2015 is a milestone with the new UN Sustainable Development Goals and the upcoming COP 21 on Climate Change in Paris in December. For the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 2015 is the “water” year. Water is the main agricultural production factor impacted by climate change. In the Global Water Partnership (GWP), partners are joining forces at country, regional and global levels to contribute to sustainable development in the face of climate change. This initiative, in Sub Saharan Africa, will, in an inclusive manner, identify challenges and technical and institutional priority actions, and implement concrete activities at all levels. Read more

Right at the heart of Namibia, “the land of the brave”, in the capital Windhoek was the venue for the 7th SADC Multi- stakeholder Water Dialogue held from the 29th to the 30th of September, 2015. Held under the theme, “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialization” the dialogue was attended by 150 delegates from across the region representing the water sector, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), cooperating and development partners, academia, the media, and other relevant stakeholders from non-water entities (energy, agriculture, industrialization). The delegates, of which a good number were youth were brought together to deliberate the role that water will play in driving industrialization in the region.

The 11^th Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) Consulting Partners meeting will be held from the 13^th to the 14^th of October 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa. The meeting that is held after every two years brings together the GWP Partners in Southern Africa, GWP SA Board, Regional Technical Committee (RTEC) and the GWP SA Secretariat staff. Also invited are the Strategic Partners with whom GWP SA has programmatic alliances, but these are self-funded.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate (MEWC) in partnership with the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) organised the 1^st Zimbabwe Stakeholders Committee for the Zambezi meeting on the 18^th of September 2015. Water and Climate Change Programme (WACDEP) Zimbabwe team were among the 33 participants who converged at the Harare Safari Lodge to participate during the meeting.

The South African Development Community (SADC) in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), and the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) hosted the South Africa SADC Water Week which took place from 29-31 July 2015.

The 7^th SADC Multi Stakeholder Water Dialogue, a biennial activity which provides a platform for regional stakeholders to discuss and share experiences on different aspects of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) will this year be held from the 29^th to the 30^th of September in Windhoek, Namibia. Running under the theme “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialization” this year's Water Dialogue will focus on unpacking the role that water will play in driving industrialisation in the region. [Read more on previous dialogues]

The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) and the Tanzania Water Partnership were engaged in a National Multi-Stakeholder – National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Training Workshop from 8-10^th July, 2015. The training was held at Stella Maris Hotel, Bagamoyo. The goal of this three day work-shop was to launch Tanzania’s NAP as well as to develop a common understanding of the issues that need to be addressed on the way forward.

A capacity building workshop focusing on project preparation and financing in Zimbabwe for climate resilient projects was held at Monteclair Hotel in Nyanga from the 26^th to the 28^th of July 2015. The workshop was attended by 21 participants from selected government Ministries, such as the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate (MEWC). The workshop was aimed at equipping selected participants with information, knowledge and practical skills in the preparation of proposal writing involving mini hydro projects for possible funding.  The feasibility study focused on Siya Dam mini hydro power generation project.

UNITAR and GWP are extending an exclusive invitation to the January 2014 – June 2015 trainees of the AU-AMCOW-WACDEP Capacity Development Programme on the “Economics of Adaptation, Water Security and Climate Resilient Development” programme to undertake the UNITAR – GWP online assessment from 3-14^th July 2015.

The assessment is being administered on the UNITAR virtual learning platform (www.learnatunitar.org). Read more