Global Water Partners to hold consultative meeting in Accra

A two-day Global Water Partnership (GWP) consultative meeting opens in Accra from Monday, 17 June. A statement in Accra by GWP said over 400 delegates from the partnership, a global network of water experts, would be attending the meeting, which is the seventh and a follow-up to the recent Accra water conference.

The meeting will discuss how effective water management can contribute to sustainable development in the framework of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

The West African Water Partnership (WAWP) in liaison with the Water Resources Commission and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) will host the meeting, which will discuss among other topics, the importance of water and water related issues in the scheme of NEPAD.

The proliferation of trans-boundary water resources and the challenges they pose in Africa will also be among the core issues to be deliberated on as well as the various actions being taken globally to seek solution and implement programmes to tackle water resources development and management problems with a particular focus on Africa.

The statement said the meeting was of particular significance for the on-going preparations towards the world summit on sustainable development scheduled for Johannesburg in September and the world water forum to be held in Kyoto, Japan in March 2003.

It is thus expected to lay the framework that will culminate in further enhancement of co-ordination mechanisms to harness and share the full potential of the water resources to stimulate and sustain growth for economic development.

Established in 1996, GWP is a network of water experts, institutions and individuals united towards the promotion of integrated water resource management and help countries translate into concrete actions the principles of integrated water resources management endorsed by the Dublin and Rio conferences in 1992.