News and Activities

Just one year after the devastating floods of 2023 caused by storm Daniel, a new stormwater management project implemented by Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean, in close collaboration with the Municipality of Trikala, with funding from the The Coca-Cola Foundation was delivered to the city.

GWP-Med is leading the "Maximising impact through communication, dissemination and exploitation" Work Package of the new Horizon2020 SpongeWorks project, coordinating activities that will boost the project's visibility and overall impact. SpongeWorks will implement 19 sponge measures in three demonstrator sites in France, Greece and a transboundary basin shared between the Netherlands and Germany aiming to enhance water retention and management while contributing to climate resilience and ecosystem health. Through effective communication and dissemination strategies, GWP-Med will ensure the project's results are widely shared with stakeholders, facilitating broader adoption and long-term sustainability of sponge measures.

The 3rd WEFE Inter-ministerial Group meeting led by the Ministry of Energy and Water, Lebanon and facilitated by GWP-Med under the GEF UNEP/MAP MedProgramme addressed the issue of water data availability and gaps, marking a step forward towards cross-institutional collaboration, essential for integrated natural resources management.

Collaboration among institutions and stakeholders responsible for natural resources management in Lebanon is strengthened through the GEF UNEP/MAP MedProgramme partners’ coordination efforts focused on integrated coastal zone management.

Maximising the EU H2020 REXUS project visibility, GWP-Med, as leader of the Communication and Dissemination, ensured that the key outcomes of the project received extensive media coverage from national and local media.

At the 1st Mediterranean Green Week, co-organised by the Union for the Mediterranean and the OECD in Istanbul, the key role of the WEFE Nexus approach in tackling major Mediterranean challenges was highlighted, especially through partnerships such as the joint efforts under the GEF UNEP/MAP MedProgramme in promoting environmental security and building resilience against climate change.

A number of WEFE Nexus Communities of Practice are aiming to close the gap between science and practical implementation.

GWP hosted a special side-event on "Source-to-Sea action for Healthy Rivers & a Clean & Healthy Ocean" at the 9th 'Our Ocean' Conference in Athens, Greece on 16 April 2024, moderated by Dimitris Faloutsos, Deputy Regional Coordinator of GWP Mediterranean and Deputy Coordinator, Transboundary water cooperation theme, and co-organised with distinguished partners, Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), and SIWI.

The 'Resilient Thessaly' project, based on partnership between GWP-Med, the Municipality of Trikala and The Coca-Cola Foundation, will implement stormwater management works, within the frame of a holistic intervention aimed to strengthen the city's climate resilience in response to the devastating floods caused by storm Daniel in September 2023.