The Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) contributed to a key UNESCO handbook on science diplomacy and transboundary water management published in late 2015, focusing on the Orontes River case in Lebanon; this was the outcome of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project “New technologies for an integrated and sustainable management of natural resources in Lebanon” financially supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The Inception Meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported project “Enabling Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the extended Drin River Basin” took place in Tirana, on 16 December 2015, at the presence of Mr. Edmond Panariti, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration, Mr. Ferid Agani, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, as well as Mr. Stevo Temelkovski, Deputy Minister of Environment and Physical Planning.

 

The Transboundary Integrated Management Plan for the Buna/Bojana Area (“the Plan”) was presented during a Consultation Meeting on 7 September 2015, in Ulcinj, Montenegro. The Plan was jointly prepared by the Regional Activity Centre for the Priority Actions Programme (PAP/RAC), Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and UNESCO ‐ International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP), in the framework of the GEF UNEP/MAP Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership).

From the 7^th to 10^th September, 2015 was held in N’djamena, Chad a training workshop for staff and experts of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) on IWRM for transboundary water resources management.

 

Organized by the Department of Natural Resources Management of the LCBC in collaboration with GWP Central Africa (GWP CAf), the workshop brought together fifteen participants from the secretariat of the LCBC.

 

The objective was to strengthen their understanding of the IWRM concept and its principles, and also develop their capacity in using some specific IWRM planning tools with a special focus on development and management of transboundary water resources. It also aimed at ensuring a common understanding of the concepts, principles and planning process of IWRM among key staff of the LCBC secretariat.

Some 40 key stakeholders from the government; private companies and banks; research institutes and Academia; media as well as the Civil Society discussed and contributed to the final draft of the Report ‘Governance in Palestine: Sector Reform to include Private Sector Participation’, during the Third Consultation Workshop of the Palestinian Water Policy Dialogue. The workshop was organised by the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med), within the Union for the Mediterranean project Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector and under the patronage of H.E. Mazen Ghuneim, Chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), in Ramallah, on 16 June 2015.

The Second Consultation Workshop of the Palestinian Water Policy Dialogue, within the Union for the Mediterranean project Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector, was organised under the patronage of H.E. Mazen Ghuneim, Minister and Chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), by the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) in Ramallah, on 6 May 2015.

 

CamboWP (Cambodia Water Partnership) was executing in 2014 the Project: “4Ps Area acknowledged by the policy makers’ level to support water security policy in the Mekong Basin of Cambodia”, under WACDEP #2: WP 2: National Development and Sector Plans. The project reviewed existing water policies and interventions and supported for an update of them with water security and climate resilience planning and for bringing them into account in the national development planning and decision making processes. The project provided decision makers and policy manager with overview of the basic knowledge and experiences as well as recommendations found by the project that supported them in developing, reviewing and implementing water and related policies, strategies and regulations in the whole country.

 

The first consultation workshop of the Water Policy Dialogue in Palestine, within the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) labelled project Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector was held in close cooperation with the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), on 13 November 2014, in Ramallah. With more than 40 key stakeholders from the government; private companies and banks; research institutes and Academia; media as well as the Civil Society actively participating, the workshop marked the official launch of the Policy Dialogue to be conducted by GWP-Med within the period 2014-2015.

On 19 November 2014 in Seoul (Korea), GWP CACENA Regional Coordinator Vadim Sokolov took part in the 16th Governing Council meeting of Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF)  and the 2nd  meeting for preparing the 7th World Water Forum.

A presentation on “Financing water resources management and development for River Basin Organisations” was made during the 6^th   RBO Workshop held 15^th to the 17^th of October 2014 at Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg. The presentation is based on 13 country studies on “Financing Water Resource Management in SADC” which was commissioned by the SADC/GIZ Transboundary Water Resources Management Programme, to deepen the understanding of investments in water resources management and development and to create arguments to increase these investments in SADC countries.