News and Activities

A 5-million year old lake at the heart of the Western Balkans, which combines historical monuments and ecological treasures and is home to more than 300 endemic species, and with over 130,000 people living along its shores, Lake Ohrid is definitely a natural treasure worth protecting.

Cross-sectoral solutions to address WEFE Nexus resource management tradeoffs were discussed on 26 May 2021, at the meeting on “Nexus Solutions and Investments in the Western Balkans”, co-organised by UNECE, Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med), and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Expert Group Meeting on Flow Regulation and Environmental Flows in the Drina River basin was held virtually on March 29. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the needs for applying environmental flows and formalizing flow regulation in the Basin.

In an interview for GWP-Med Newsflow, Rasmus Rodhe, Acting MENA Regional Director and Regional Programme Manager – Democracy, answers our questions on the new Sida Strategy for MENA 2021-2025.

As a 32-year-old raised and living in Tunisia and a GWP-Med team member working on its MENA agenda, Dr Sondos Njoumi has a unique insight into youth and women’s mindset in relation to sustainability efforts for environmental and water issues.

On 25 March 2021, GWP-Med organised a training on the newly developed Drin Information Management System. It was attended by 17 representatives from related ministries, institutions, local governments, NGOs and international organizations active within the Drin basin.

The Valuation of Ecosystem Services of Lake Ohrid, under the GEF Drin Project, was one of the key inputs informing the development of the Lake Ohrid Watershed Management Plan, now approved by the responsible authorities of Albania and North Macedonia.

A virtual Launching event for our publication Empowering Women in Water Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa: A Comparative Study of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine will be held on Monday, 15 March 2021, 13:00-15:00 CET.

Twenty-five years ago, the European Union and the Southern Mediterranean partners committed to turning the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation, guaranteeing peace, stability and prosperity. The 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration reminds us that a strengthened Mediterranean partnership remains a strategic imperative for the European Union, as the challenges the region continues to face require a common response. Recognising growing interdependences, the new Agenda for the Mediterranean aspires to turn common challenges into opportunities, in a mutual interest approach. Servicing these, regional cooperation efforts will continue, with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as a focal point, supporting sub-regional and inter-regional cooperation, including with African partners, and joint initiatives between partner countries across the board.