Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) should be organized on the relevant scale of the basins of rivers, lakes and aquifers, especially when they are transboundary. But significant progress should be made to move from theory to practice and take concrete action for transboundary cooperation on water wherever necessary, regarding surface waters and groundwater as well.

The global focus on the threats posed by climate change has drawn attention to the fact that water will be the medium through which many of its impacts will be felt. In addition to the direct impacts of damaging floods and interruptions to water supply due to drought, a particular concern in many regions is the threat to food security, driven by changing rainfall patterns and increased aridity.

The twin engines of urbanisation and resource depletion will undermine efforts to achieve water security: water availability will be eroded and conflicts will escalate. The assumptions underlying conventional urban water management must be revisited. This paper outlines the effects of urbanization on water security and how the challenges of urban water resources management can be tackled. The paper provides the conceptual framework for a particular topic and the options for action.

This new paper by Global Water Partnership sets out an overarching framework for the analysis of equity in the context of water development and management.

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) held a workshop of policymakers and international and regional experts working on the South Asian region in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 23–24 February to explore new ways of promoting ‘out-of-the box’ thinking about the region’s food and water security issues.

This handbook provides guidance for improving the governance of freshwater resources, in particular through effective implementation of the integrated water resources management

Advancing water security to reduce poverty and environmental degradation. Ensuring that water is a key part of national development amid growing competition for water. Addressing critical development challenges to water security such as climate change. These goals lie at the heart of the vision and mission of GWP and its partners.

This perspective document addresses water as a primary medium through which climate change will have an impact on people, ecosystems and economies, and aims at achieving and sustaining water security through water resources management in order to build resilience to current climate variability, while building capacity to adapt to future climate change.

The Global Water Partnership

There is no doubt that the world needs to take a more integrated and sustainable approach to the development and management of water resources. Through its activities in sub-Saharan Africa, the Global Water Partnership (GWP) is helping regions and countries to advance in this direction by encouraging the appliication of a participatory approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).