The 2022 Regional Days was the 1st since COVID-19 pandemic that held in a hybrid format. For the two and half days, the participants of all the Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators, Regional Communications Officers, Regional programme managers and GWP Global Secretariat staff discuss the important matter to support the implementation of the GWP Global Strategy.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many meetings, workshops, and consultations suddenly went online. In many parts of the world, in-person meetings were impossible for a long time, and only now are slowly resuming. In other parts, hybrid meetings with online presence and in-person participation are becoming the new norm. Each of these formats comes with its pros and cons. In-person meetings allow for broader and deeper discussions, while online meetings are logistically easier to manage and make it easier for more participants to join. A new publication analyzes the impact that different formats can have on the quality of the interaction in the context of multi-stakeholder consultations.
The governments of Angola and Namibia have officially endorsed and kickstarted the implementation of a joint transboundary water project titled "Enhanced Water Security and Community Resilience in the Adjacent Cuvelai and Kunene Transboundary River Basins." This initiative aims to address the pressing challenges of water scarcity, floods, and droughts in the Cuvelai and Kunene River Basins.
The implementation of the project "Water for Growth and Poverty Reduction in the Mekrou sub-basin of Niger" (Mekrou Phase 2-Niger Project), financed by the European Union, has made significant progress in the area covered by the project, namely the communes of Tamou and Kirtachi in the Tillabery region and Falmey in the Dosso region.
A GWP-WA regional Secretariat undertook a monitoring mission from 09 to 13 July 2022. The objective of this mission was to monitor the implementation of the TFTC2 Project activities in Togo.
Mr Nanda Abeywickrama, (former Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Land Development (1978-88) and Director, International Co-operation (1988-94) also worked as a Special Adviser to the Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) from 1997 to 2005. In 1998, Mr Abeywickrama’s name was recommended by the then Director General, IWMI and appointed as a founding member of the Global Water Partnership Technical Advisory Committee for South Asia (SASTAC). Later, he held the position of Regional Chair of GWP South Asia (GWP SAS) from 2005 when the SAS Secretariat was moved to Sri Lanka under the hosting agreement with IWMI. He served as the Chair, GWP SAS from 2005-06 and weaned away from work gradually. Currently, Mr Abeywickrama is in his retirement living with his beloved wife in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Born in 1934, Dr. Madhav A. Chitale has played a major role in getting India’s decision-makers and strategic planners to think of water as a resource whose quality and availability need to be safeguarded. As a part of the nationwide programmes to develop cover several rivers, Dr Chitale was one of those who originated of the Ganga Action Plan to improve the waters of the holy river. He was also involved in the development of the World Water Council and the Global Water Partnership.
