To inspire Caribbean journalists to report more on water, GWP Caribbean launched its first annual Media Awards on Water on 5 March 2012. The winner is Mr. Shane Hubbard, an Editor and Videographer from CNS TV6 in Guyana who produced a television piece under the theme “Water and Food Security”.
Water, the vital source of life, is a cross-cutting resource, water an essential component in building sustainable energy, food and health systems – sustainable livelihoods; yet water lacks recognition among the development sectors and policy makers; it is impossible to reach our vision of a water secure world if we continue to manage water in the future the same way as we do today; we need to stop the fragmentation of its management we need to act now for water for the future: these were some of the points raised at the roundtable the Global Water Partnership organised together with Stockholm International Water Institute at the Swedish Government Stockholm+40 conference on 23-25 April 2012.
En vue de la COP21, le Partenariat Mondial de l’Eau (Global Water Partnership, GWP) et l’Office Franco-Québecois de la Jeunesse unissent leurs forces pour mobiliser la Jeunesse Francophone sur les enjeux de l’Eau et du Changement Climatique.
“This Partnership is very important and its implementation should support Gambia in the sustainable management of its water resources ... The government and my department will provide all necessary support to do so,” said Mrs Fatou Sosseh Jallow, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Minister in charge of water of the Gambia at the official ceremony establishing GWP Gambia on 20 December 2011.
GWP conducted a training course on the “Application of the GWP IWRM ToolBox” at the Yerevan State University in Armenia, 25-26 April 2012. One of the main purposes of the training was to demonstrate how the GWP IWRM ToolBox can be used in university curricula.
Participants at the Fourth Yangtze River Forum April 18-19, 2011 in Nanjing discussed the development, management and protection of the Yangtze River. The theme of the Forum, “Yangtze River and regional development”, was jointly initiated by GWP China and organizations.
The International Roundtable on Protection and Sustainable Use of Transboundary Waters in Southeastern Europe was held on the 15th and 16th of December 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia.
Government Ministers with responsibility for water in the Caribbean are scheduled to meet at the 7th Annual High Level Session (HLS) Ministerial Forum on October 6th and 7th, 2011 in Guadeloupe. The HLS is convened annually by the Global Water Partnership Caribbean in collaboration with the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA).
Until recently it was rare for water professionals to consider financing issues. Water advocacy and plans were often aspirational – neglecting to show where the money would come from, how activities would be financed or who would pay for them. It was as if finance was somebody else’s problem. Likewise, people from the finance sector have not given great importance to water related issues. However, this situation is changing and finance is becoming an essential topic in water management circles.
GWP participated in the third Nile Basin Discourse Forum for the Equatorial Lakes region, 15-16 September 2011, Kampala, Uganda.