– Report from GWP’s Side Event at Astana 2011
At the Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, GWP convened a side event titled, “Economic Growth and Water: An Integrated Approach Helps” on September 23, 2011. GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng emphasized that “When we speak about the economy and economic growth we speak about water resources.”
The Regional Conference on Advancing Non-Conventional Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean was organized by the Hellenic Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Change, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean and the System of Coca-Cola in Greece (Coca-Cola HBC Greece and Coca-Cola Hellas) with the environmental program ‘Mission Water’.
On April 18, 2011, Ministers issued a Declaration expressing their support for the continuation and enhancement of the Drin Dialogue with the assistance of GWP Mediterranean and the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and for the preparation of the Shared Vision for the management of the Drin Basin.
GWP Mediterranean is a Consortium Member and the Technical Director of the regional technical assistance project Sustainable Water Integrated Management – Support Mechanism (SWIM-SM) that was launched by the European Commission in December 2010 to promote the extensive dissemination of sustainable water management policies and practices in the Mediterranean. SWIM-SM Partner countries are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia. As a Technical Director, GWP Mediterranean oversees all activities and contributes technically to the implementation of the project.
GWP Mediterranean, as the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Component of the EU Water Initiative (MED EUWI), has since since 2005 supported the efforts of the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water towards an Integrated Water Management Planning in the country. Through technical assistance by the MED EUWI and GWP Mediterranean, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) aims to put in place a decision support system to examine alternative water development and management strategies to support IWRM Planning.
In 2010 GWP Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development continued, for the eighth year, to feed information and material on water issues and processes in the region to members of the Circle of Mediterranean Journalists for Environment and Sustainable Development (COMJESD).
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia share the Sava River Basin. As the after effects of the devastating war in the region have subsided, these countries have started to cooperate on environmental issues.
The Drin Dialogue, a systematic process coordinated by GWP Mediterranean, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other actors, has advanced consultation among Drin Basin countries and stakeholders on a shared vision for sustainable management.
GWP Mediterranean promotes rainwater harvesting (RWH) as a way to manage drought on islands in the region. RWH can help islands become more water secure and adapt to climate change.