For the first time the Government of India has selected a non-government organisation, GWP India West Zone Water Partnership (WZWP) Coordinating Agency, Gomukh Trust, to prepare an integrated water resources development and management plan.
In 2009 the Uva Provincial Council and National Water Supply and Drainage Board sought help from GWP Sri Lanka to set up a provincial water resources committee. This request was prompted by a new government policy recommending that provincial water resources committees should be set up to manage drinking water at river basin scale.
GWP West Africa played a key role in a series of meetings that agreed on a training module for water science for higher degrees – bachelors, masters and doctorates – throughout Francophone Africa.
GWP Chair Dr. Letitia A Obeng participated in the General Assembly of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) in Dakar, from 20 to 22 January 2010. The theme of the General Assembly was “the adaptation to consequences of climate change in basins: tools for action”. The assembly gathered together around 250 participants from all continents.
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and key donors such as the African Development Bank signed an agreement providing funds to translate the Regional Water Policy adopted by heads of state in October 2009 into action. The allocation of funding is a crucial step along the road to improving water management in the region.
Dedication to consultation and communication paid off in 2010 as policy makers established and consolidated a relationship with researchers in the Challenge Programme on Water and Food (CPWF) in the Limpopo River Basin.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia share the Sava River Basin. As the after effects of the devastating war in the region have subsided, these countries have started to cooperate on environmental issues.
In 2010, the Togo Parliament passed a new water law that embraced IWRM principles. Adoption of an IWRM plan to turn words into action is pending. These milestones on the path to better water management were achieved in part as a result of sustained effort by GWP Togo.
In April, GWP Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and GWP Hungary organised a workshop that brought Baltic Region Strategy experiences to the newly formed Danube Region Strategy. The workshop, Parallels: Water Resources Management Aspects of European Union Strategies for Baltic Sea and Danube Regions, held in April 2011, built on previous GWP work on strategy development and focused on new financing mechanisms for macro-regional economic development.
The Panama Canal, the 77 km long canal joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is a key conduit for international maritime trade. In light of the decision to widen the canal, improvements in how the canal basin is managed has taken on increasing importance.