EMWIS Flash N°110 - May 2013

EMWIS Flash - May 2013 Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the know-how in the Water Sector EMWIS is a program of the Union for the Mediterranean. For further information: www.emwis.net Monthly Flash produced by the EMWIS Technical Unit- OIEAU, CEDEX, SOGESID- It is available in English, French & Arabic. (French & Arabic versions are available few days later) Mediterranean Water Information Mechanism / Geo-Catalogue / UfM-Water

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In this issue N°110 (www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/eflash/flash110)
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HEADLINE
1- EIB reaffirms its support to UfM projects

IN BRIEF
2- UfM: "Governance and Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector " project launched
3- Horizon projects, the state of the art of financed de-pollution projects
4- 7th World Water Forum: Marseille also shines in South Korea
5- Arab Regional Implementation Meeting on Rio+20 Outcomes
6- Nile Perspectives Conference Adopts Khartoum Declaration
7- UNECE supports first Meeting of the Parties to Drin River Basin treaty
8- UNESCO-backed Water for Peace or Conflict Seminar Highlights Transboundary Cooperation
9- World Bank Launches US$40 Million Phase II of its Water Partnership Program
10- French minister signs and supports right to water
11- Malta: Confronting Water Challenges
12- EU and Algeria prepare new environmental cooperation programme
13- Egypt: Nile River Dispute Between Egypt, Ethiopia Sparks Tensions
14- Israel’s Finance Ministry lines up water tariff reduction
15- Kinneret water to be released into Jordan River
16- Sustainable Lebanon: preserving natural resources for the future

17- Experts urge water's inclusion in development goals and highlight the challenge of access to reliable data on water use
18- Advancing the quality of Euro-Mediterranean research in food, water and renewable energies
19- Using gene science to breed drought-tolerant crops
20- Scientists warn of human impact on world's water
21- Bee'ah and Suez Environnement sign cooperation agreement

NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
PUBLICATIONS  
CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRAINING
EVENTS
PROJECTS
BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
CONTACT US / COMMENTS

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HEADLINE
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1- Cooperation between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will reflect the new priorities following the Arab Spring, notably job creation and an improvement in social and economic conditions across the region, according to a press release issued after a meeting last between UfM Secretary General Fathallah Sijilmassi and EIB President Werner Hoyer. In line with the EIB operational plan to provide €2.3 billion to the Mediterranean partner countries between 2012 and 2013, Werner Hoyer confirmed that the Bank would support UfM related priorities. In a first phase, the Bank could provide €500 million to support mature UfM projects that comply with the economic, financial and environmental criteria of the EIB. Between 2009 and 2011, the EIB signed €5.2 billion worth of projects with Mediterranean partner countries, with more than half of the amount dedicated to UfM related priorities (€2.8 billion). "Mediterranean partner countries are undergoing fundamental changes", President Hoyer said. “The people in many of these countries did not only stand up for democracy but also for food and prosperity. The role of the EIB is to encourage them to modernise and open up their economies by supporting private sector development and creating an investment-friendly environment – just as we are following this path within the European Union. This is the purpose of our already fruitful cooperation with the UfM and I look forward to developing a pipeline of new bankable projects for the Mediterranean together with the Commission and international and bilateral financial institutions," he added.  Current schemes are available in the areas of renewable energy under the Mediterranean Solar Plan and Water De-pollution (Horizon 2020) and could be extended to sustainable urban development and other sectors. Provision of grants from the European Commission to design bankable projects through feasibility and pre-feasibility studies is expected to facilitate their financing by international and bilateral financing institutions. Further information on EMWIS website.

