The Ministers will evaluate the progress towards the protection and sustainable use of water and other ecological resources and reaffirm and strengthen their commitment to transboundary cooperation in the Danube River Basin.
The Danube River Basin Management Plan, which has been developed jointly by all countries of the Danube River Basin in the framework of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, will be adopted and henceforward be the basis for the sustainable development of the Danube Basin. Over 200 experts have been working on this plan over the past 4 years under the guidance of the ICPDR.
As the highlight of the meeting, the ministers of all Danube countries will endorse a ‘Danube Declaration’, which expresses the commitment to further reinforce transboundary cooperation on sustainable water resource management within the Danube River Basin.
]]>The Ministers will evaluate the progress towards the protection and sustainable use of water and other ecological resources and reaffirm and strengthen their commitment to transboundary cooperation in the Danube River Basin.
The Danube River Basin Management Plan, which has been developed jointly by all countries of the Danube River Basin in the framework of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, will be adopted and henceforward be the basis for the sustainable development of the Danube Basin. Over 200 experts have been working on this plan over the past 4 years under the guidance of the ICPDR.
As the highlight of the meeting, the ministers of all Danube countries will endorse a ‘Danube Declaration’, which expresses the commitment to further reinforce transboundary cooperation on sustainable water resource management within the Danube River Basin.
]]>Participation is opened on invitation ONLY to members and observers of the Water Expert Group -WEG.
This WEG meeting focused on the elaboration of a new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean based on the proposal of the Technical Drafting Group -TDG-. The TDG was defined at the last WEG meeting in Athens in September 2009 (composed of Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Spain, Syria, Croatia, the European Commission and the League of Arab States). The TDG is meeting in Madrid on 4 February 2010 to prepare the first draft verion of the text of the new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean.
This strategy is aimed to be adopted at the next Ministerial Conference on Water, 12-14 April 2010, in Spain.
]]>Participation is opened on invitation ONLY to members and observers of the Water Expert Group -WEG.
This WEG meeting focused on the elaboration of a new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean based on the proposal of the Technical Drafting Group -TDG-. The TDG was defined at the last WEG meeting in Athens in September 2009 (composed of Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Spain, Syria, Croatia, the European Commission and the League of Arab States). The TDG is meeting in Madrid on 4 February 2010 to prepare the first draft verion of the text of the new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean.
This strategy is aimed to be adopted at the next Ministerial Conference on Water, 12-14 April 2010, in Spain.
]]>During this training course an overview of state of the art modeling techniques and hands-on training for specific models will be provided. The course will be organized by FutureWater and venue is Wageningen, Netherlands. Training will be provided by FutureWater staff that has multiple years of professional modeling experiences world-wide.
This course is geared towards water professionals working in developed and developing countries. The course will cover the essentials of hydrology, crop growth and climate change modeling concepts to support decision making and hands-on exercises to become familiar with the models. The lectures and exercises do not require extensive modeling background. More experienced professionals will have the opportunity to work with their own data during the exercises. ]]>During this training course an overview of state of the art modeling techniques and hands-on training for specific models will be provided. The course will be organized by FutureWater and venue is Wageningen, Netherlands. Training will be provided by FutureWater staff that has multiple years of professional modeling experiences world-wide.
This course is geared towards water professionals working in developed and developing countries. The course will cover the essentials of hydrology, crop growth and climate change modeling concepts to support decision making and hands-on exercises to become familiar with the models. The lectures and exercises do not require extensive modeling background. More experienced professionals will have the opportunity to work with their own data during the exercises. ]]>Environmental problems are essentially interdisciplinary. Engineers and scientists working in this field must be familiar with a wide range of issues including the physical processes of mixing and dilution, chemical and biological processes, mathematical modelling, data acquisition and measurement, to name but a few. In view of the scarcity of available data, it is important that experiences are shared on an international basis. Thus, a continuous exchange of information between scientists from different countries is essential.
]]>Environmental problems are essentially interdisciplinary. Engineers and scientists working in this field must be familiar with a wide range of issues including the physical processes of mixing and dilution, chemical and biological processes, mathematical modelling, data acquisition and measurement, to name but a few. In view of the scarcity of available data, it is important that experiences are shared on an international basis. Thus, a continuous exchange of information between scientists from different countries is essential.
]]>Due to the above, it is of vital importance to promote the development of a national and international strategy to provide the necessary tools for making headway in controlling situations of water shortage and drought; i.e., changing from a crisis management system that is focused on immediate reaction to the problems posed by drought, well-planned system for preventing water shortage and drought.
