Nepal Water Partnership
The Nepal National Water Week Organizing Committee headed by the Secretary of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), Government of Nepal, organized Nepal National Water Week (NNWW) from 17th to 23rd March, 2012. Activities were carried out under the themes of advocacy, research, awareness, publication and capacity building. GWP Nepal/JVS was part of the main organizing committee which comprised members from the government, non-government institutions, academic institutions and business houses.
The week aims to highlight the theme of the World Water Day-2012 "Water and Food Security" by addressing the impact of climate change and pollution on water resources and their implications on food security. One of the major events was a Policy Dialogue on Groundwater Security in Kathmandu Valley, organized by GWP Nepal. Global Water Partnership Nepal (GWP Nepal)/ Jalsrot Vikas Sanstha (JVS) joined hands with financial contributions to host the programs and water experts from GWP Nepal/JVS attended the conference as resource persons.
Bangladesh Water Partnership
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This year the Government of Bangladesh celebrated the World Water Day in all the 64 administrative districts of the country. Previously the celebration had been limited to few large cities. For the first time BWP acted as a cosponsor of this country wide mega event.
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BWP also participated in the main celebrations, a workshop on “Water & Food Security”. Mr. Ramesh Chandra Sen MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (GoB) was the Chief Guest and Sekh Altaf Ali, Senior Secretary, MoWR, GoB was the Special Guest of this workshop. Mr. AKM Shahiduzzaman, Director General, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Chaired the workshop, while Ms. Kamrun Nahar Khanam , Additional Secretary, MoWR, GoB made the opening remarks.
Leading professionals in water and agriculture sector emphasized the significance and importance of Water and Food Security. This interactive and participatory session explored ways to improve water and food security in a word where water is increasingly becoming a scale resource. Dr. Khondaker Azharul Haq, Vice President, BWP participated as a designated discussant on the papers presented. Ms. K. M. Zeba Rahman, Executive Secretary, BWP and Ms. Mukta Akter, Accounts & Administration officer, BWP also participated in the event.
BWP along with BWP Bangladesh Water Integrity Network (BAWIN), Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) and NGO Forum also organized a “Human chain” which was formed in front of Press Club, Dhaka to highlight importance of integrity in the water sector. Ms. K. M. Zeba Rahman, Executive Secretary, BWP and Ms. Mukta Akter, Accounts & Administration officer, BWP also participated in the event.
In addition to this, the Surma Area Water Partnership also conducted a seminar on Integrated Haor (large natural low land lakes) and Wetland Resources Management for Food & Water Security in observance of World Water
Sri Lanka Water Partnership
An Annual Schools essay and debate competition organized by Maha Oya Area Water Partnership was held with the participation of 145 students. Prizes were awarded at a ceremony held on 22nd April at Molagoda MV in Kegalle
- Sisu Jala Hamuwa World Water Day programme was held as a collaborative activity with the local Lions Club, PGIA and cap Net Lanka. 200 students and 5 teachers participated in this programme which was coordinated by the Capnet Country coordinator Dr. LW Galagedera.
- The World Water Day programme organized by Nilwala Area Water Partnership was held on 2nd May at the Faculty of Agriculture University of Ruhuna. 250 students and 50 teachers from local schools attended this event at which the Vice Chancellor of the University was Chief Guest and Deputy VC was the Guest of Honor. Certificates were issued to 45 students who participated in the Essay competition and 32 and 30 students in the Senior/Junior oratorical contest.
A Gender and Water Dialogue was also organized as part of the activities to mark World Water Day
India Water Partnership
World Water Day Celebration at Kholan village of Titlagada block, Bolangir district (Orissa)
GWP-India with the support of partner NGO Udyama, Bhubaneshwar celebrated World Water Day on 22nd March, 2012 and conducted a workshop on community livelihood resilience on climate change. Both events were organized at Kholan G.P Head Quarter of Kholan of Titlagada block, Bolangir district (Orissa). Women SHG members, Anganwadi, ASHA workers, youths, children government officials and the PRI members participated in the World Water Day Celebration. Titlagad is a hot and drought prone area with severe drinking water problem.A rally with the participants with play cards and banner depicting the message of World Water Day started from the Kholan. The main objective of the rally was to educate the community on how to obtain and conserve the fresh water and save water at an individual in the community, thus increasing availability of water for households.