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IN BRIEF (Full news)
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2- The Union for the Mediterranean’s labelled project Governance and Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector was launched during a regional conference held at the Palace of Pedralbes, in Barcelona, on 28 and 29 May. Endorsed by the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean, the Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector project is a joint undertaking of the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  The Mediterranean region is currently lagging behind by 38% to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of bringing safe water to all, and the impacts of population growth, climate change and urbanization are expected to add substantially to an already challenging situation. While countries aim for wider provision of water services, significant investments are needed as well as sound policies, capable institutions and good water management. “The UfM-labelled project that we are launching today, aims to effectively address a clear demand for more efficient water service provision, wider participation of stakeholders, more decentralized planning and implementation processes and more transparent and accountable decision making”, Secretary General Sijilmassi said. The core objective of the project is to diagnose key governance obstacles to mobilizing financing through public private partnerships (PPP) for the Mediterranean water sector and to support the development of consensual action plans based on international good practices. The project will deliver a set of country analysis, national recommendations and a regional action plan. Albania, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia will be actively engaged in the studies, while the opportunity for technical work will be available for additional countries. Further information on EMWIS website

3- Horizon 2020 is engaging in a survey to establish the impact of de-pollution investment projects funded under the programme. A meeting held in Barcelona agreed that factual knowledge of the status of the depollution investment projects that have already secured financing, would be of great value. This will allow for a more holistic overview of executed, ongoing and planned pollution reduction projects in the southern and eastern Mediterranean, and also help evaluate the positive impact that these projects had on reducing pollution into the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of the assignment is to obtain information on the progress achieved on projects that have already secured funding. At this stage there are 50 of them. The initial survey of the ‘financing secured’ project and accompanied snapshot of these projects will be completed before the end of 2013. The Horizon 2020 initiative aims to improve the quality of life of more than 420 million citizens living in the 25 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The inclusion of the Horizon 2020 Initiative as one of the six components of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) adds to the political impetus to address major environmental challenges. Further information on EMWIS website

4- In 2015, the 7th World Water Forum will be held in Daegu Gyeongbuk, South Korea, which will bring together around this issue for the future of political, economic and social leaders worldwide. These days, Daegu, kick off preparations for this international event has just taken place: it was to allow comparable to the 6th World Water Forum, which took place from success March 12 to 17 in Marseille last. Treasurer of the World Water Council, charged last year for organizing the Forum in Marseille, Martine Vassal, Deputy Mayor UMP, General Counsel, has been appointed by the Senator-Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin to represent South Korea. The issue of health, such as food, depend directly on the issue of water, essential for the balance of the world in the twenty-first century. Since 2012, Marseille door up this issue on behalf of France, showing the example of good practice, hydro-politics and sustainable governance. The city shows its potential as an international metropolis capable of accommodating after the G8 in 2011 and before the Union for the Mediterranean in 2013, diplomatic high-level events. Further information on EMWIS website

5- The Arab Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) on Rio+20 Outcomes took place from 29-30 May 2013 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The meeting was convened by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the League of Arab States (LAS). The meeting was part of a series of events organized by the UN Regional Commissions to discuss follow-up on the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) and the post-2015 development agenda. The Arab RIM provided a regional perspective to these international processes, and discussed possible regional initiatives to complement the elaboration of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the establishment of a high-level political forum (HLPF) to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Approximately 130 representatives of governments, civil society, business and international organizations participated in the meeting. Further information on EMWIS website

6- The New Nile Perspectives Conference, which brought together over 120 water experts from Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan, concluded with the adoption by researchers and policy makers of the Khartoum Declaration, expressing their commitment to “continue on-going and develop new activities that would bring a New Nile Future closer,” bringing peace, prosperity and sustainable development to all the residents of the Eastern Nile basin. The Conference took place in Khartoum, Sudan, on 6-7 May 2013, and was also attended by experts from other countries and regions. The objective of the conference was to disseminate and discuss results of state of the art research on the Eastern Nile. Delegates were presented with the findings of the Blue Nile hydrosolidarity research project, carried out by UNESCO-IHE, the University of Khartoum, Addis Ababa University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and IWMI. The Khartoum Declaration summarizes the conference findings and calls for further cooperation in research and sharing of data between civil society, politicians and researchers along the Eastern Nile. In the Declaration, Conference participants commit in particular to: strengthening the science-people-policy linkages; envisaging joint ecosystem management at various spatial scales; creating a digital repository for data and models with open access to all riparian residents; maintaining, rehabilitating and expanding monitoring networks for water and the environment; scaling up training and share educational resources regionally; etc. Further information on EMWIS website

