Watertalk - January 2012

Dear WPP Friends: Happy New Year!

I would like to welcome you to WaterTalk, the first of a series of newsletters from the World Bank Water Partnership Program.

Established in 2009, the WPP is a multi-donor program that funds much of the World Bank's technical work in water. Through the WPP, we are able to respond to the emerging needs of countries and bring innovative solutions and transformative knowledge to help them resolve complex water challenges.

Sharing experiences and lessons learned is one of WPP's most important contributions to the water sector.

With this newsletter, the WPP is moving from bookshelf to broadband to bring news, information and knowledge to the global water community.

We hope you find it informative and useful and we welcome your comments.

Jose Luis Irigoyen Director, Transport, Water and Information Communication Technology Department Sustainable Development Network

IN THIS ISSUE Replicating Successful Approaches in Urban Water Management An example of how the Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approach to city water management in Latin America is being transferred to other regions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Supporting Innovation: Water Hackathon Generates Solutions Computer programmers, designers and other information technology specialists gathered in 10 different cities to come up with innovative solutions to water problems.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------GETTING WET! The Water Expert Team The one-stop shop for high-level, on-demand technical support in the water sector to World Bank project teams.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Improving Social Collaboration: SmartLessons Award This SmartLessons on the WPP-funded Rural Water Supplies Collaborative (RWSC), highlights the successes and challenges of building an interactive, virtual community of WBG staff around rural water supply.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Worth Reading: WPP Briefing Notes and other Publications Selected WPP activities in Colombia, Ethiopia, and Georgia that helped address complex water challenges in World Bank projects.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Driving Change in Water: WPP’s Annual Report

Meet the WPP TEAM

The 2010 Annual Report “Driving Change in Water” provides an overview of the Program’s accomplishments and outlines future directions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOWLEDGE EVENTS Evaluating Water risks for Banks and Investors in a Changing Climate The WPP joined forces with UNEP FI, CI and AGWA to organize a full day workshop for water practitioners on managing water risks in the context of climate change.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Including Climate Change in Hydrologic Project Design The WPP, CI, IADB and AGWA organized a workshop on key hydrologic approaches to project design. Participants debated the uncertainties and usefulness associated with various approaches.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Building Capacity: The WPP Supports Impact Evaluation in South Asia The WPP co-funded a 5-day workshop for World Bank operations teams, government officials, donor representatives, and researchers in Bangladesh.

http://www.worldbank.org/water/wpp