WATER CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - WACDEP

The WACDEP Regional Programme Manager undertook a mission on 6 November 2015 on the program demonstration site in the municipality of Loumbila in Nakanbé (Volta Basin) in Burkina Faso.

The regional WACDEP team in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), GWP and the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) is working on an initiative to prepare the project for the implementation of integrated flood management and the development of bankable projects, through the Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM), the WACDEP coordination unit.

The village communities of Tampizua II in the Bawku Municipality and Azum Sapelga in the Binduri district of Northern Ghana are very happy with the field demonstration project being implemented in their communities. Located on the borders of the White Volta River these communities are experiencing various unfortunate situations such as floodings that are affecting their livelihoods because of climate related factors.

Water Resources Commission of Ghana and Ghana Country Water Partnhip (GWP Ghana) organize on 10 November 2015 a one day meeting in Bolgatenga (Northern Ghana) to validate a two parts study in preparation of the White Volta Basin (WVB) investment Plan. The report updates IWRM plan for the WVB and provides the framework for identifying water resources management and related challenges in the basin. It highlights the socioeconomic trends, population dynamics and the general water resources conditions in the basin.

A team of GWP-WA and CWP Burkina PNE had on June 11, 2015 a visit to assess the level of implementation of work on the site of the WACDEP demonstration project in Burkina Faso. This project involves the drip irrigation techniques for the efficient management of agricultural water for the benefit of vulnerable populations in the municipality of Loumbila in the center of the country.

Since the last visit in April 2015 there has been plowing work, the installation of some drip irrigation and water pumping equipment with solar energy, among others.

The Burkina WACDEP team had field trips in February (13th 2015) and March (13, 25 and 29) to first inform and discuss with interested parties on the progress of the demonstration project and find consensual solutions for the conduct of the project. Due to new budget limitation developments the intervention was reframed based on available financial resources.

In Burkina a national workshop was organized in February to validate the National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change (NAP). This workshop brought together a hundred participants to review the final version of the NAP document that integrated the amendments made by the workshop of April 1, 2014 including those on water security, water has been integrated as a cross cutting sector.

1. Ghana: WACDEP supports GWJN Way-forward exercise

CWP-Ghana/WACDEP has supported members of the Ghana WatSan Journalists Network (GWJN) to undertake a Field Exercise aimed at assessing residents’ access to portable water in some selected communities in Accra as part of activities marking the World Water Day. This is a Way forward activity of the Media Training that was carried out in September, 2014. There were about 20 participants drawn from the membership of the network including in the print, radio, online and television media. The activity was monitored by the Communications officer.