The 6th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region entitled ‘A secure, connected and prospering Danube Region’ took place on 18-19 October 2017 in Budapest and was jointly organised by Hungary, the European Commission and the Danube Transnational Programme.

Working towards a new paradigm on integrated water management

Five experts, a Special Advisor and a Gender Expert have been appointed to join GWP-SA-Africa Coordination Unit to boost the drive towards the SADC industrialization, job creation and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda.

"It is important to invest in research and promote new innovations to advance implementation of programmes in the water sector", said Dr. Kenneth Msibi, Policy and Strategy Expert in the SADC secretariat Water Division.

GWP has been implementing the Water, Climate and Development Program for Africa (WACDEP) as part of the work plan of the African Union’s African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW). The First Phase of WACDEP has been implemented in 8 countries and 5 transboundary basins in Africa. AMCOW, during the Africa Water Week in July 2016 in Tanzania, endorsed WACDEP to be expanded to additional 10 countries. Kenya is one of the countries selected for the second phase of WACDEP. WACDEP in Kenya is being implemented to support emerging priorities of the country on climate change, financing, sustainable development goals and investment preparation. It will be linked to the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) Process, particularly focusing on Water

Global Water Partnership East Africa (GWP-EA) is collaborating with the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) to facilitate the development of the country’s Water National Adaptation Plan (Water NAP).

Global Water Partnership (GWP) Africa teamed-up with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), under the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) to lead the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Regional Training Workshop for Asia on “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Water Resources”.

The contribution of the Zambezi River Basin to the socio-economic development of the basin’s riparian states and the SADC region has been applauded by Honourable Lloyd Kaziya, Zambia’s Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection.

Across West and Central Africa, surface temperatures have increased significantly over the last 50 years. The primary impacts of climate change are mostly felt through water. Climate-related events such as droughts and flooding are already having a significant and diverse impact across the region, exacerbating existing challenges such as rapid population growth, extreme poverty, water shortages, rapid urbanisation and conflict.