Climate Change is expected to have severe impacts on river discharges and water quality and quantity. In an effort to proactively find solutions to the current and future challenges of water, the project Environmental state and sustainable management of Hungarian-Slovakian transboundary groundwater bodies was initiated. The key lesson is the importance of evaluating all resources, including the links between groundwater and surface water.
Water and its management is becoming not just a local but a global priority. The UN Rio+20 Declaration emphasises the need to establish a green economy as the means to achieving sustainable development while protecting and improving the world’s natural resources. Water is increasingly seen as a central plank of the green economy. It is embedded in all aspects of development – food security, health, and poverty reduction – and in sustaining economic growth in agriculture, industry, and energy generation.
The “Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resources Management” was launched by UN-Water on 19 June 2012 at Rio+20 with GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng as one of the panelists. This Status Report, prepared by UNEP in collaboration with UNDP and GWP, is one of the official UN reports to the Rio+20 conference, and is based on a survey of countries carried out in 2011. GWP facilitated the completion of level 1 and 2 surveys through the Regional and Country Water Partnerships, and is very proud to have been a partner in this endeavour.
The GWP network has been invited by an initiative called “The Future We Want” to contribute solutions for Rio+20. The Future We Want is a global initiative to move beyond negative visions of the future and focus on the sustainability solutions that are ready to be implemented by 2030.
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.
Uganda is a landlocked country and bordered on the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the north by the Sudan, on the east by Kenya, and on the south by Tanzania and Rwanda.
AMCOW President, Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt and GWP Executive Secretary launch the Technical Background Document on World Water Week, 27 August 2012.
West Africa now has 12 Country Water Partnerships (CWP). All ECOWAS countries have one except The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In 2009 contacts were established with these countries and strong demand had been expressed to assist in the implementation of the CWP in each country.
Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) shares the vision of the GWP network which is for "a water secure world" with a mission to support countries in the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels.