The annual meeting of the GWP SAS Regional Council, chaired by the Regional Chair was held with the participation of Regional Council members, Network Specialist of South Asia, Chairs and Coordinators of the Country Water Partnership (CWP), the Regional Coordinator and Programme Officer and a few more special invitees representing GWP Nepal. In addition to the 25 participants attending the meeting physically, there were a few other presenters, and an RC member joined the meeting online.
Ms Kusum Athukorala, the Regional Chair (former) started off the meeting and welcomed the participants to the 29th Regional Council meeting. Mr Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Lévesque, Network Specialist for GWP SAS (former) and China welcomed the regional council members following the Chair and refreshed their memories on GWP Strategy 2020-2025, mobilising for a water secure world, through a short presentation. He further briefed on the global programmes executed in 2023 and planned for 2024 against the strategy. He wished all a successful meeting.
After the adoption of 28th RC meeting minutes and the agenda of the 29th meeting, the Regional Coordinator gave a detailed operational and financial update on the activities carried out by the region during 2023.
Some of the prominent regional activities were engaging in organising multi-stakeholder dialogues for SDG 6.5.1 reporting in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka through GWP-initiated SDG Support Programme-Stage 1. Furthermore, based on the periodic assessments conducted by the country, Nepal formulated an IWRM Action Plan, an appropriate governance response to strengthen areas that require further support under Stage 2 support and waiting for implementation under Stage 3. The next highlight was the 2nd NDA Readiness Project which is being implemented in Sri Lanka and funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) where GWP plays the role of Delivery Partner while the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka is the National Designated Authority (NDA). The project started on 16 June 2022 and will be carried out through December 2024. The Project Management Unit (PMU) initiated providing accreditation support for Direct Access Entities (DAEs), launched the development of climate-smart national Green Growth Strategy (GGS), hired a consultancy firm for ideation and development of potential GCF projects and worked towards operationalizing the data and information portal developed by ICRAF in 2023.
The launching of the Youth and Young Water Professionals’ Platform (YYPP) was another highlight of the regional portfolio which was held in April 2023. Brandix Apparel Limited, one of the leading apparel companies based in the region, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India showed their interest to engage in youth and water initiatives in the region and signed a five-year-long partnership agreement with the GWP on behalf of GWP SAS on the World Water Day 2023. The first activity under the MoU was the South Asia Youth Water Challenge 2023 which awarded USD 2,500 to the winning team to implement the project. The winning team is from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka which was selected out of 33 regional youth-led project proposals on water management.
The rest of the two regional initiatives that are being implemented at the country level are the Global Water Leadership (GWL) programme that is being implemented in Nepal which brings water resources management and Water Sanitation and Hygiene fields together and the Built Water Storage in South Asia to enhance water security in the region project, where GWP SAS partners with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). GWP Country Water Partnerships in Bangladesh and Bhutan play a key role in implementing the activity on the ground.
The finance and audit reports of the South Asia Region and overview of regional components of GWP SAS 2024 Workplan and Budget were shared, and the Country Coordinators started presenting their respective country progresses made in 2023 and workplan for 2024. In this session, in addition to the CORE programme, how these Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) contributed to the regional projects and the initiatives they have exclusively started at the country level to mobilise resources were also discussed in detail. The time allocated for questions and answers was able to bring more clarity on these projects to the participants. GWP Bhutan mobilising resources through GEF small grants and Water and Sanitation and Nepal developing and operationalising gender responsive Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) in two municipalities supported by the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) – Partnership Actions Fund (PAF) were some of the key achievements at the country level.
The discussions continued and there were specific presentations on gender, youth, and communications. There were sessions on learning exchange where the participants were introduced to a new concept “initiative to the Asia Regional water replenishment”.
The issues related to GWP SAS governance were also discussed at this meeting as this is the most appropriate gathering to take such matters to the discussion table. Some issues were sorted out and some were postponed or made plans to follow up depending on the urgency and importance of the matter. It was concluded that it is most unlikely to have a physical meeting for the next year due to the given financial crisis within the organisation and also all agreed on the importance of regularising a mid-year virtual gathering. All agreed that this was a highly productive two-day meeting and thanked the organisers especially the GWP Nepal Team for organising the flawless meeting.
Ms Athukorala, closing the meeting, thanked all attendees of the 29th Regional Council meeting. She reminded the participants of the importance of the regional presence at the upcoming 10th World Water Forum in Bali. She further stated that even though it had been a very difficult year for GWP in terms of its finances, the key strength of our region is that we were able to sustain the activities and use the shortcomings as opportunities to grow. Moreover, we should move forward with the resource mobilisation efforts and should try to reduce the dependency on CORE funding.
Mr Tremblay-Lévesque, delivering his vote of thanks, brought five key priority areas in governance to attention in order to maintain the integrity and sustainability of the regional portfolio. Further, he introduced the nominated Executive Secretary for GWP, Mr Alan Atkinson who will be starting his tenure from 1 February 2024 onwards after the conclusion of Mr. Per Bertilsson’s tenure as the Interim Executive Secretary, to the forum. As the former Vice-President of SIDA, it is expected that Mr Atkinson is coming with the hope of reviving the network and mobilising funds efficiently.
