There have been many dialogues and seminars on river pollution in the past 20 years or so. Generally everyone agrees that as a country, we desperately need to do something about the sad state of our rivers, especially when we hope to achieve developed nation status by 2020. However, we have not been successful in translating consensus at these forums into changes on the ground.
Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) with the support of its partner, the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, spearheaded the first-ever Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Knowledge Management Workshop to be held in the Caribbean.
More than twenty (20) stakeholders in St. Lucia from Ministries of Public Utilities and Finance and other government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, water and wastewater managers, legal practitioners, among others were trained in the area of Water Financing in a workshop held in St. Lucia on May 28th and 29th, 2013 put on by the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and the National Water and Sewerage Commission (NWSC) of St. Lucia.
In response to the drought and water shortage in the north of Chile, in 2012 several proposals were put forward to carry water from the central-south zone to the northern zone. Two projects, one French and the other Spanish, propose carrying water through the sea and across the land respectively.
Many dialogues and seminars on river pollution have been organised over the past 20 years. Generally there is an agreement that countries desperately need to do something about the sad state of rivers, especially in countries which hope to achieve developed nation status by 2020.
“An integrated approach to managing and developing the world’s water resources is vital for not only driving world economies, ensuring human well-being and security from hunger, but can also serve as an essential building block for enhancing coherence on adaptation,” said Dr. Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, Chair of GWP at a side event at the Bonn climate change negotiations. “Water is the connecting link because climate impacts are largely felt through the medium of water,” she said.
Every three years since 1997, the World Water Forum, organised by the World Water Council, is one of the main international platforms for discussions about water.
GWP Honduras has published two new documents to contribute to the national discussion on water security and local water management.
“Media is our strategic partner—without it, we expect low levels of awareness, and slow change in water unfriendly practices and policies-”
Left to right - Mike Ramaano, GWPSA Regional Programme, Permanent Secretary for Special Affairs Office of the President – Mr. T. Musukutwa, & Mr. R. Tekateka, GWPSA Advisor during the WACDEP Zimbabwe launch