Water quality is a major issue in Sri Lanka. Pollution and waste dumping contaminate water supplies, leading to serious health impacts for nearby water users. In one of the country’s most serious cases of water pollution, 300,000 people in Gampula were at risk when an epidemic of viral hepatitis broke out; several people died. But GWP Sri Lanka has achieved some results. (In photo: GWP Sri Lanka Chair Kusum Athukorala)
As part of the Africa programme on Water, Climate and Development (WACDEP), a Framework for Water Security and Climate Resilient Development is under preparation.
The Country Water Partnership of Benin (CWP-Benin) organized in June 2012 a training workshop of water stakeholders on gender mainstreaming in the management of water resources in the country. The Thecnical Note develop by the CWP for stakeholders, users and decision-makers has served as reference framework of the capacitiy building session.
Setting up of institutional mechanisms, legal status issues, and developing biological monitoring standards, were discussed at a workshop on monitoring and assessment methods for river and lake health, organized by GWP China on January 13, 2012, in Beijing.
In 2010 GWP Malaysia organised the second pilot national workshop on integrated flood management. This brought together staff from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, the National Safety Council, Town and Country Planning Department, the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency and town councils.
The Lempa River is shared by Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, making its management a good example of transboundary cooperation. To reach consensus, action was taken to develop a treaty as part of a regional process. However, since the treaty was not accompanied by strategies designed by local actors, it is somewhat weak. Nonetheless, this case illustrates that political willingness is crucial for advancing towards IWRM in transboundary watersheds.
Recent floods across Central Europe have affected thousands of people, driving them from their homes. The Elbe, the Danube, the Vltava, and other rivers have overflowed their banks after several weeks of heavy rain. The floods caused extensive damage in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.
As part of its continuing implementation of the 2009-2013 Strategy, GWP is developing strategies on gender and youth. The strategies will be elaborated in a participatory way, involving GWP regions and Partner organizations.