The 3rd Capacity Development workshop was held at the conference room of the SSNIT Guest House from 10th to 13th November, 2014 in Accra. The purpose of the workshop, among other things was to “Highlight Delivering of Investment Solution” for water security and climate resilient development. Also, it afforded participants the opportunity to increase their knowledge of practical steps needed to integrate no/low regret investments into the development planning process as well as how to develop financing strategies. The four-day programme was very educative and fun as participants embarked on an educational tour to the Akosombo dam, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Fisheries division, and Kpong Harbour, a fishing community at Kpong. Participants were provided with first-hand information on coping and adaptive strategies.
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.
The government of Lao PDR is working very constructively to improve the water resources planning and management system in Lao PDR especially in the formal higher education system.
Through the Lao Water Partnership, Mr. Chanthanet Boualapha, Director General of Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment who acts as chairperson of Lao Water Partnership opened the consultation on mainstreaming the IWRM in the formal higher education system. He expressed on the important of IWRM progress and application in Laos context for a decade as well as capacity building on this field. He also addressed the importance of the strengthening the local capacity in the whole country for IWRM decentralization and human resource development including emphasizing on integration and mainstreaming IWRM /IRBM approach into education system in each level.
The capacity needs for youth on IWRM in Lao PDR is strongly needed to advocate the knowledge and skills which they can further support and disseminate among their specific groups in the schools, universities and communities. Youth has more creative ideas and lots of activities related to environmental protection as well as some of water protection – water saving campaign, etc.
“Water security is at the heart of our global development challenge”, said GWP’s new Patron, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she spoke at Africa Water Week 2014 (AWW5) in Dakar, Senegal.
The Water, Climate and Development Programme in China has the objective to integrate water security and climate resilience in development planning processes, build climate resilience and support provinces to adapt to a new climate region through increased investment in water security.
The Water, Climate and Development Programme in the Caribbean has been developed to support water security and climate resilience in Caribbean states as a key part of sustainable regional and national development for economic growth and human security.
The Expert Task Force of the joint GWP/OECD Global Dialogue project met in Paris in November to evaluate their work on the economics of water security. The report will be finalized in the coming months, before the official version is presented at the World Water Forum in South Korea in April 2015.