To a large extent, the global climate crisis is a global water crisis. Yet the latest iteration of the negotiating text on adaptation, the so-called Non-Paper 31, has deleted any clear references to water and its management as a vital consideration for climate change adaptation. This is despite increasing mobilisation by the water community to call for a strong outcome on water from Copenhagen.
From 2007, the annual Southern African Development Community (SADC) Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogues, organised by GWP Southern Africa on behalf of the SADC Water Division, have informed action plans at regional, river basin, national and local levels. Although the Dialogues encourage cross-sectoral integration, until now they have largely been regarded as meetings for 'water people'.
The Ethiopian Country Water Partnership and GWP Eastern Africa have implemented an IWRM pilot project in the Berki River Basin to establish a framework and to promote the application of IWRM at the catchment level.
The Chisinau city action plan, formally adopted in December 2010, involved multi-faceted consultations between urban planners, water authorities, transport agencies, monitoring institutes, universities, and other important stakeholders, all with their own interests and technical vocabularies. As a neutral facilitator, GWP Moldova helped this diverse set of stakeholders realize that good water management is important for all.
The Vietnam Water Partnership brought together trainers from the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, UNESCAP and Cap-Net for the first time.
GWP Caribbean developed a rooftop rainwater harvesting system as a way to address water security in rural communities.
In 2010, the Togo Parliament passed a new water law that embraced IWRM principles. Adoption of an IWRM plan to turn words into action is pending. These milestones on the path to better water management were achieved in part as a result of sustained effort by GWP Togo.
This documentary series, "Bridging Waters", explains the importance of transboundary water management in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).