The Global Water Partnership held its Regional Days 2018 - its annual gathering of the Global and Regional Secretariats staff and Chairs (13 Regional Water Partnerships) - in Budapest, Hungary, from 22-25 May 2018.
Global Water Partnership participated at the development partner coordination meeting in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss the development and implementation of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) (2018 – 2022).
Global Water Partnership Southern Africa in May organized and facilitated the National workshop on Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) in Zambia to raise awareness about climate challenges and response strategies of the country and understanding the process of planning NAP both overall and in the agriculture sector.
Gender mainstreaming is a priority and a critical cross cutting issue required for achieving the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) goals and objectives.
It was during the 8th Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) River Basin Organisations (RBOs) workshop that took place from 8-9th May, 2018 in Windhoek, Namibia that participants recommended that SADC RBOs should play a more active role in facilitating investment for water, energy and food security in the region.
GWP Southern Africa played a major role in Botswana's development of a national Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency (IWRM/WE) Plan. The creation of GWP Botswana and its involvement in the process was vital to make it a success, allowing the government to access stakeholders from all levels of society, says Bogadi Mathangwane, Director of the Botswana Department of Water Affairs.
GWP has been working closely with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) for over 20 years – the first connection goes back all the way to 1996, when GWP was established. Today, GWP Southern Africa is a recognized implementing agency of SADC, and also a strategic partner. GWP has supported SADC through the different phases of its regional IWRM plan, and currently one of the key activities is implementing a regional Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus Approach.
The Orange-Senqu River Basin is a transboundary water resource shared by Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, managed by the Orange–Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) - a GWP Southern Africa Partner. The Commission was established in 2000 and in this interview, Executive Secretary Lenka Thamae describes the partnership and issues at hand.