As part of ongoing national policy dialogues in Egypt and Lebanon within the framework of MED-EUWI and the GEF MedPartnership, GWP Mediterranean and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessed issues for governments to consider regarding private sector investment in the water sector.
The National Water Law, approved in 2009 (see GWP in Action 2009 Annual Report, p. 24), aims to establish a national framework for water management and stipulates the establishment of watershed councils to improve water governance through stakeholder participation.
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.
Although an IWRM approach was incorporated into the development of the new Rajasthan State Water Policy in 2010, it quickly became clear that few stakeholders had a clear understanding of how it worked. Now, GWP India and their NGO Partner, Jheel Sanrakshan Samiti, have created a better understanding of the IWRM approach by involving all stakeholders in a capacity building programme, enabling them to take the lead in the planning and management of water resources in the state.
Drought in the Caribbean is affecting national economies and key sectors such as agriculture, energy production, tourism and water supply. This crisis was the focus of the 6th High Level Session (HLS) of Water Ministers in the Caribbean on 3-4 October 2010 in Grenada. The gathering has been organized annually since 2005 by GWP Caribbean in conjunction with the Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA).
GWP Southern Africa and the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) organised a workshop to promote dialogue in Eastern and Southern Africa on water, climate change and national development.
GWP Mediterranean is a Consortium Member and the Technical Director of the regional technical assistance project Sustainable Water Integrated Management – Support Mechanism (SWIM-SM) that was launched by the European Commission in December 2010 to promote the extensive dissemination of sustainable water management policies and practices in the Mediterranean. SWIM-SM Partner countries are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia. As a Technical Director, GWP Mediterranean oversees all activities and contributes technically to the implementation of the project.
Sustainable development requires multi-stakeholder partnerships. That is the message of a new report on water security in Africa published by the Global Water Partnership. (Photo: GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki and Hon Buyelwa P. Sonjica, AMCOW President and Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs in South Africa)