In Costa Rica, action was taken to introduce water pricing to pay for services provided by forests in watershed areas. As a result, Costa Rica’s watershed owners are beginning to be rewarded for providing water, whether for drinking or for generating electricity. The main lesson is that initiatives that ensure local groups are included in the benefits of conservation are needed to involve them in helping to protect the water catchment areas.
Egypt’s water resources are severely constrained. This calls for increasing the water use efficiency by improving irrigation management practice, as the agriculture sector is the main user of water resources. To address the issue, an Irrigation Improvement Programme was initiated, including a combination of technical changes and infrastructure investment. The case clearly demonstrates the importance of building appropriate institutional structures in parallel to the introduction of technical changes.
Encouraged by regional developments, Mali initiated the process to implement IWRM. This was done in three stages: 1) a project team and a Steering Committee were set up to define the management and steering framework of the project, 2) a situation analysis was developed and discussed with broad stakeholder groups and 3) a provisional Action Plan was prepared. This case study illustrates the key moments and events of the process of elaboration of the IWRM.
Call for Nominations and Applications
The GWP seeks an outstanding and internationally recognized leader to serve as its Chair, guiding the global Network of water partners, and heading the GWP Organization. Given the scale of water-related challenges across the globe, the Chair has a unique opportunity to lead the GWP at an important time, as action now is essential for a water secure world.
GWP Latvia and its partner non-governmental organization Daugavas Savieniba publish a new guideline for practical management of rivers and water streams.
The African continent has the highest number of transboundary river basins that collectively cover 64% of Africa’s surface area and contain just over 93% of its surface water resources. These rivers are shared between many countries. While a common water resource is a potential source of conflict, it also has tremendous potential as a driver for economic growth on the African continent where, for example, less than 4% of the available water is utilised, and less than 7% of the hydropower potential is realised.
The Global Water Partnership Organisation in Stockholm has a vacancy for an assistant position for the Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP).
Sudan, situated by the Red Sea is bordered by Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan. The final alignment between Sudan and South Sudan is still under pending negotiations and demarcation. The Nile and its tributaries are cutting through the country. Despite the presence of the Nile, the climate is arid desert; hot and dry. In terms of natural resources, Sudan has deposits of petroleum as well as small reserves of iron ore, copper and chromium ore.
The DIKTAS Project (2010 – 2014) is initiated by the aquifer-sharing states and is a full-size GEF regional project, implemented by UNDP and executed by UNESCO. The activities of the project focus on Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. Several other countries and international organizations have also joined this challenging project and provide valuable contribution to realisation of its objectives.