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A regional workshop to review and finalize the project document on the "Dialogue on the Concerted Management of Groundwater in West Africa" ​​was held from 10 to 12 July 2013 in Koudougou, Burkina Faso.

Coordination and facilitation bodies (CFBs) and instruments play the very important role of articulating and harmonizing the actions and visions of the numerous entities concerned with water management. Whether it is at the international, national, or even regional level, mediators are always needed in dealing with water related issues. Tools under this section can be seen as tying strings for an IWRM strategy and for good water governance to crystalize.

GWP Costa Rica has been invited to participate in a pilot project on the improvement of the availability of water. About 61% of the country’s 4.3 million people are located in urban areas, and while there has been significant progress in the past decade in expanding access to water supply and sanitation, the sector faces key challenges in low sanitation connections, poor service quality, and low cost recovery.

The paper explores how international law facilitates transboundary cooperation in a manner that is accessible to the wider transboundary water community. It discusses the norms and principles contained in treaties and rules of customary law and examines how these work in selected case studies from across the GWP network. This is a Technical Background Paper, written by the GWP Technical Committee, a group of internationally recognised professionals in integrated water resources management.

This policy brief explains the importance of cooperation between states in order to resolve water problems and share limited resources. It describes where the critical challenges lie and which international laws and instruments are available to solve conflicts between States that have competing claims. Policy briefs provide policy makers with information on water resources management. They are written by the GWP Technical Committee, a group of internationally recognised professionals in integrated water resources management.

Due to substantial population growth putting increased pressure on the water resources, their quality has started to deteriorate. This is perceived as a serious issue since water is inseparably linked with the socio, economical and cultural aspects of livelihoods. Action was taken through an integrated lake conservation programme, aiming to improve water quality. The most important lesson learnt is that awareness raising, education and stakeholder participation are essential. 

The most pressing problem facing the Songkhla Lake Basin is land degradation and water pollution caused by land use changes and shrimp farming expansion. Action was taken to combat these issues and an Integrated Environmental Management approach was applied. The key lesson of this case is that replacing blueprint master planning approaches with process oriented planning frameworks increased sustainability significantly.

The Detailed Assessment on the Capacity Building Needs in Mozambique (GWP, 2013) states that Mozambique is extremely vulnerable to climate related disaster such as floods, droughts and cyclones, with a recurrence frequency estimated at 1.67, meaning at-least one event occurs every year. Mozambique is also amongst the most affected countries by “large scale” natural disasters in the world. There is a great need therefore to build capacities in managing climate change.  To address that need, the Global Water Partnership’s Water, Climate, and Development Programme (WACDEP) for Mozambique was formally introduced through a capacity building awareness workshop at a launch that was held in Maputo, Mozambique on the 18^th March 2014.

Water policy goals for a sustainable future will be at the top of the agenda when 1200 participants get together in Hungary for the Budapest Water Summit next week. A delegation from GWP will emphasize the need for a dedicated water goal on the post-2015 agenda.