“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.
GWP’s Water, Climate, and Development Programme has been formally introduced in Central America. Launch events have taken place in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, and there will be events in Guatemala and El Salvador by the end of October.
Becoming a Partner is a highly valued position and brings with it several key benefits to get the most out of the GWP China network.
Under the theme, “Water, Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions”, more than 1,000 water professionals from India and abroad participated in the first India Water Week in April, in New Delhi. In an indication of the role of water as of critical importance to economic prosperity, the week was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. (Photo: GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki)
The nine countries sharing the Nile Basin may have specific variations in cultures, policies, and institutional frameworks, but climate change continues to be a cross-cutting factor impacting their socio-economic livelihoods – whether agriculture, energy production, mining safety, or water quantity and quality.
GWP and the University of Dundee co-organised a workshop on International Law and Transboundary Freshwaters in Dundee in June. It was the third year of the joint GWP/Dundee Scholarship programme, and this year’s activities were a success, says the organisers.
In Benin, water use has not been regulated. Furthermore, water management has been sector-based, fragmented and compartmentalised. To change this, action was taken to initiate IWRM in Benin. A baseline study was done followed by drafting of an IWRM action plan. From the experience, the lesson learnt is that advocacy for strengthening political will for supporting the process must be seen as a transversal and on-going action throughout the whole IWRM process.
Under the theme, “Water, Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions”, more than 1,000 water professionals from India and abroad participated in the first India Water Week in April, in New Delhi. In an indication of the role of water as of critical importance to economic prosperity, the week was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. (Photo: GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki)
The management of water resources in Bangladesh involves a centralised, heavy engineering approach in order to control floods and install irrigation, however, there is now a pressing need for ensuring social justice and equity in water resource development. Recognising the role of water in poverty alleviation, action has been taken to implement a 25-year National Water Management Plan. Although this is one important step, it is evident that many issues require more work.
A SADC/ UNESCO Workshop aimed to promote Cooperation and Conflict Prevention in Transboundary Water Resources was held at Phakalane Golf Estate Conference Centre, in Gaborone, Botswana from 25-27 February 2013. The 24 workshop participants included staff from SADC, GWPSA, UNESCO and SADC River Basin Organisation representatives. GWPSA was represented by Regional Programme Officer, Mr. Michael Ramaano. The workshop provided a platform for participants to share and exchange sub-regional experiences on water cooperation as well as learn more about designing and conducting negotiation processes on transboundary water-related issues.