5 Key takeaways:
1. We’re looking to the future!
At World Water Week, GWP launched a ‘consultation on the consultation’ process for its 2026-2030 strategy in a hybrid 'Pop-up' event broadcast live from GWP’s booth, with over 50 participants, including GWP leadership. As Executive Secretary & CEO Alan AtKisson emphasised, 'Listening to stakeholders is central to integrated water resources management.' Check out the Facebook livestream of the event. Key discussions on the role of AI in water management and future directions for leveraging this technology were also led by GWP’s Technical Committee during the week (more to come on that in future editions).
2. We’re moving in the present
GWP is being responsive to the increasing interest from the private sector in water management issues. At World Water Week, GWP and Heidelberg Materials brought together a select group of thought leaders to address data gaps and barriers to public-private collaboration, focusing on issues such as fragmented water data, data usability, and responsibilities for data monitoring and costs.
During WWW, GWP also engaged in activities to continue developing its unique role as a key implementation partner to the UN system in advancing joined-up development objectives.
3. While being guided by the past
The third global status report on the degree of implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was released during World Water Week, concluding that the world needs to do much better! At this rate, the world will not achieve sustainable water management until 2049. GWP played a key role in this monumental monitoring round. What’s next? GWP will be operating the SDG 6 IWRM Support programme to assist countries to turn these results into actionable country priorities to advance towards the water-related goals under the 2030 Agenda.
4. We will continue to build on the great partnerships we have developed over the years
👉 During the World Water Week, GWP ramped up its support to the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) in mobilising commitments towards the ambitious target of implementing the Africa Union High-Level Panel Investment Action Plan. In an event on the sidelines of the Week, it was announced that twenty African countries are set to receive direct and tailored support through the AIP to scale up access to finance for climate-resilient gender-sensitive water investments by 2030.
👉 With UNEP and UNEP-DHI Centre, GWP engaged with funding agencies and support partners in a donor roundtable on collaborative investing for a climate-resilient future through IWRM, underscoring the role of the SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme as an intermediary between funders and country support.
👉 And with UNCCD, WMO and other partners, we looked ahead to the upcoming Drought Resilience +10 Conference, to be held from September 30th to October 2nd, in Geneva, Switzerland (Tip: Online participation in the conference is free of charge.)
5. Without forgetting the fundamental contribution of sound water management to peace and a sustainable future
Among GWP’s variedactivities during World Water Week, we also spoke on the importance of transboundary water cooperation in the SADC region and for river basin organisations, and on the importance of water partnerships for collective action, all of which are key to achieving our vision of a water secure world.
Special featured events
Launch event: Outcomes Brief of the Global Water Leadership (GWL) Programme
GWP, in collaboration with FCDO, launched an outcomes brief, an interactive publication, and a video, covering lessons learnt and outcomes of the Global Water Leadership Programme. Speaking at the event were among others Dr Kapil Gnawali, Senior Divisional Hydrologist, Nepal’s Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, who was GWL’s Governmental Focal Point in Nepal, and highlighted how his country aims to build on the effort undertaken through GWL. Paul Deverill, Senior WASH advisor at FCDO: “There are such few examples where the fields of WASH and water resources management are coming together. Thanks to the enormous amounts of time invested by the seven governments involved in the programme, GWL now is an excellent example of exactly that.” Don’t miss the event livestream. LinkedIn post
Interactive session: A Hydro-Extreme Serious Game: Towards Integrated Disaster Management
❓ How do we choose who to protect and how much risk we are willing to take?
❓ Do we want to be more protected against floods or droughts (or both)?
❓ What do we start with, building soft or hard infrastructure?
These were dilemmas faced by participants in the interactive Hydro-Extreme Serious Game, convened by GWP, UNCCD, IWMI, and DHI, through the game that sheds light on the complexity of taking consensual decisions towards integrated disaster management. Employing tools from UNCCD's Drought Toolbox, the APFM & IDMP Programmes, and the IWRM Action Hub, game players pursued collaborative decision-making in a setting where every choice comes with a struggle, and some necessary trade-offs.
GWP thanks all colleagues and friends of its network for an insightful and productive week!