The GWP has mobilized its partners to promote a more integrated approach on how to deal with Danube's water resources.
The GWPO Network Officer Mr. Bjorn Guterstam, accompanied by GWP CEE Chair Mr. Liviu Nicolae Popescu, presented the statement on behalf of observer organizations to ICPDR at the Ministerial Meeting on 16 February in Vienna, Austria. At the meeting, Ministers endorsed detailed actions for environmental protection in the Danube River Basin.
GWP Chile was accredited as a Country Water Partnership on April 9. In response to a congratulatory letter from GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki, GWP Chile Chair Ms María Angelica Alegria explained some of the water-related challenges facing her nation in light of its recent earthquake.
In line with GWP’s strategy to create and strengthen Regional Water Partnerships (RWPs), a multi-year process came to fruition on 29th November 2008, when a new RWP was set up: GWP Central Africa (GWP-CAf). It is based in Yaounde, Cameroon, and has over 100 partners.
GWP Central America and other organisations have contributed to reactivating Central America’s IWRM Strategy (ECAGIRH), which had been lying fallow since 2006 due to lack of finances.
In 2008, the Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) began working with the Water Integrity Network (WIN) to fight corruption surrounding illicit and unregulated river sand mining.
In an opening day address at World Water Week in Stockholm, GWP Chair Letitia A Obeng urged decision makers to recognize that using an integrated approach to water management can help solve a wide range of water issues related to current environmental, social and economic challenges.
The GWP network with more than 2000 partners worldwide, celebrates World Water Day with a number of activities and events in different regions of the globe: awareness campaigns on public radio, releases of video films about water security, participation in seminars and organisation of workshops for students, pupils and policy makers.