropower in the Mekong River basin can bring great economic opportunities for Laos. However, since this basin is shared with neighbouring countries, cooperation is crucial. Action was taken and the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed to coordinate the use of these resources for economic development. For Laos, this has been crucial to their success in regards to the MDGs.
For centuries the Upper Guadiana Basin has been irrigated with groundwater, resulting in a drop in the water table of more than 20 meters. Actions were taken to address this issue, including regulations restricting aquifer abstraction and economic incentives to encourage farmers to improve irrigation efficiency and plant alternative crops. The key lesson learnt is that surface and underground waters cannot be managed separately.
The Five Year (2014-2018) Strategic Plan for Burundi Water Partnership was presented to development partners on 25 September, 2014 in Bujumbura. The conference that was opened by the Assistant to the Minister in charge of water (MEEATU) aimed to create a platform to raise funds for the implementation of activities contained in the different project proposals of the strategic plan for water resource management and climate resilience.
Twenty (20) practitioners from the Agriculture Sector in Barbados, recently had the opportunity to be trained in the area of Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at a workshop put on by the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and its partner, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).
Astien groundwater aquifer has been subjected to over-use due to good water quality and over-extraction. To address this, SMETA, a syndicate of local authorities, was established to organise the management of the aquifer. Key lesson learnt is that an organisation like SMETA can prove to be a successful forum for groundwater protection.
In Slovenia, water is extracted for drinking water, energy, fish-farming, irrigation and technological purposes. In order to avoid over-extraction, an Environmental Flow framework has been implemented, assessing within what limits water can be extracted, using hydromorphological, hydrological, hydraulic and ecological criteria. The case shows that it is important to combine policy decisions with expert evaluations.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) has sponsorship available for participants from partner organisations to complete the online course in “Integrated and Adaptive Water Resources Planning, Management and Governance” which is being offered by McGill University’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in partnership with the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) is seeking a suitable consultant to review and revise the Antigua and Barbuda Draft National Water Policy, with consideration of institutional changes to date, on-going processes and highlighting the evolving nature of the water sector due to climate change.