The Gambia officially launched a new Country Water Partnership (CWP) in 2011, joining the other 12 West African CWPs that have been formed since the beginning of GWP's activities in West Africa. Now, all countries in the region except Liberia and Sierra Leone have set up a CWP.
A key part of ensuring that future water practitioners take an integrated approach to managing water resources is to target those training young water professionals. GWP Central America is strengthening its work with universities to provide them with knowledge and information on water resources management. In recent months, Country Water Partnerships and the Regional Secretariat have organized events for the academic community.
Two-thirds of the Central American population lives in urban areas which is why GWP Central America, with the support of CapNet and LAWETNet, organized a regional workshop on Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) at the Pan-American School for Agriculture (Zamorano) in Honduras from 29 October to 1 November 2012. Participants included representatives of the six countries of the region from municipalities of major cities, water and sanitation agencies, and universities.
GWP Southern Africa has for the first time entered into a USAID competitive bidding process led by a US private sector firm.
– Report from GWP’s Side Event at Astana 2011
At the Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, GWP convened a side event titled, “Economic Growth and Water: An Integrated Approach Helps” on September 23, 2011. GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng emphasized that “When we speak about the economy and economic growth we speak about water resources.”
GWP Caribbean (GWP-C) and GWP Mediterranean (GWP Med) are building awareness on the importance of water conservation by implementing rainwater harvesting techniques. With islands surrounded by salt water, the rainwater harvesting model is critical for access to fresh water in both regions.
GWP Indonesia workshop on urban water management challenges which was held on 28 November 2012 brought together experts on water management, government officers, NGOs and academia to deliberate on the challenges of water management in urban area with focus on issues related to waste water and drainage in Jakarta, Capital city of Indonesia.
Dr. József Gayer, Chair of GWP Hungary delivered presentations about integrated water resources management during Water Saving Weeks at 7 universities and colleges across Hungary in March and April 2012.
The African continent has the highest number of transboundary river basins that collectively cover 64% of Africa’s surface area and contain just over 93% of its surface water resources. These rivers are shared between many countries. While a common water resource is a potential source of conflict, it also has tremendous potential as a driver for economic growth on the African continent where, for example, less than 4% of the available water is utilised, and less than 7% of the hydropower potential is realised.