7- On 28 May 2013 in Tirana the five Drin River Riparians held the first Meeting of the Parties to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Shared Strategic Vision for the Sustainable Management of the Drin River Basin. At the meeting, high-level representatives from the five Riparians decided on an action programme to strengthen their cooperation and to address urgent issues, such as flood management and improved monitoring and exchange of information, and outlined other priority steps to be taken, including raising public awareness and involving stakeholders in the management of the basin. Among the competing uses for the water resources in the Drin Basin, which the Shared Strategic Vision aims to address, an important component is hydropower, with major dams and associated power stations in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Albania where hydropower accounts for more than 85 per cent of the total electricity supply. In addition, the basin faces a number of threats to its water quality, such as pollution from agriculture and discharges of untreated wastewater from cities. The exceptional biodiversity and endemic species of the Drin Basin are also under threat without improved and coordinated management of the ecosystem. In advance of this first Meeting of the Parties, stakeholders met to discuss a US$ 4.5-million project, which will be an important contribution to the further cooperation in the basin. Among others, it will seek to improve the joint analysis and understanding of common problems and will set up demonstration projects on the benefits of sustainable development along the river and lakes in the basin. The project is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) with UNECE as one of the executing agencies.  Further information on EMWIS website.

8- The Permanent Delegation of Sweden, with the in-kind collaboration of the Water Sciences Division of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has organized a seminar titled "Water for Peace or Conflict: Prospects for improved water cooperation." The seminar was held on 16 April 2013, at UNESCO headquarters, in Paris, France, as a side event to the 191st Session of the UNESCO Executive Board.  The event aimed at drawing attention to pertinent issues for international water cooperation, including: what challenges should be addressed and what are the immediate actions to be taken in order to promote water cooperation; and the importance of cooperation on transboundary waters with a particular focus on tools and methods for the promotion of cooperation, as well as the need for improved knowledge in this area. According to the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, the outcome of the seminar showed that international and transboundary cooperation on water is not an option but an absolute need in order to obtain a fair utilization of common water resources and achieve sustainable development. The outcome of the event will be further discussed during World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, in September 2013. Further information on EMWIS website

9- The World Bank launched today Phase II of its Water Partnership Program (WPP), a joint partnership between the World Bank and the Governments of the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, with an initial contribution of US$40 million. Building on past successes, Phase II represents a bolder effort to strengthen the role of water as a key platform for development and growth, and to support the World Bank’s vision for water. Working at the nexus of water with food, energy, environment, and human development, Phase II will help countries to become resilient to climate change and achieve their development objectives by improving water management and water services.  Without adequately managing water resources and improving water services, countries will not be able to achieve water security and inclusive green growth. The launch of the WPP in 2009 was part of the World Bank’s response to the global water challenges. Phase I of the program funded over 200 activities in more than 60 countries, which are influencing and supporting around US$11.5 billion in World Bank financing.  WPP’s support to water supply and sanitation lending is benefiting the lives of nearly 52 million people, 17 million of which are in Africa.  Phase I also paved the way for more work to be done in areas such as in climate change adaptation, integrated urban water management, and the nexus of water with food and energy. Further information on EMWIS website

