June 14, 2011 — Yesterday a coalition of water advocates organized a side event at a United Nations climate conference to highlight the urgency of recognizing water resources management as central to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
A report on the GWP Side Event at World Water Day 2011, Cape Town, South Africa
“Water is a thread that runs through every development sector. The land and water of Sri Lanka is our oil and our gold… We can no longer afford to make water a sectoral matter. We cannot make it someone else’s business.” These were some of the comments made by Ms Kusum Athukorala, Chair of the Sri Lanka Water Partnership at a felicitation ceremony conducted to honour her achievement on receiving the bi-annual Women in Water Award presented by the International Water Association.
As part of its continuing implementation of the 2009-2013 Strategy, GWP is developing strategies on gender and youth. The strategies will be elaborated in a participatory way, involving GWP regions and Partner organizations.
Media Release, March 8, 2011 -- Rising food prices and alarm over climate change was the context for a workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 24-25, 2011. How water is managed is central to both issues.
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.
With 34% annual tributary flow, Kagera is the single largest river that drains into Lake Victoria. On the upper ranges contributing much of the river flow are its main tributaries of Nyabarongo and Ruvuvu.
On 25 November 2011 in Tirana, Albania the five Drin River Riparians signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a Shared Strategic Vision for the Sustainable Management of the Drin River Basin for the benefit of about 1.5 million people relying on the water resources of the basin for drinking water, agriculture, fisheries, industry and hydropower.
Water is central to Africa's development. To implement the climate change commitments in the Sharm el Sheikh Declaration and address the threat of climate change in Africa, the management of water resources must move to the top of the development agenda. This is the overall goal of the Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa, that runs from May 2011 to April 2016.