In accordance with these ambitious objectives, on 18 and 19 February 2010, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs will be organising an International Water Scarcity and Drought Conference, "The path to climate change adaptation".
This conference, which is being organised in collaboration with other countries and has the support of the European Commission, aims to give a response to the principal issues raised with respect to developing a new management concept in situations of drought and water shortage, and it is expected that specialists from all over the world with wide experience in managing these situations will be taking part
]]>Due to the above, it is of vital importance to promote the development of a national and international strategy to provide the necessary tools for making headway in controlling situations of water shortage and drought; i.e., changing from a crisis management system that is focused on immediate reaction to the problems posed by drought, well-planned system for preventing water shortage and drought.
In accordance with these ambitious objectives, on 18 and 19 February 2010, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs will be organising an International Water Scarcity and Drought Conference, "The path to climate change adaptation".
This conference, which is being organised in collaboration with other countries and has the support of the European Commission, aims to give a response to the principal issues raised with respect to developing a new management concept in situations of drought and water shortage, and it is expected that specialists from all over the world with wide experience in managing these situations will be taking part
]]>The objectives of the MELIA are to:
· build a knowledge base for planning IWRM, based on the integration of the widest possible contributions;
· develop awareness on social, cultural, economic and technical issues related to water management at the Mediterranean scale;
· propose participation mechanisms and prevention tools to avoid competition for the allocation of the resource between the regions and the various water users;
· support sustainable water policies by provide the institutions with criteria accepted by a various stakeholders of the participating countries;
· provide indicators to implement benchmarking of IWRM in the Mediterranean region;
· facilitate the development of a common language to contribute to water-related negotiations.
These objectives are achieved by creating a common knowledge base and encouraging dialogue among partners through interactive site and through organizing thematic workshops. The 4th workshop will be devoted to benchmarking exercise and recommendations on the application of the water framework directive.
The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/E) is the most substantial piece of water legislation ever produced by the European Commission, and will provide the major driver for achieving sustainable management of water in the Member States and non-EU countries implementing it for many years to come. It requires that all inland and coastal waters within defined river basin districts must reach at least good status by 2015 and defines how this should be achieved through the establishment of environmental objectives and ecological targets for surface waters. The result will be a healthy water environment achieved by taking due account of environmental, economic and social considerations.
The Directive is relevant to achieving and maintaining a clean and well-managed water environment, including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, wetlands, groundwater and estuaries and coastal waters - all typical components of a river basin. It will have an impact, to a greater or lesser extent, on a wide range of people and activities such as water consumers and recreational users, agriculture, industry and business activities.
The objective of this workshop to be held in Amman (Jordan) next 21-25 March 2010; is going to be focused on enhancing cooperative discussion. In order to allow plenty of time for roundtable and practical working sessions, the country presentations will be limited to comparative studies.
Themes of the WorkshopThe workshop will address the following bullet topics :
· Exploratory Benchmarking Exercise
o Benchmarking definition: measurement of reference performance indicators by comparison from areas where a high degree of performance has been recognized.
o Identification of targets and thresholds for the definition of a common list of performance indicators for benchmarking in the different Mediterranean countries.
o Establishment of a benchmarking plan and schedule.
· Recommendations on the application of the WFD
o Main requirements of the WFD.
o Problems and perspectives linked to the WFD implementation.
o Experience and knowledge transfer in Mediterranean countries to develop recommendations.
The structure of the Workshop, to be presented at the beginning of the Workshop by the Work Package co-leader (P44-REMOC), will consist in a number of Key-Note lectures on the above bullet topics, and a few oral presentations on comparative studies on some national strategies and the Water Framework Directive. Participants will be divided into work groups on each topic, to further develop their areas of interest. Also, a discussion on the results of the three work groups will be carried out before the official closing of the Workshop.
Parallel to this workshop, the international conference of GEWAMED project entitled; "Integration of Gender Dimensions in Water Management" will be organized. The opening session will be between GEWAMED conference and MELIA project which coincide also with celebration of the World Water Day.
]]>
The objectives of the MELIA are to:
· build a knowledge base for planning IWRM, based on the integration of the widest possible contributions;
· develop awareness on social, cultural, economic and technical issues related to water management at the Mediterranean scale;
· propose participation mechanisms and prevention tools to avoid competition for the allocation of the resource between the regions and the various water users;
· support sustainable water policies by provide the institutions with criteria accepted by a various stakeholders of the participating countries;
· provide indicators to implement benchmarking of IWRM in the Mediterranean region;
· facilitate the development of a common language to contribute to water-related negotiations.