10- On Sunday 26 May the first European Citizens Initiative (ECI) to have collected over 1 million signatures had another major back up with French minister of Housing and Spatial Planning Cécile Duflot. This is the first time that a minister comes in support and signing the ECI. Minister Duflot signed in a national convention of the French Green party (EELV) that decided to campaign to boost the signatures in France. Her support comes to add the support that the ECI had already received from other politicians like Bertrand Delanoë (mayor of Paris) , Patrick Rimbert (mayor of Nantes) or Anne Le Strat (the President of the Paris water company Eau de Paris). The ECI right2water will continue to collect signatures until the end of the summer to declare water as a human right and to exclude water and sanitation from internal market rules. Hundreds of people will be approached during summer festivals and events to join the biggest European citizens mobilization ever. Further information on EMWIS website

11- Malta represents the water supply challenge confronting many countries in the Mediterranean region. Although its population has an abundant, affordable and reliable supply of safe drinking water, its aquifers are under pressure from over-abstraction, seawater intrusion and pollution from both urban and agricultural sources.  Desalination technology could supply all of Malta’s drinking water needs, but being an energy-hungry option in a country dependent on imported oil, it would be neither economically nor environmentally sustainable. For centuries, every house had a storage cistern to collect rain from the roof. While still officially a requirement, this has not been enforced for many years. However, there is now a greater effort to get home-owners to ensure these are in working order. While cisterns are not used for drinking water today, they can be used for such things as irrigation and help reduce flash-flooding and overloading of wastewater systems. Most of Malta’s treated wastewater is discharged into the sea. The technology exists to convert wastewater into higher quality water, whether for irrigation or drinking, less expensively and with less energy than seawater. As in most cultures, there is an instinctive aversion to the concept of reusing wastewater for drinking or food-associated use. While use as drinking water is the hardest concept to accept, using treated wastewater for irrigation or aquifer replenishment is more conceivable. Some pilot projects are starting to use treated wastewater in this way, not for drinking. Malta faces some big challenges. The process for addressing these challenges may take many years with ongoing debates regarding the priorities and solutions and how to accelerate action. If successful, – and it must be – Malta will provide a better quality of life and set an example for other nations and regions facing growing water scarcity in a rapidly changing world. Further information on EMWIS website.

12- Biodiversity, waste management, industrial pollution and addressing climate change on coastal development are the themes at the centre of the third meeting for the preparation of the new EU-Algeria cooperation programme in the field of environment. The meeting brought together representatives of different Algerian institutions (national, regional and local) active in the fields of environmental protection, health, forestry protection, water resources, but also representatives of the ministries of finance and foreign affairs. The partnership in this field, which is due to start by the end of this year, aims at reinforcing the strategy on the environment and climate change with the backup of reforms that Algeria has already started in the management of public finances in this sector but also in environmental policy and capacity building. Further information on EMWIS website.

13- A former high-ranking Egyptian diplomat says Ethiopia's move to divert the flow of the Nile River has needlessly heightened regional tensions. Ethiopia recently began diverting the river as it builds a massive hydroelectric dam. Egypt, which depends on the Nile for its water supply, stressed that it has not approved the dam's construction. Ambassador Tarek Ghuneim was a key player in Nile water negotiations until shortly before his retirement last year. In a interview, the former Egyptian diplomat said those talks were characterized by mutual mistrust. He questioned Ethiopia's timing in announcing the diversion of Nile water, one day after Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Addis Ababa, and just days before release of a study on the effects of building a giant dam on the river. Ethiopia insisted that the flow levels of the world's longest river wouldn't be affected by the 6,000-megawatt, $4.7 billion Grand Renaissance Dam. But Cairo and Khartoum say that once the massive project, one of several dams Addis Ababa is building, is completed, supposedly by 2015, their share of the Nile water will be reduced by 18 billion cubic meters a year. The Ethiopian dam is to have a reservoir of 63 billion cubic meters of water, one of the largest in Africa. Filling that would immediately cut the water flow to Sudan and Egypt.  Further information on EMWIS website.