World Water Day Celebration at Dhenkanal District, Orissa
GWP-India organized the World Water Day or Vishwa Jala Divas with the support of partner NGO; Arun Institute of Rural Affairs, Dhenkanal District, Orissa and the participation of school children from Kadua and Bhagirathipur villages of Dhenkanal district, Orissa. More than 250 students both boys & girls marched the village streets with placards bearing slogans ‘save water’, ‘save our planet’ in their attempt to educate and improve awareness among the community members. Apart from the school teachers, school committee members, Director Arun Institute of Rural Affairs, Parimal Area Water Partnership Convener and volunteers played a supportive role in observing and reminding the community of the Day’s importance.
Celebration of World Water Day at Greater NOIDA and Meerut City, Uttar Pradesh
On the occasion of World Water Day, GWP-India with the support of its network partner Janhit Foundation, Meerut, organized an Inter college debate competition at Greater NOIDA March 21, 2012 at Radha Govind College and on 22nd April, 2012, the World Water Day was celebrated at Deewan VS Institute of Engineering, Meerut. The events took place with the participation of 16 teams from different colleges. The topic of the debate was ‘Water should be considered a National Property’ and the students shared their views on ownership and non-ownership of water resources as a National property (national or private). The guests at Radha Govind College were Mr. Sanjay Rana (Director, Aqua Foundation) and Dr. Veena Khanduri (Executive Secretary, IWP). Similarly, the Chief Guest at the Meerut function were Ms. Madhu Gujjar (Mayor – Meerut) and the other honored guests were Dr. Veena Khanduri (Executive Secretary, IWP), Mr. Prabhat Roy (Retd. PCS Officer) and Ms. Anvita Aggarwal (Professor, R G College, Meerut). Dr. Sanjeev Kaushik (Director – Deewan College), Dr. Vineet Kumar (Dean – Deewan College) and Dr. P. K. Aggarwal (Director – Deewan Management College) were also present at the event as special guests.
Celebration of World Water Day at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
GWP-India with the support of partner NGO; Neer Foundation (Meerut) organized one more event on the occasion of World Water Day, at Meerut from 22nd March, 2012 to 24th March, 2012. On March 22nd, a walk for water was organized in which 200 school children, social workers and community members participated. The walk started from Chaudhary Charan Singh Park situated in the heart of the city, crossed District Magistrate office and ended back at Chaudhary Charan Singh park. Dr. Veena Khanduri, Executive Secretary, GWP-India showed the green flag to flag off the march.
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Celebration of World Water Day at Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
India Water Partnership (GWP India) Central Zonal Water Partnership Coordinating Agency Navdeep, organized World Water Day 2012, in Indore city, Madhya Pradesh, to integrate school education with water saving, health, hygiene and sanitation awareness. The programme which was first of its kind, has not only generated thinking among school children on water conservation, hygiene and sanitation but also motivated school teachers to provide information to students as to how habits of using safe water can be improved among children living in slum areas.
Pakistan Water Partnership
Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP) and its Area Water Partnerships (AWPs) actively celebrated World Water Day 2012 on 22 March 2012 at Islamabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Quetta, Mastung, Lahore, Sanghar and in many other cities of Pakistan. An awareness walk was organized at Islamabad to makr the event. Word Water Day Celebrations were also undertaken by Southern Districts AWP in Dera Ismail Khan on 22nd March 2012. The event was celebrated at Stars Foundation School, University Road, Dera Ismail Khan. The Bolan and Sarawan AWPs also celebrated World Water Day in Quetta and Mastung on 22 March 2012 and displayed awareness banners at prominent places in both cities. Awareness material was distributed among general public and school students.
Bhutan Water Partnership
Bhutan Water Partnership in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and SNV-Bhutan held celebrations to mark World Water Day 2012. The purpose of the program was to create public awareness on water and its related issues and to plan actions on the ground for positive changes. Ceremonial functions were carried out, followed by an exhibition and performances presented by over 1500 students and teachers from 16 schools. Simultaneously, eight schools also took action by adopting a number of streams and a section of the main river flowing through the heart of the capital city. After the official adoption of the river and the streams, the students, teachers and local community members conducted cleaning of the stream and public awareness activities.
The schools presented a mixture of presentations on the themes that were adopted for the day such as: Water for Sanitation, Water for Hygiene, Water for Drinking and Water for Environment. A number of government agencies that are stakeholders in water issues participated in the program.