In Benin, four years of lobbying and workshops culminated in the adoption by the Government, in July 2009, of a new water policy based on the IWRM approach. GWP Benin led efforts, working with parliamentarians, ministries, civil society, local communities and water user organisations, and establishing a task force. GWP Benin also arranged for consultants to review the first draft of the policy and organised a national workshop to validate the final draft.

Outdated legislation and ageing infrastructure in Grenada need to be addressed to meet rising demand for water and sewage services, and boost inadequate revenues.

Since 2005, GWP Caribbean and one of its Partners, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), have brought together ministers and other senior government officials every year to discuss water issues and explain the benefits of IWRM. At the last high-level session, in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in October, these efforts bore fruit.

30 November – 6 December 2009, Almaty and Taras, Republic of Kazakhstan

The training and workshop were an answer to regional and country needs of newly established River Basin Councils. The Centre of Cooperation for Sustainable Development (CCSD) requested GWP to provide assistance in the development of manual: Decision making procedures at River Basin levels and building capacities of River Basin Councils.

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) has appointed Dr. Mohamed Ait Kadi as the new GWP Technical Committee Chair, effective October 1, 2009.

At the end of the Global Water Partnership’s (GWP) Consulting Partners meeting and the start of the Stockholm World Water Week, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the GWP and the European Water Partnership (EWP).