14- Israel’s water tariff could be reduced for the first time in years following an agreement between the Finance Ministry and the country’s Council of Local Authorities. According to the agreement the base tariff will be cut at the beginning of 2014 and will be reduced by 5% by the end of 2015. Water tariffs have gone up by over 30% in recent years to cope with the severe drought in past years and the cost of desalination. However, the drought conditions are now considered to be over, due to a combination of improved weather and investment in desalination. The Finance Ministry said that the move was a result of a package aimed at reducing costs for the country’s municipal and regional water companies, with the ultimate aim of reducing their numbers through mergers. Israel’s State Comptroller in a recent report criticised the number of water companies operating in the country. Further information on EMWIS website

15- Next month the Water Authority of Israel will allow the discharge of 1,000 cubic meters of water per hour from the Kinneret basin into the the Jordan River, with the ultimate goal of letting in 30 million cubic meters of water flow past the Deganiya Dam annually, the Jordan Rehabilitation Administration announced recently. Water has no been released on a large scale in years from the Kinneret basin into the Jordan, whose flow has dropped to a standstill as the level of the river dwindled and it has boasted only high levels of pollution. Replenishing the flow of the river will only be the first stage in its rehabilitation, stressed Water Authority Commissioner Alexander Kushnir, to representatives of the Israeli and Jordanian governments gathered at a seminar in Tel Aviv on Thursday – organized by the Southern Jordan River Drainage Authority.  In addition, within two years, a sewage treatment facility will begin to operate in the region, capable of conserving the water level and maintaining quality. The facility will ensure that chlorine levels in the treated water drop from 3,000 milligrams per liter to 1,000 milligrams per liter, and will solve the issue of waste-water penetrating the riverbed. All of these improvements in water quality will translate into an ecological restoration process that will increase biodiversity and protect endangered species in the region. Although in favor of recharging the Jordan River with a clean and stable water supply, regional environmental organization Friends of the Earth Middle East has repeatedly said that the 30 million cubic meters promised by Israel will not be sufficient. Between 400 and 600 million cubic meters of water is needed to replenish the Lower Jordan, and Israel should be allocating at least 220 million cubic meters. Further information on EMWIS website

16- There are some problems that are more complicated than others, and some problems that are more common than others. Unfortunately, when it comes to disease, complex diseases are also the most common ones. Over-forested and degraded land is threatening Lebanon's wealth of biodiversity. Agricultural lands for olive orchards and other crops are being damaged. Unregulated quarrying has deteriorated coastal mountain ecosystems and soil quality. And, only a small portion of solid waste is being recycled or composted. These trends are having effects across society and the economy, impacting health, energy agriculture, production, transportation and tourism. In 2011, an EU-funded project began an in-depth analysis of these challenges with an eye toward developing long-term solutions.  The project – "Improving National Assessment and Monitoring Capacities for Integrated Environmental and Coastal Ecosystem Management," or INCAM – is being led by the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Beirut. The two-year project, which is supported by €500,000 in European Commission funding. The initiative not only reflects the EU's growing cooperation with its neighbours in Mediterranean-wide research efforts, but also an evolving environmental consciousness in Lebanon.  Further information on EMWIS website

17- As the world faces growing water security challenges, experts are calling for better monitoring of the availability, quality and use of water, and its inclusion in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as a key issue in the post-2015 development agenda. Human activities, such as building dams and agricultural irrigation, they say, have fundamentally altered the global water system, threatening ecosystems and a steady supply of fresh water. But a lack of scientific data and monitoring mean there is still no effective global governance of this key resource. The Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015, focus narrowly on drinking water and sanitation for human health, but ignore global water quantity and quality standards for personal use, agriculture and healthy ecosystems, argue scientists from the Global Water System Project (GWSP). Experts met in Bonn, Germany (21–24 May) , to bring together global efforts on water research to help set scientific foundations for a common vision for the sustainable use and international governance of water.  Further information on EMWIS website

18- In order to address the societal challenges of high quality affordable food, scarcity of resources and renewable energies in the Mediterranean region, the EU-funded Mediterranean Science, Policy, Research and Innovation Gateway (MEDSPRING) project, in the framework of the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) invites active citizens, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, members of civil society and everyone else who has a stake in food, water and energy in the Mediterranean region to share their views on these subjects in an online Open Consultation. Further information on EMWIS website

19- Drought is one of the biggest worries for a farmer, sometimes threatening entire harvests, but a European Union (EU)-funded project is using the latest gene science to see whether the worst effects of water shortages could be averted with drought-tolerant plants. The project, WATBIO, is studying how some plants can survive with less water than others. Backed by €9 million in EU funding, the project team is applying the latest DNA genome sequencing technologies to develop new crops with stronger drought tolerance. The five-year project, which started in November 2012, gathers 22 academic and industrial partners with expertise in molecular biology, plant science, cellular mechanisms, and next generation sequencing. The three crops chosen are poplar trees, elephant grass (Miscanthus), and giant cane or river reed (Arundo donax). All are currently under-used, grow very fast, and have potential as energy crops. Water shortages remain a serious concern in Europe - the 2003 drought pushed European crop productivity down by 30% - and climate change is likely to mean more extreme weather events in the coming years. “So time spent looking at how these plants can survive in such extreme conditions is time well spent,” the project coordinator says. “What we want is to see the highest yield possible in these areas where water is short” . Further information on EMWIS website

20- Human activity is altering the world's water system to a degree it has not experienced in more than 11,000 years, an international group of scientists says. "We have altered the Earth's climate and its chemistry, the snow cover, the permafrost, the extent of ice in the sea and glaciers, and the volume of the oceans. All of those are fundamental elements in the hydrological cycle," Anik Bhaduri, executive officer of the International Project Office of the Global Water System Project, told Efe. Further information on EMWIS website.

21- Bee'ah - the Middle East's largest and award winning waste management company - and Suez Environnement, through its subsidiary SITA - one of the top world leaders in waste management - have entered into a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to bring to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) the very best in waste management practices. The two waste management operators agreed to work closely to establish cooperation in closing the loop of waste recycling in Sharjah (UAE) through establishment of recycling facilities for plastics and wood, e-waste, as well as working jointly to better waste collection, fleet management, and waste treatment in the country. Further information on EMWIS website

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NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
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22- New director Hans Bruyninckx starts work at the EEA: Belgian Hans Bruyninckx has taken office as Executive Director at the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen. He replaces Jacqueline McGlade at the end of her second five-year term. Further information on EMWIS website

23- New Ramsar Secretary General Appointed: Christopher Briggs will succeed Tiéga Anada, who has served the Convention in that position for the past six years.  He has previously worked with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UNEP-Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) Biosafety Unit, the GEF Secretariat, and the UNDP for the Latin American and Caribbean region based in Panama. Further information on EMWIS website

24- Hydraulic Engineer Wins Prize for Restoring Iraqi Marshlands: Azzam Alwash has been awarded the 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to restore the Mesopotamian Marshlands in Southern Iraq, which were extensively drained and damaged by dam construction upstream, resulting in ecological damage and displacement of the Marsh Arab communities.  Further information on EMWIS website

25- Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) Announces 2013 Scholarship Fund for Students from the Middle East and North Africa. Application Deadline is 30 June, 2013: Applicants must be nationals from a MENA country holding the equivalent of a B.Sc or M.Sc. Applicants must obtain acceptance from a relevant university to be eligible for a MEDRC scholarship. Further information on EMWIS website.

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PUBLICATIONS
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26- "Results and lessons from implementing the Water Assets Accounts in the EEA area": These are the first EU-level water accounts that display water balances at monthly and sub-basin levels. EEA developed these accounts in the hope that the many data gaps and methodological imperfections will be ironed out in the future. Published by: EEA (European Environment Agency) last May 22, 2013. Further information on EMWIS website

27- Friends of the Earth Middle East last two publications: AN AGREEMENT TO SHARE WATER BETWEEN ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS: By David B. Brooks and Julie Trottier. March 2012 & Why Cooperate Over Water? Shared Waters of Palestine, Israel and Jordan: Cross border crises and the need for trans-national solutions,  September 2010. Further information on EMWIS website

28- Recommendations of the International Joint Conference Water Reuse-MED Conference/ 2nd Tunisia Conference for Sustainable Water Management 24-27 April 2013 (available in English & French). Further information on EMWIS website

29- "The Right to Water in France": booklet with text from Stéphane Hessel written shortly before his death. The French Water Academy focused on whether missing disposals in French law for the water to be treated in law as a human right. After a detailed analysis, it is concluded the need for new legislation on the subject.  Further information on EMWIS website.

30- Nitrate levels in groundwater  in France (1996-2011): Nitrate levels in groundwater increase until 2004 and then stabilize but with significant regional disparities. Nitrates are a major cause of degradation of groundwater quality and mainly groundwater vulnerable. They come mainly from diffuse agricultural pollution and caused the closure of many drinking water catchments since the 1990s. Further information on EMWIS website.

31- Number 362 of the magazine "Water Industry, Nuisance" appeared. The topic in this issue will certainly be of interest to you, as it is devoted to the theme: Automation - Monitoring - Remote management. Further information on EMWIS website

32- ENPI-SEIS Newsletter - issue 4 (English version). The newsletter will be translated to Russian, French and Arabic and these language versions will be made available on the project website. Further information on EMWIS website

33- New UN-Water Analytical Brief on Water Security and the Global Water Agenda: This new UN-Water publication proposes a working definition of water security. It is intended to serve as a starting point for dialogue on water security in the UN system. Further information on EMWIS website

34- "Monitoring payments for watershed services schemes in developing countries": Payments for watershed services (PWS) are schemes that use funds from water users, including Governments, as an incentive for landholders to improve their land management practices. They are increasingly seen as a viable policy alternative to watershed management issues, and a means of addressing chronic problems such as declining water flows, deteriorating water quality and flooding.  Further information on EMWIS website

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CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
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35- The seventh LIFE+ call for proposals was published on 19 February, 2013, with up to €278 million available for co-financing of projects under three headings: Nature and Biodiversity (NAT); Environment Policy and Governance (ENV); and Information and Communication (INF). Project proposals should be submitted to the relevant national authority using the eProposal tool no later than 16:00 hours (Brussels time) on 25 June, 2013. Member States will forward proposals to the European Commission by 5 July, 2013. The earliest possible starting date for 2013 projects is 1 June, 2014. Further information on EMWIS website.

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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36- Call for abstracts for the Scientific Meeting WIS MED DAY: "Water Information Systems in the Mediterranean Region": The Moroccan Association of Young Geomatics (AMJG) announced the organization of a scientific meeting which has as theme "Water Information Systems in the Mediterranean Region", in partnership with the Faculty of Sciences of Rabat and the University Mohammed V Agdal, which will take place at the Faculty of Sciences Rabat - Morocco, 20 & 21 March 2014. Deadline for receipt of abstracts: November 15, 2013. Further information on EMWIS website

37- Call for abstracts for the second international conference on water and energy "ICWE'13": Membrane based Wastewater Treatment and Reuse: The University Hassiba Ben Bouali of Chlef, Faculty of Sciences; Laboratory of molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatic organizes: (The second international conference on water and energy "ICWE'13": Membrane based Wastewater Treatment and Reuse) to be held in Chlef (Algeria) next 16-17, December 2013. The call for abstracts is open, and its deadline is due by: 30/07/2013. Further information on EMWIS website

38- First Call for Papers and Invitation: The International Symposium on "Emerging Pollutants in Irrigation Waters : Origins, Fate, Risks, and Mitigation, November 25-28, 2013, Tunis, Tunisia.  Deadlines for abstract submission is June 30th, 2013. It is held in the framework of the German-Tunisian joint research project EMPOWER Tunisia. Further information on EMWIS website

39- Call for abstracts for the CMTDE 2013: The 4th Maghreb Conference on Desalination and Water Treatment to be held in Hammamet (Tunisia) from 15 to 18 December 2013. Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2013. Further information on EMWIS website.

40- The conference WFD Lille 2013 (4-6/11/2013) will review technical challenges faced by Member States, stakeholder organisations and scientists, while integrating climate change components (understanding, prevention, preparedness) into the River Basin Management Planning under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), in particular adaptation measures expected to take place within the 2nd RBMP. To submit a poster abstract, please submit your abstract to the Secretariat  (closing date is 30th September). Further information on EMWIS website. 

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TRAINING
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41- Water Security for Policy Makers and Practitioners Short Course 10–14 June 2013: The course is designed for entry and mid-level water and development policy-makers and professionals in government, donor, NGO or implementing agencies, environmental journalists, consultants and activists wishing to take their knowledge of water resources further. This course will be held at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK from the 10–14 June 2013 for a fee of £1,500 (inc. of accommodation). Further information on EMWIS website.

42- Call for applications for the 16th Edition of the International Summer School on Regulation of Local Public Services: The Summer School will take place in Torino, Italy, from the 9th to the 20th of September 2013. The School is addressed to final year undergraduate students, graduates and official of the Public Administration (municipalities, counties, regional bodies) and regulatory agencies staff who intend to study in depth some of the most relevant issues for regulation, tariff setting and management of local public services, either of environmental interest or not.  Applications are open until June the 14th through the on-line application form; 25 participants will be selected. Further information on EMWIS website.

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EVENTS (Full Agenda)
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PROJECTS (Projects database)
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WATER PROJECTS DATABASE (MEDA-NIPs, MEDA-Water, LIFE, SMAP, INCO-MED, FP4-FP7, INTERREG, etc.)

Halting Desertification in the Jucar River Basin (HALT-JÚCAR-DES). Further information on EMWIS website.

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BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
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ABOUT EMWIS (Priorities, Activities, Objectives, Structure, Funding, Team)
WATER in the EURO-MED PARTNERSHIP (MEDA programme, Key dates, European Neighbourhood Policy)
EMWIS NATIONAL WEBSITES: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg
EMWIS WATER MULTILINGUAL THESAURUS (Available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish & Italian)- Water glossaries
DOCUMENTATION (EMWIS meetings, Documentary database, Funding for water, Water Legislation)
WHO DOES WHAT IN THE WATER SECTOR (By contacts, organisations & information sources)
PARTNERS & SPONSORS (OIEau, CEDEX, SOGESID, EC, INBO, IME, GWP-Med, MED-EUWI, SMAP-RMSU)
MEDA-WATER PROJECTS (ADIRA, EMPOWERS, EMWater, IrWA, ISIIMM, MEDAWARE, MEDROPLAN, MEDWA, Zer0-M)
WATER INITIATIVES (MED-EUWI, WFD, INCO-MED, LIFE, MEDSTAT, SMAP, EXACT, UNEP-MAP, MSSD, HORIZON 2020, Union for the Mediterranean) & Mediterranean Water Information Mechanism
FORUM ; FAQ ; TOPICS (MedWIP, Water scarcity, groundwater, wastewater reuse, desalination, satellite data, etc)
SEARCH EMWIS WEBSITE
EMWIS SITEMAP
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CONTACT US
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- This is a monthly Flash provided by the EMWIS Technical Unit (sent to: 20145 subscribers), to which you can get a free subscription, click here for an open subscription.
- The EMWIS Flash gives you regular and quality information on the water sector in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The main headlines are: Institutions, Documentation, Training, Research and Development, Data Administration. You will also find updates on: international events, relevant web sites, the Euro-Med Water programme of the European Commission, and much more ...
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