GWP CEE celebrates its 10th anniversary on 6 October in Budapest, presenting results of major achievements over the past decade.
Since its establishment in 1998, GWP CEE has organised several thematic dialogues including Vision for Action, Financial Flows, Water, Food and Environment, Gender and IWRM Planning. The results were synthesised and presented at World Water Forums.
To take stock of the results achieved since the Hague Forum, a regional stakeholder meeting was held in March 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.
A Ministerial Declaration was adopted at the meeting welcoming, amongst other things, the initiative of the GWP to promote IWRM in the region.
GWP CEE was one of the coordinators of Europe Day at the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.
During the Forum, GWP CEE was involved in various meetings such as Tool Box sessions, the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure and others.
According to GWP Regional Chair for CEE, Liviu Nicolae Popescu, "Dialogues are a central GWP CEE activity. We have used dialogues - facilitated conversations among groups with often disparate views - to discuss complex water management issues with a notable success", says Popescu.
During 2006-2007, GWP CEE used national dialogues to organise a series of IWRM Policy Dialogues, responding to national water priorities in 12 countries of the region.
There has been a steady increase in interest for public participation, as well as recognition for it on different governance levels, in a wide range of sectors and contexts, including environmental management.
To respond to this, GWP CEE established the Public Participation Task Force. The major achievements include organisation of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) Stakeholder Conference in 2005 and annual celebrations of 29 June as Danube Day with international celebrations in Zaragoza Water Expo in 2008.
GWO CEE identified a gap of 20 Million EU citizens who lack safe and affordable sanitation This was done by an international specialist task force publishing its findings in the book, Sustainable Sanitation in Central and Eastern Europe: Addressing the Needs of Small and Medium-Size Settlements.
This action was also well timed to contribute to the International Year of Sanitation 2008.
Since 2003, there has been an ongoing study on flash floods under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)-GWP Associated Programme on Floods Management.
One of the most recent achievements, "Guidance on Flash Flood Management-Recent Experiences from CEE", has been published and provides easily accessible guidance on flash flood management to mayors, provincial administrators and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.
In the region, the GWP ToolBox is instrumental in supporting knowledge exchange on integrated water resources management approaches towards sustainable water resources development, management and use.
"Over the next years, GWP Central and Eastern Europe plans to undertake several initiatives including increased multi-sectoral dialogues, and raising political will for extended application of IWRM principle", says Milan Matuska, GWP CEE Regional Coordinator.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Muller
GWP CEE Regional Secretariat
Communication Officer
Telephone: (+421 2) 5941 5294
Mobile: (+421 915) 130 958
Email: gwpcee@shmu.sk
Website: www.gwpceeforum.org