In the race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the role of small-scale WATSAN (water and sanitation) providers is indispensable. However, as this report "Small-scale finance for water and sanitation" claims, there is little awareness or cohesion among external support sgencies (ESAs), including EU donors, on the best way to increase financing for small-scale providers.
Developed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a climate change adaptation strategy for the water sector was officially launched at COP 17 in December 2011 in Durban, South Africa. It effectively sees SADC take up the challenge of responding to the threat of climate change in southern Africa.
The theme of the 4th Africa Water Week 14-18 May in Cairo, Egypt, is “Water for Growth in Africa, AMCOW’s Journey @10”. The Global Water Partnership will be launching the AMCOW/GWP Strategic Framework material. GWP will have a booth and is also a convenor and co-convenor of sub-themes and will be participating at the following events:
Mr. Bulat Yessekin, GWP CACENA Regional Council Member from Kazakhstan, is selected to the GWP Steering Committee for 2013-2015 by the GWP Nomination Committee.
GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA) has received a grant from USAID to coordinate a consortium developing a regional economic model for the integrated use of water resources in the Aral Sea basin.
At the request of the countries, a mission from GWP West Africa visited Gambia and Sierra Leone 19-28 September 2011, to follow up on the will expressed in 2009, during the development process of the IWRM roadmap, to set up GWP Country Water Partnerships. Exchanges on the importance of transboundary waters and their management mechanisms such as the UN Convention on International Water Courses were also discussed.
Recently the GWP ToolBox, a free online database for those interested in better water management, has been improved with a number of new features and resources.
The Toco Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the north-east coast of Trinidad has been granted TT$17 million from the Green Fund of Trinidad and Tobago for an extensive rainwater harvesting (RWH) project.
GWP Lithuania and Poland take part in a consortium led by Stockholm International Water Institute to support sustainable water resources management of international rivers shared by countries in the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea.