Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector

Vacancy:: Project Team Leader – Transboundary Water Resources Management

Jauad El Kharraz — 2007-01-03T00:00:00Z

Hydrophil is a research and consulting organisation in the water sector that works with governments and civil society internationally. We are seeking to recruit a Project Team Leader on a contract basis, with experience in managing complex water resources projects under transboundary context. The tasks of the Team Leader will include: coordinating a team of about 10 international experts covering various areas of the water sector, representing the consortium of 5 specialized companies - led by hydrophil - towards the contracting organization and closely co-operating with all parties involved, and holding main responsibility for the observance and fulfilment of the project objectives within the given time schedule.
Requirements:
Advanced university degree (PhD preferred) in water resources engineering or closely related field.
A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in water resources engineering or a related field, with demonstrated experience in Decision Support Systems and related activities (e.g., modelling, database development, GIS, etc.), including experience with complex hydrologic and hydraulic models for riverine and watershed applications; proven ability in managing complex water resources projects under transboundary context.
Experience with multilateral development banks’, preferably World Bank, projects.

Expected start of assignment: mid 2007
Duty station: Addis Ababa, frequent travelling in the region
Contract Period: 10 months, with the possibility of extension (or conversion to regular employment)

Interested candidates are requested to submit a letter of intent (as e-mail body text), attaching a CV with photo, by January 18, 2007, via e-mail to office@hydrophil.at; the subject of the message should state <Surname – Proj Team Leader Addis>. The applications will be screened and short-listed by January 23. Thereafter, only short-listed candidates will be contacted by e-mail for arranging a phone interview. Due to shortage of time, It is not possible to answer additional inquiries by phone or e-mail.

Publication: HELP Newsletter Issue NO. 5

2007-01-05T00:00:00Z

HELP is a joint UNESCO IHP-WMO initiative and is a cross-cutting programme of the Sixth Phase of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO. HELP has just published its Newsletter Issue No 5 for December 2006. In this issue, it covers: The Symposium “Water in Mountains”, Global WaterWatch and HELP, The EU launch of the Centre forWater Law, Policy and Sciences, The 1st Announcement of the HELP, and the Symposium “Global Water Problems- lessons from the South”.

Presentation of the Málaga-Marrakech Declaration on Groundwater in the Mediterranean

2007-01-05T00:00:00Z

In the Mediterranean basin, man has had close ties with groundwater since prehistoric times, which magnifies the need to investigate and manage this resource in an appropriate way, to plan water use, protect it from pollution and to keep it in good condition for forthcoming generations. Researchers, technicians, managers and politicians who participated in these two international congresses on groundwater in the Mediterranean (AQUAinMED’06, Malaga, Spain in April 2006 and GIRE3D, Marrakech, Morocco in May 2006), have given their support to this Declaration on Groundwater in the Mediterranean. UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) participated in the organization of AQUAinMED’06 and supports the Declaration as a major contribution to understanding groundwater in the Mediterranean context.
The Declaration is aimed at the governments of Mediterranean and EU countries, national and international associations and agencies, and companies and local and regional administrations that are concerned with groundwater. The signatories of this Declaration recommend, as a general principle, promoting research, passing new regulations and national legislation to promote integrated groundwater management, and developing educational programmes to raise awareness of groundwater, to protect it and to promote sustainable use of this natural resource in Mediterranean countries.

المغرب في مواجهة تحدي ندرة الماء

2007-01-06T00:00:00Z

الحصة السنوية للمواطن المغربي من الموارد المائية قد تقل عن 700 متر مكعب في أفق سنة 2025
يواجه المغرب تحديات أكثر تعقيدا في مجال الماء ، من أبرزها تدبير الإشكاليات المتعلقة بالندرة والاستغلال المفرط وارتفاع وتيرة الثلوت .

وتؤكد مصالح كتابة الدولة المكلفة بالماء أن المغرب ، بالرغم من المكتسبات والإنجازات التي حققها في قطاع الماء ، ملزم برفع التحديات المستقبلية التي ستكون أكثر تعقيدا عما كان عليه الأمر في الماضي ، وترتبط هذه التحديات بعدد من العوامل ، منها التقلبات المناخية وتزايد الحاجيات المائية واستنفاد أجود مواقع السدود ، والضغط الكبير على المياه الجوفية ، وارتفاع حدة ثلوت الموارد المائية.

وتبقى أكبر إشكالية يواجهها المغرب في هذا المجال هي النجاح في بلورة استراتيجية وطنية لتدبير ندرة الماء ، على المدى البعيد ، بشكل يضمن تلبية الطلب المتزايد ، و حتى لا يكون ذلك عائقا أمام تطوره المتوازن والمستديم اقتصاديا واجتماعيا وديموغرافيا .

Internship at BRGM

Jauad El Kharraz — 2007-01-08T00:00:00Z

(IN FRENCH)

Organisme d’accueil : BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières), établissement public ayant une activité de recherche scientifique, d’appui aux administrations et collectivités territoriales et de conseil. Spécialistes des géosciences, de l’environnement et des problématiques liées au sous sol.

Durée et période : 6 mois, à pourvoir dès que possible.

Cadre du stage
Le stage proposé s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un projet de service public portant sur l’analyse économique du programme de mesures de la directive cadre européenne, avec une application à la gestion quantitative de l’eau dans l’ouest du département de l’Hérault. L’analyse économique menée nécessite d’établir un scénario dit tendanciel permettant d’estimer quelle sera la demande en eau pour l’irrigation dans la zone en 2015 avant mise en place du programme de mesures.

Objectif du stage
L’objectif du stage est de développer différents scénarios d’évolution des prélèvements en eau à usage agricole sur la partie Ouest du département de l’Hérault. Le travail du stagiaire sera organisé en quatre phases successives :
1- La première phase consistera à prendre connaissance de l’outil de calcul de la demande en eau agricole actuellement disponible, de proposer des pistes d’amélioration de cet outil (données utilisées, valeurs des paramètres, hypothèses de calcul). Cet outil est basé sur des données cantonales de surfaces irriguées issues du recensement général agricole de 2000, une estimation à dire d’experts de l’évolution de ces surfaces par département, une consommation unitaire par culture standard et un coefficient d’efficience du système d’irrigation unique pour toute la zone.
2- La deuxième phase consistera à décrire un scénario d’évolution tendancielle de l’agriculture de la zone d’étude et d’en évaluer les implications en terme de demande en eau, en utilisant l’outil de calcul décrit précédemment. L’évolution sera analysée en termes de choix de culture et de pratiques d’irrigation. Les horizons temporels considérés seront 2015 et 2020. Ce travail s’appuiera sur la vision exprimée par écrit par la profession agricole, les résultats du projet AQUA2020 et sur des hypothèses complémentaires qui devront être réalisées en consultant des experts (travail de terrain). Des hypothèses simplifiées de changement climatique seront intégrées dans le calcul de la demande en eau future pour un scénario à long terme (2030).
3- La troisième phase consistera à identifier des actions possibles permettant soit de réduire la demande en eau agricole, soit d’augmenter les ressources en eau à usage agricole. Concernant les mesures de gestion de la demande, on envisagera à la fois des mesures techniques (passage du gravitaire à l’aspersion par exemple) et des mesures économiques (mise en place d’une tarification incitative, primes pour certaines pratiques, etc.).
4- Plusieurs scénarios d’action seront précisés techniquement et quantifiés (par exemple chiffrage du nombre d’hectares et d’exploitation concernées par diverses améliorations techniques, etc.). Le coût total de chaque scénario sera estimé en tenant compte des investissements nécessaires, des coûts de fonctionnement et des coûts indirects (par exemple perte de revenus pour les agriculteurs). Le calcul des coûts sera réalisé en extrapolant des coûts d’ordre (valeurs unitaires) proposés par les experts ou trouvés dans la littérature. On estimera par ailleurs l’impact de chaque scénario sur les prélèvements en eau. La combinaison de ces deux résultats permettra de comparer les scénarios au regard d’un critère coût-efficacité.

La zone d’étude concernée par le projet inclut le bassin versant de l’Hérault, celui de l’Orb, une partie de la basse plaine de la vallée de l’Aude et la partie du département concernée par la nappe phréatique de l’Astien.

Conditions et déroulement
- Le stagiaire sera pleinement intégré dans l’équipe de projet (personnel Cemagref et Brgm). Celle-ci s’efforcera de contribuer au développement des compétences du stagiaire. Le stagiaire sera associé à la rédaction du rapport final de l’étude, lui permettant d’avoir une première référence professionnelle. En retour, un investissement personnel important est attendu.
- Localisation : BRGM, Montpellier
- Encadrement : Laure MATON, ingénieur agro-économiste
- Indemnité de stage : 550€ par mois (brut).
- Durée : 6 mois, à partir de début Mars.

Informations et candidatures :
Envoyer CV et contacter Laure MATON, 1034 rue de Pinville, 34000 Montpellier.

الحكومة المغربية: الماء متوفر إلى 2025

2007-01-08T00:00:00Z

أعلنت الحكومة المغربية أن السياسة المتبعة في تدبير الماء تجعل المغرب من التوفر على الموارد المائية إلى غاية 2025، وأوضحت من خلال كاتب الدولة المكلف بالماء عبد الكبير زهود، أن هذه الثروة لن تنقطع عن مستعمليها المغاربة على الأقل طيلة هذه الفترة.
بلوغ الوزارة لهذه النتيجة، جاء من خلال تطبيق سياسة ناجعة، حسب الوزير، خلال السنوات الأربع الأخيرة، فتعبئة الموارد المائية السطحية التي أتاحت الرفع من الطاقة الإستيعابية للمنشآت المائية بنسبة7 ،6 في المائة إلى غاية نهاية أكتوبر تشرين الأول 2006
رغم هذا التفاؤل الكبير الذي أبداه المسؤول الحكومي المغربي، في حوار مع جريدة "العلم المغربية" فإنه أوضح أن المملكة المغربية ستعرف نقصا في الموارد البشرية، وأضاف أن تجاوز هذا النقص رهين بالتعجيل باستكمال برنامج السدود وتشييد منشآت لتحويل المياه من المناطق المتوفرة على فائض مائي إلى المناطق التي تعيش خصاصا في هذا المجال.
وتحدث في الحوار ذاته بخصوص سياسية السدود، عن انتهاء الأشغال من قرابة أربعة سدود، وأوضح أن عدد انتقل إلى 117 سدا تستوعب 16،82 مليار متر مكعب، موضحا أن الرقم سيتجاوز 17 مليار متر مكعب بعد الانتهاء من بناء سدود كبيرة مثل سد الحيمر وسد الرمل وسد بركان.
ودافع المسؤول الحكومي على سياسة السدود، التي كان أطلقها الملك الراحل الحسن الثاني، وأوضح أنها تتحكم في التغيرات المناخية وتطور القدرة الذاتية لمواجهة التأثيرات السلبية المترتبة عنها. للسدود دور وقائي كذلك، إذ وضعت الدولة، حسب مسؤولها، مخططا لحماية 50 موقعا بالمدن والمراكز الحضرية المهددة بالفيضانات، منها المحمدية وبرشيد، ضواحي مدينة الدار البيضاء.

Call for 10 guest researchers: "Climate in the Nile basin area, with a particular reference to climate change and Climate and health"

2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

Call for 10 guest researchers, University of Bergen, Norway. "Climate in the Nile basin area, with a particular reference to climate change and Climate and health": Nile Basin Research Programme - a Guest Research Programme (August-December 2007).
Nile Basin Research Programme (NBRP) is a strategic, multidisciplinary programme for Nile Basin related research and education aimed to give researchers from academic institutions in the ten Nile Basin countries an opportunity to work together in research groups in a multidisciplinary, fertile academic environment in collaboration with researchers from outside the Nile Basin. It is supported by the governments of the region as a research component of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and aims at supporting the general objectives of Applied Training Project under NBI's Shared Vision Programme. NBRP aims at mobilizing senior researchers and post docs to do research on topics of common interest and should provide a unique opportunity for such senior researchers from institutions in the Nile Basin Region. Each researcher is supposed to stay at the University of Bergen for a five month period. The researchers will be given Norwegian standard salary. They are supposed to take part in seminars and to write an article/ a paper/ a chapter during the stay in Bergen. They are also supposed to follow up the research when they return to their country. NBRP will organize seminars and lectures by leading scholars from all over the world. Research themes will vary and have been indicated in the programme document.
Online application form here. Application deadline: March, 1, 2007.

New publication: Proceedings of the International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures (IJREWHS'06)

2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

Organised by the IAHR Hydraulic Structures Section on 2-4 September, 2006, in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal. The proceedings contain 16 papers and they may be freely downloaded. Around 300 people downloaded the proceeding in the first week!

New publication: Environmental Aspects of Integrated Flood Management (IFM)

2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

WMO/GWP Associated Programme on Flood Management. Published by WMO, 2006. It aims to put environment friendly flood management into practice.

Hydranautics selected for new Spanish desalination plant

2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

Ente Publico del Agua, the local entity overseeing the port town of Escombreras, Spain, played an integral part in development of the new 17-mgd seawater desalination plant being built in this southern city to help meet the region's water needs. Over 5,000 Hydranautics' seawater RO elements were chosen for the plant, 3,150 SWC4+ and 1,890 SWC5. They were chosen by a partnering triad of Grupo ACS, Grupo Cobra and Tedagua...

The APFM promotes the concept of Integrated Flood Management (IFM)

Jauad El Kharraz — 2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

WMO/GWP Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) promotes the concept of Integrated Flood Management (IFM). IFM integrates land and water resources development in a river basin, within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), with a view to maximizing the efficient use of floodplains and minimizing loss to life. APFM has just published its 10th newsletter issue which deals with various topics related to IFM.

AWF support the OSS and Northern Sahara Aquifer System

2007-01-09T00:00:00Z

The Mediterranean in 2020 - Issue number 15/2006

Jauad El Kharraz — 2007-01-10T00:00:00Z

This "Statistics in Focus" aims at giving a first answer to the statistical needs expressed within the Horizon 2020 initiative, recently launched by the European Commission whose objective is to de pollute the Mediterranean by 2020. This issue defines the current statistical coverage with its limits for the three key topics of Horizon 2020, which are urban waste, urban wastewater and industrial emissions. Finally, it attempts to identify a set of tracks which could potentially contribute to the enhancement of the production of official statistics, as well as of the service to the users, such as Horizon 2020 initiative.

GEWAMED Newsletter, Issue n°3

2007-01-10T00:00:00Z

This issue is about:
- 3rd Arab Water Regional Conference, Special session: "Mainstreaming Gender in IWRM: Monitoring and Evaluation", December, Cairo-Egypt,
- Training Programme on Gender Role in Extension and Water Awareness, September, Amman-Jordan,
- First Session of the Consultation and Advisory Gender Committee, September, Bari-Italy,
- Gender Training Seminar in Collaboration with AQUASTRESS Project, November, Silesia-Poland,
- 6th Convention of the Women of the Earth, November, Rome-Italy,
- CREAD: Gender and Water Network,
- ARI and the Water Cooperation Session in Mediterranean River Basins, November, Athens-Greece,
- MIO-ECSDE Activities and GEWAMED Project
- Future Events.

Call for abstracts for HYDRO 2007

2007-01-10T00:00:00Z

"HYDRO 2007- New Approaches for a New Era" will be held in Granada (Spain) in 15-17 October 2007. Abstracts of up to 800 words, in English, are now invited on the themes listed or related topics. Please mail, fax or email abstracts to the address below. A short CV of each author should be included. Your abstract should summarize precisely the scope and content of the paper proposed. No artwork or bibliography is required at this stage. In the case of any project described, its current status or date of completion should be mentioned. If the abstract is sent by email, please incorporate the author’s name in the file name. Abstracts should only be submitted if the author would be able to attend the conference (or send a representative). The deadline for receipt of abstracts is Friday 2 March 2007. Authors will be notified in April 2007 whether or not their paper has been accepted for presentation at the conference, or for publication in the Proceedings.