These objectives are achieved by creating a common knowledge base and encouraging dialogue among partners through interactive site and through organizing thematic workshops. The 4th workshop will be devoted to benchmarking exercise and recommendations on the application of the water framework directive.
The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/E) is the most substantial piece of water legislation ever produced by the European Commission, and will provide the major driver for achieving sustainable management of water in the Member States and non-EU countries implementing it for many years to come. It requires that all inland and coastal waters within defined river basin districts must reach at least good status by 2015 and defines how this should be achieved through the establishment of environmental objectives and ecological targets for surface waters. The result will be a healthy water environment achieved by taking due account of environmental, economic and social considerations.
The Directive is relevant to achieving and maintaining a clean and well-managed water environment, including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, wetlands, groundwater and estuaries and coastal waters - all typical components of a river basin. It will have an impact, to a greater or lesser extent, on a wide range of people and activities such as water consumers and recreational users, agriculture, industry and business activities.
The objective of this workshop to be held in Amman (Jordan) next 21-25 March 2010; is going to be focused on enhancing cooperative discussion. In order to allow plenty of time for roundtable and practical working sessions, the country presentations will be limited to comparative studies.
Themes of the WorkshopThe workshop will address the following bullet topics :
· Exploratory Benchmarking Exercise
o Benchmarking definition: measurement of reference performance indicators by comparison from areas where a high degree of performance has been recognized.
o Identification of targets and thresholds for the definition of a common list of performance indicators for benchmarking in the different Mediterranean countries.
o Establishment of a benchmarking plan and schedule.
· Recommendations on the application of the WFD
o Main requirements of the WFD.
o Problems and perspectives linked to the WFD implementation.
o Experience and knowledge transfer in Mediterranean countries to develop recommendations.
The structure of the Workshop, to be presented at the beginning of the Workshop by the Work Package co-leader (P44-REMOC), will consist in a number of Key-Note lectures on the above bullet topics, and a few oral presentations on comparative studies on some national strategies and the Water Framework Directive. Participants will be divided into work groups on each topic, to further develop their areas of interest. Also, a discussion on the results of the three work groups will be carried out before the official closing of the Workshop.
Parallel to this workshop, the international conference of GEWAMED project entitled; "Integration of Gender Dimensions in Water Management" will be organized. The opening session will be between GEWAMED conference and MELIA project which coincide also with celebration of the World Water Day.
]]>
This conference will offer an opportunity for corporations, governmental agencies, NGOs and academic institutions to display and exchange their knowledge, new technologies and progress of their research in water and environmental issues.
Topic 1: Tools and technologies applied to Integrated Management of Water Resources
Topic 2: Impact of climatic changes, new installations and socio-economic development on water resources
Topic 3: Integrated water resources management : quantitative and qualitative aspects
]]>
This conference will offer an opportunity for corporations, governmental agencies, NGOs and academic institutions to display and exchange their knowledge, new technologies and progress of their research in water and environmental issues.
Topic 1: Tools and technologies applied to Integrated Management of Water Resources
Topic 2: Impact of climatic changes, new installations and socio-economic development on water resources
Topic 3: Integrated water resources management : quantitative and qualitative aspects
]]>
The UN general assembly has adopted in December 2008 the Resolution A/RES/63/124 on the ‘Law of transboundary aquifers'. With this Resolution, the UNG General Assembly ‘Encourages aquifers States to make appropriate bilateral or regional arrangements for the proper management of their transboundary aquifers, taking into account the provision s of these draft articles'.
Considering the importance of the legal and institutional aspects of the management of transboundary aquifer, the Conference aims to provide a platform for discussions and considerations on how to make the transition from the adoption of such policies to their implementation into practical, operational actions. The debate will also consider the steps that need to be taken, the positive political implications of taking such steps over ‘invisible' resources management, as well as how the users of such a resource can be assured of water security.
This event marks the end of the first Phase of the implementation by UNESCO-IHP of the International Shared Aquifer Resources Management Project (ISARM) within the Sixth Phase of IHP-VI and aims to look forward challenges and new directions towards the sustainable development of transboundary aquifers.
