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This week in Midrand (9-13 November), South Africa, the Global Water Partnership's five Africa regional offices and its Mediterranean one are working with key allies to translate Africa's commitments on water into action. At the top of the agenda is financing water infrastructure, water supply and sanitation and climate change adaptation.

To understand IWRM in one understanding with the government, GWP Southeast Asia has compile some of declaration of Principles and Policies.

The GWP-Med Secretariat has the overall responsibility for the coordination and day-to-day function of GWP-Med. It implements the oganisation's annual Work Plan corresponding to GWP's Strategy and manages all GWP-Med initiatives, programmes and projects. It is also responsible for the organisation’s outreach activities, and for promoting collaborations and synergies with other organisations, institutes and processes active in the Mediterranean.

To involve the private sector more in developing water infrastructure, GWP Mediterranean continued with national assessments and multi-stakeholder dialogues. These were run within the framework of MED EUWI and the GEF MedPartnership, and in close collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Global Water Partnership Caribbean continues to engage in a series of public education activities targeted at building awareness on rainwater harvesting as a means of water conservation. Its latest outreach was to more than 1,000 students and teachers from 42 schools in Trinidad and Tobago.

Thanks to an innovative partnership between the Global Water Partnership and the IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, under the auspices of UNESCO, based at the University of Dundee, the first joint group of International Water Law Scholars from Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Ukraine and Zambia were able to begin their studies by attending the 2nd Annual Workshop on International Law and Transboundary Freshwaters, held at the University of Dundee.

Agriculture: the major sector of water consumption

Intensive abstraction for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes has led to depletion of surface and groundwater bodies. Overexploitation of groundwater resources in particular, has led to seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. Over the last 50 years, water demand for all sectors of activity together has doubled to reach 280 km3/ year in 2007.

The importance of mountains for the provision of water was emphasized at the Rio+20 Side Event "Mountain Knowledge Solutions for Sustainable Green Economy and Improved Water, Food, Energy, and Environment Nexus" on 18 June 2012, in which the GWP Executive Secretary participated.

New case study presents experiences from drafting groundwater management plan on trans-boundary river basin level in Hungary and Slovakia.