Accra, Jan. 24, GNA - The Water Resource Commission (WRC) on Monday launched a quarterly Newsletter 'WATERFRONT' to focus on current issues that affect the water sector and those that are raised in the media. The 16-page magazine would also capture the new insights in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) gained from international conferences, special features on non-governmental organisations' campaigns and activities of traditional authorities on water resources issues.

The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) are funding the publication.

Dr Charles A. Biney, Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission said to fulfil their mandate awareness would be created through the interaction with many different groups about water use, water availability and pollution hazards within the context of IWRM. "It is in realisation of this, that the WRC has prepared a Communication Strategy and Action Plan to assist it in playing the expected role as a communicator of messages."

He said the main objective of the strategy was to raise consciousness of organisations and individuals towards changing their behaviour into positive attitudes about Ghana's water and other natural resources.

It will also provide a management tool for the commission to administer its public awareness and other information activities more efficiently.

Dr Biney was grateful to DANIDA for its continuing support to the activities of the Commission and called on journalists and all stakeholders to contribute articles to the newsletter to nurture it into an effective forum of exchange of information.

Dr Sven Jacobi, Senior Adviser, WRC, announced that a drafted water resource policy has been developed to focus on an integrated approach to water resources management.

He said the document was being revisited as an integral part of preparing a consolidated national water policy, which included policies for provision of rural and urban water supplies. Dr Jacobi said two river basins - Densu and White Volta were selected as pilots to test capacity building, participation and public awareness strategies, regulations and water resources planning within a decentralised administrative framework with the river basins as the unit for planning.

He said a new five-year strategy and implementation plan was designed to consolidate the results achieved up to now and expand the WRC's operations with emphasis on collaboration with the other sector partners.

It has also targeted efforts towards establishing appropriate decentralised structures for IWRM activities in additional river basins countrywide.