The Apex Governing Body of the Global Water Partnership (GP) today met in New Delhi to promote a Water Secure World for future. The meet was chaired by Member Planning Commission Abhijit Sen. Shri G.Mohan Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources represented the Indian side. The meting began with a call to ensure that the water flows required for the environment are maintained. It was highlighted in the meeting that with more and more people living in mega cities such as Delhi, increasing demand for water will stress existing water resources. We will need to produce more food with less water to feed a planet of 8 billion people by 2030. Energy demand will more than double in emerging economies in the next 25 years and hydropower will be a significant source of clean energy production. Floods and droughts, exacerbated by climate change, will continue to threaten farmer livelihoods and lowland (coastal) economies. The world is fast waking up to the immutable fact that water is scarce and finite and that the only way forward is to wisely manage this precious but finite resource. After all – water is life.
During the three day long deliberations the Global Steering Committee will not only experience the significant progress made in India with relation to water resources management, but also conduct deliberations to review GWP progress globally and set the strategy for the important and crucial work of the Partnership in helping countries achieve a water secure world.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) aims for a water secure world. It is an international network organisation with HQ at Stockholm, Sweden. GWP has been founded by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The objective is to foster the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources by maximizing economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems & environment. Through a network of 2,700 partners, in 161 countries and 83 country water partnerships in 13 regions, the GWP is a key ally in a nation’s quest to manage its water resources in an integrated, sustainable and an equitable way for its development activities. By engaging from the very local level to the global level, the GWP serves to connect the needs of a mother seeking clean water for her family, to a government formulating a national water policy. In South Asia, GWP Country Water Partnerships are national networks of dedicated and committed partner organizations, working to influence policy and advocate principles of Integrated Water Resources Management in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, especially regarding the major challenges of food security, rapid urbanization and adaptation to climate change. These Country Water Partnerships come together under the umbrella of a Regional Water Partnership for South Asia, namely GWP South Asia which is meeting in Delhi this week.