About

GWP’s VISION is a water secure world. Our MISSION is to advance governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development.

OUR UNIQUE VALUE: GWP mobilises action on the global water crisis through a unique combination of social capital, shared values, credibility within the global water community, bottom-up orientation, and expertise. A network of networks, we ensure the ‘voices of water’ can inﬂuence local, national, regional, and global development priorities. We are committed to our role as a neutral convener and respected for our focus on inclusiveness and sustainability.

Learn

GWP creates and communicates information about integrated water resources management which contributes to improved water governance and, ultimately, water security.

Together with our Partners, we provide knowledge resources and capacity building activities for solving water problems.

Partner

Institutional Partners are the basis of GWP's multi-stakeholder partnership. A strong, diverse partnership can bring about the changes needed to achieve a water secure world. In this section, learn about the benefits of being a Partner and meet a few who already are. We invite like-minded organisations to join us!

GWP Regions

This is where you can find links to the websites of our Regional Water Partnerships (RWPs). RWPs are closest to the countries where we work. They share knowledge and learning across national boundaries and are expected to have an open, inclusive, and gender-sensitive policies for bringing together as wide a group of stakeholders as possible to solve water problems.

6/4/2013

Disasters in Focus at High-Level Meeting in Tokyo

“Building resilience of people, communities and countries to these water-related disasters and extreme climate events is the major challenge of our time, as climate change will get worse before it gets better,” were the closing words of the speech given by the GWP Chair Dr Ursula Schaefer-Preuss at the first meeting of the High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) on 4 June 2013 in Tokyo, Japan.

Founded in New York at the UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters in March this year, the HELP/UNSGAB High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters is a successor arrangement to the HLEP/UNSGAB High-level Expert Panel on Water and Disaster.

The HLEP had been established in 2007 by the founding Chair Dr. Han Seung-soo as the science-policy interface of the UN Committee on World Food Security with the aim to improve the robustness of policy making by providing independent, evidence-based analysis and advice at the request of Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

The objective of the new body HELP is to achieve a higher profile with political leaders, influencing inter-governmental decision making by inviting government representatives and international organisations. The main focus is to raise awareness and promote actions for changes on water and disasters, including the original HLEP Members together with Members from Leaders, such as governments and international organisations. Dr Schaefer-Preuss is a member of the HELP panel.

Related to the Tokyo meeting, the Japanese authorities organised a field trip to the tsunami affected areas - Rikuzentakata city and Minami-Sanriku town - a visit which “gave important insights on how to tackle such disasters,” Dr Schaefer-Preuss said.

“Within the perspective of Integrated Water Resources Management, it is important to manage water better throughout all climate conditions, whether they bring too much or too little water. Within GWP, both the flood management and the drought management programmes are part of a portfolio of climate programmes, which seek to build climate resilience through improving water security”, Dr Schaefer-Preuss said, emphasizing the pivotal role of water management in addressing disaster effects.

After the conclusion of the meeting, some of the participants were invited to an audience with HIH the Crown Prince of Japan. The conversation focused on water and disaster related challenges and how Japan has been working to overcome the effects of the tsunami and earthquake in March 2011.

Page last edited: 6/4/2013