Objectives of the Conference
• Presentation and delivery of the results and outputs of the implementation of the first Phase of the ISARM project under IHP-VI and gathering from the participants feed-back on their applicability, gaps and possible extensions. These elements will also feed the design of the next ISARM phase.
• Bringing together leading international transboundary aquifer management experts to discuss new concepts, approaches and technologies for dealing with transboundary aquifer problems under various settings, covering both developed and developing countries.
• Exchange of ideas for new directions in transboundary aquifer management, as well as drawing recommendations for the formulation of new strategies and implementation elements such as guidelines and educational tools.
Call for participation and submission of the extended abstracts
A pluri-disciplinary approach is needed to tackle the management of transboundary systems. Researchers, academics, planners, designers (consultants), decision makers, governmental officers dealing with transboundary aquifers issues wishing to make a presentation in the Conference are invited to participate and submit abstracts. The abstracts should be in English, one page length, addressing a subject on one of the topics of the Conference. The Scientific Advisory Committee will select from the extended abstracts a number of authors who will be requested to prepare full-length papers. Proceedings will be published by UNESCO-IHP. The participants are kindly requested to submit their abstracts by 30 March 2010 to the following e-mail address:
ISARM2010@unesco.org
Conference on Challenges and new directions in Transboundary Aquifers Management
Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO
1 rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, FRANCE
Fax: +33 1 45 68 58 11
Venue, dates and organizational aspects
The Conference will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France) from 6-8 December 2010
The language of the Conference will be English.
There may be a limited number of travel grants for participants from developing countries with accepted papers.
Please contact the Conference Secretariat to ask for the different modalities of sponsoring this event.
Second announcement - Call for papers: June 2010
Submission of full length papers: 30 September 2010
Final Registration: 5 October 2010
The Second Circular will be issued in June 2010 and it will contain details concerning the programme.
]]>
The UN general assembly has adopted in December 2008 the Resolution A/RES/63/124 on the ‘Law of transboundary aquifers'. With this Resolution, the UNG General Assembly ‘Encourages aquifers States to make appropriate bilateral or regional arrangements for the proper management of their transboundary aquifers, taking into account the provision s of these draft articles'.
Considering the importance of the legal and institutional aspects of the management of transboundary aquifer, the Conference aims to provide a platform for discussions and considerations on how to make the transition from the adoption of such policies to their implementation into practical, operational actions. The debate will also consider the steps that need to be taken, the positive political implications of taking such steps over ‘invisible' resources management, as well as how the users of such a resource can be assured of water security.
This event marks the end of the first Phase of the implementation by UNESCO-IHP of the International Shared Aquifer Resources Management Project (ISARM) within the Sixth Phase of IHP-VI and aims to look forward challenges and new directions towards the sustainable development of transboundary aquifers.
Objectives of the Conference
• Presentation and delivery of the results and outputs of the implementation of the first Phase of the ISARM project under IHP-VI and gathering from the participants feed-back on their applicability, gaps and possible extensions. These elements will also feed the design of the next ISARM phase.
• Bringing together leading international transboundary aquifer management experts to discuss new concepts, approaches and technologies for dealing with transboundary aquifer problems under various settings, covering both developed and developing countries.
• Exchange of ideas for new directions in transboundary aquifer management, as well as drawing recommendations for the formulation of new strategies and implementation elements such as guidelines and educational tools.
Call for participation and submission of the extended abstracts
A pluri-disciplinary approach is needed to tackle the management of transboundary systems. Researchers, academics, planners, designers (consultants), decision makers, governmental officers dealing with transboundary aquifers issues wishing to make a presentation in the Conference are invited to participate and submit abstracts. The abstracts should be in English, one page length, addressing a subject on one of the topics of the Conference. The Scientific Advisory Committee will select from the extended abstracts a number of authors who will be requested to prepare full-length papers. Proceedings will be published by UNESCO-IHP. The participants are kindly requested to submit their abstracts by 30 March 2010 to the following e-mail address:
ISARM2010@unesco.org
Conference on Challenges and new directions in Transboundary Aquifers Management
Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO
1 rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, FRANCE
Fax: +33 1 45 68 58 11
Venue, dates and organizational aspects
The Conference will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France) from 6-8 December 2010
The language of the Conference will be English.
There may be a limited number of travel grants for participants from developing countries with accepted papers.
Please contact the Conference Secretariat to ask for the different modalities of sponsoring this event.
Second announcement - Call for papers: June 2010
Submission of full length papers: 30 September 2010
Final Registration: 5 October 2010
The Second Circular will be issued in June 2010 and it will contain details concerning the programme.
