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The Lake Atitlán basin experiences serious problems of water pollution, soil erosion and forest and biodiversity losses. Action was taken to establish the Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Atitlán Basin. However, barriers such as lack of public participation, institutional coordination and investment funds have only ensured limited success. The key lesson learnt is that the main barriers to an integrated management of water resources in the basin are strongly interlinked.

On the margins of the outreach meeting of the Post 2015 UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons, the global water community held thematic consultations on water on 29th and 30th of January 2013 in Monrovia, Liberia with the participation of The President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

A proper enabling environment establishes the rights and assets of all stakeholders (individuals as well as public and private sector organizations and companies, women as well as men, the poor as well as the better off), while ensuring for environmental quality. The enabling environment essentially consists of “rules of the game” that are laid out as to achieve a sustainable balance between the social, economic and environmental needs for water. These rules can be defined by the use of: (1) Policies; (2) Legislative Frameworks; and (3) Financing and Investment Structures.

The Prespa basin was affected by over-abstraction and diversion of water, wetland drainage, deforestation and overgrazing, leading to danger for human livelihoods and ecosystems. Action was taken by WWF through the creation of the Society for the Protection of Prespa, eventually culminating in the creation of Prespa National Park. The lesson drawn is that to change the perspective of local stakeholders to ensure that they share a common vision is vital for success.

Key stakeholders from within and outside Jordan’s water sector were brought together in Amman on the 5th of February in the framework of the Jordanian Policy Dialogue within the joint GWP-Med and OECD, UfM labelled Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector Programme.

Improving the governance and economic value of drilling

A previous lack of clearly defined roles and jurisdictional responsibilities within the water sector led Zambia’s government to take action and establish the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council, which is presently responsible for the main water policy principles. From this case, it can be concluded that any reform process is inherently political, and requires the full commitment of its policy makers to correctly balance financial and political objectives.

The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), formalising a collaborative relationship for addressing regional water priorities.

The Secretariat of GWP China is hosted by the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) in Beijing.

The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre  (CCCCC) is implementing a Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) for the Caribbean. WACDEP aims to directly support the CARICOM agenda on climate change through support to the implementation of water related adaptation actions as defined in the Implementation Plan for a Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change.