Water is a key component of ensuring climate action. A GWP delegation was in Bonn, Germany, to convey this message and raise the profile of water at the UN climate talks, COP23, which took place 6-17 November. Rapid implementation to the Paris Agreement is paramount to battle climate change. Water is integral to build climate resilience and is therefore a crucial component of implementing the Paris Agreement. And GWP is well positioned to help countries deliver on the adaptation components of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
GWP has leveraged its stakeholder network to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting process in 30 countries. Together with UN Environment-DHI, the custodian agency of SDG 6.5.1, GWP is convening 30 workshops to collect the official country data for 6.5.1. (Integrated Water Resources Management, IWRM).
To contribute to water security in the communities of Valle de Jiboa, El Salvador, where communities face water scarcity, the Association of Municipalities (MIJIBOA) and the Women's Network of Valle del Jiboa, in partnership with the National Foundation for Development (FUNDE), GWP Central America and Mexichem, installed 7 rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems between February to September 2017. The initiative had a gender focus, as the women of the area were an active part of the implementation of the project.
GWP Technical Committee Chair Dr. Jerome Delli Priscoli was a keynote speaker at the World Water Cities Forum 2017, which took place at the Korean International Water Week (KIWW) in September. Urban resilience and how to get it right was at the heart of his speech.
Professor Adrian Cashman is Senior Lecturer at the University of West Indies and a member of GWP’s Technical Committee. He speaks of the recent Technical Focus Paper “IWRM in Central America: the over-riding challenge of managing transboundary waters” – an issue he says is now emerging globally.
On August 17, GWP granted formal accreditation to GWP Colombia - or “Alianza Colombiana para el Agua”, which is the local name. Colombia is a country recognised by its technical capacity in Latin America and beyond.
GWP, together with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), opened a high-level discussion on how financing water security can accelerate delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event, the first in a series of discussions on ‘financing SDG 6’, took place in Stockholm on 29 August.
GWP had a full agenda at this year’s Stockholm World Water Week. Eight new publications were launched, hundreds of photo statements captured, and a series of video comments recorded – these were in addition to the over ten events that GWP was involved in throughout the week.