]]>
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresees a temperature
rise globally in the range of 2 to 6°C by 2100 and states that extreme weather events such as storms and
droughts will most likely amplify. Semi-arid regions in the Mediterranean, the Near East and Sub-Saharan
Africa will most likely be negatively affected. Lower and more erratic rainfall will affect not only crops but
also river flows and ground water recharge. Water shortages will grow, creating conflicts between different
groups of users, such as farmers, urban households, and the industry and creating social stress, economic
losses and environmental damage. International disputes over shared rivers may also exacerbate as a
result of more severe droughts.
Better representations of the physical, social and economic effects of droughts are needed in order to help
prepare government agencies become more aware of their actual consequences and more efficient in
coping with them. With these premises in mind, the objectives of the Conference are:
If you wish to present a paper, please send your abstract (no longer than 150 words) for evaluation by the Scientific Committee before the deadline of 15th October.
]]>
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresees a temperature
rise globally in the range of 2 to 6°C by 2100 and states that extreme weather events such as storms and
droughts will most likely amplify. Semi-arid regions in the Mediterranean, the Near East and Sub-Saharan
Africa will most likely be negatively affected. Lower and more erratic rainfall will affect not only crops but
also river flows and ground water recharge. Water shortages will grow, creating conflicts between different
groups of users, such as farmers, urban households, and the industry and creating social stress, economic
losses and environmental damage. International disputes over shared rivers may also exacerbate as a
result of more severe droughts.
Better representations of the physical, social and economic effects of droughts are needed in order to help
prepare government agencies become more aware of their actual consequences and more efficient in
coping with them. With these premises in mind, the objectives of the Conference are:
If you wish to present a paper, please send your abstract (no longer than 150 words) for evaluation by the Scientific Committee before the deadline of 15th October.
]]>This first WEG meeting signified the launching of an important process that should lead the countries of our region to the elaboration of a new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean, aimed to be adopted at the next Ministerial Conference on Water, 12-14 April 2010, in Barcelona (Spain).
]]>This first WEG meeting signified the launching of an important process that should lead the countries of our region to the elaboration of a new Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean, aimed to be adopted at the next Ministerial Conference on Water, 12-14 April 2010, in Barcelona (Spain).
]]>
Conference Objectives:
Travel, Transport and Accommodation Costs:
Submission of Papers:
Conference Topics:
I. Water Resources
II. Water Conservation
III. Arid Environments
IV. Utilization of New Technologies in the Study of Arid Environments and their Natural Resources
Conference Objectives:
Travel, Transport and Accommodation Costs:
Submission of Papers:
Conference Topics:
I. Water Resources
II. Water Conservation
III. Arid Environments
IV. Utilization of New Technologies in the Study of Arid Environments and their Natural Resources
BALWOIS 2010 is organized under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Macedonia Mr. Nikola Gruevski, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of Republic of Macedonia and of the French Embassador in Skopje.
BALWOIS 2010 is organized by the Balkan Institute for Water and Environment - IB2E www.ib2e.org - the Macedonian Association of Meteorology METEO MAK, Faculty of Civil Engineering (Sts. Cyril and Methodius University - Skopje), University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Bitola, Hydrometeorological Service of Macedonia and Hydrobiological Institute of Ohrid.
BALWOIS Project is supported by Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Planning of France, International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and various private companies.
Main topics :
Dead lines :
Please send you abstract(s) only using an online form for Abstract submission which will be active until 15 of November 2009, at: www.balwois.com/2010/index.php?option=com_artforms&formid=21&Itemid=99999
]]>BALWOIS 2010 is organized under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Macedonia Mr. Nikola Gruevski, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of Republic of Macedonia and of the French Embassador in Skopje.
BALWOIS 2010 is organized by the Balkan Institute for Water and Environment - IB2E www.ib2e.org - the Macedonian Association of Meteorology METEO MAK, Faculty of Civil Engineering (Sts. Cyril and Methodius University - Skopje), University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Bitola, Hydrometeorological Service of Macedonia and Hydrobiological Institute of Ohrid.
BALWOIS Project is supported by Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Planning of France, International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and various private companies.
Main topics :
Dead lines :
Please send you abstract(s) only using an online form for Abstract submission which will be active until 15 of November 2009, at: www.balwois.com/2010/index.php?option=com_artforms&formid=21&Itemid=99999
]]>