Cancun, Mexico. December 7. On Saturday, December 4, Dr. Letitia A. Obeng, Chair of Global Water Partnership (GWP) spoke briefly to the participants who attended The Oceans Day at Cancun.
“We have to work together,” said Dr. Obeng, referring to the need to coordinate and unify efforts between those who work on integrated water resources management and those who work with oceans.
Key challenges in Central Asia are the degradation of ecosystems and increasing water deficiency. It is a region of scarce water resources, many of which cut across national borders. The intensive use of the limited resources leads to conflicts of interest, making transboundary water resources management crucial to the sustainability of the region’s resources.
As part of its long-term commitment to contribute to the building of confidence and cooperation between countries that make up the Himalayan river basins, GWP Nepal participated in a workshop on the Himalayan Sub-Regional Cooperation for Water Security.
The Purna Area Water Partnership was established in 1995 and has since carried out extensive work in water resources development and management in the Purna River Basin, India.
Media is often a critical link between policymakers and the public. The media focus on environmental issues is increasing, especially in light of the global interest in climate change. This is why GWP regularly organizes awareness-raising workshops for journalists. GWP South America and GWP Caribbean recently organised workshops as a first step to creating journalist networks for knowledge sharing in water resources management.
GWP, together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) organised a Consultation Meeting on the Proposed Integrated Drought Management Programme in Geneva, Switzerland, 15-16 November 2010.
The UN climate negotiations in Cancún, Mexico, will be an opportunity to take a sober look at the state of the world’s climate and our collective capacity to respond to the changes which are already visible: more extreme weather events, floods, droughts, glacier melting, polar ice caps shrinking, and sea levels rising, GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki writes in a publication issued for the COP16 delegates (click on link at right).
The Mediterranean region covers 1.75 million kM2. With 446 million inhabitants, accounting for 7% of the world population, Mediterranean is encountering a rapid and unbalanced demographic growth and increased urbanization trends. Increasing poverty in urban centres is directly linked with water and health issues.