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

2007-03-01T00:00:00Z

فرنسا تشهد أدفأ خريف وشتاء منذ قرون

2007-03-02T00:00:00Z

قال مكتب الارصاد الجوية الفرنسي إن فرنسا شهدت أدفأ خريف وشتاء منذ عدة قرون في حين أبدت الحكومة قلقها بشأن إمدادات المياه.وقال المكتب ان درجات الحرارة من ديسمبر كانون الاول الى فبراير شباط فاقت معدلاتها بواقع 2.1 درجة مئوية في المتوسط وهو أعلى مستوى منذ بدأ رصد بيانات "شاملة وموثوقة" من 22 مدينة فرنسية في 1950.واضاف المكتب في بيان "الشتاء المعتدل بصورة ملحوظة جاء بعد خريف دافئ على غير المعتاد في 2006 وهو أمر غير مسبوق في الفترة من 1950 الى 2006 بل ومنذ عدة قرون بدون شك."

وأضاف أن الطقس في شمال شرق فرنسا كان معتدلا بصفة خاصة حيث تجاوزت درجات الحرارة معدلاتها بنحو ثلاث درجات مئوية في أشهر الشتاء الثلاثة. كما توقع مكتب الارصاد ربيعا أدفأ من المعتاد.وعقدت لجنة حكومية اجتماعا شهريا بشأن حالة المياه في فرنسا يوم الخميس وحثت المستهلكين لاسيما المزارعين على ترشيد الاستهلاك قائلة ان الامطار بين سبتمبر أيلول وفبراير كانت أقل بقليل من المتوسط.وقالت وزيرة البيئة نيلي اولين "حالة المياه مقلقة وعلى المرء أن يبقى يقظا."

Mediterranean Groundwater Report - Draft final version

2007-03-06T00:00:00Z

The final version of the Mediterranean Groundwater report, prepared in the framework of the MED-EUWI/WFD Joint Process by the Mediterranean Groundwater Working Group, is available. Hard copies of the report will also be available in the coming months.

Transboundary Water Management as a Regional Public Good: Financing development – an example from the Nile Basin

2007-03-06T00:00:00Z

Cooperative transboundary management of the Nile River Basin is an important public good in itself, as well as a source of regional public goods. Evidence suggests that investment in water resources management and development holds significant opportunities for economic development in the Nile Basin. While the economic returns of large multi-purpose projects may be significant, indirect benefits and public good benefits do not necessarily translate into direct revenue streams that can sustain these investments. This has important implications for the financing of Nile projects, their financial performance and their economic justification.
This report, published by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), focuses on public goods in the context of the Nile Basin. It explores public goods as one justification for soft financing such as grant financing that complements other sources of public and private financing, thus enhancing the financial sustainability of cooperative river-basin management and development projects which provide important public goods.

Lebanon: Water supply is priority issue for the south

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

Water supply to hundreds of thousands of people across southern Lebanon remains the priority development issue, say officials, seven months after Israel's bombardment of the area severely damaged an already inadequate water and sanitation system. The UN Children's Agency, UNICEF, is implementing a series of projects across Lebanon to improve water supply, through its Water, Environment, Sanitation and Hygiene (WESH) unit. According to WESH figures, only 56 percent of Lebanese are connected to the mains water supply, which in poorer rural areas sometimes only works one day a week. Nearly one in three Lebanese buy drinking water while average leakages of 50 percent from pipes leave an annual water shortfall of around 40 per cent, largely supplemented by mobile water trucks.

Until Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, much of the area's mains water supply came from Israel itself. The already inadequate Lebanese water supply system left behind after the Israeli occupation ended was further damaged by last summer's 34-day war between Israel and the armed wing of Lebanese political party Hezbollah. The Israeli bombardment included the destruction of water tanks, springs and pipelines, leaving most of southern Lebanon totally cut off from mains water supply in the immediate aftermath of the war. Israel said it was targeting terrorist infrastructure. In Khiyam, the mountain-top town's main 1,000-cubic-metre water tank was partially destroyed by Israeli fire and is now close to being rebuilt with money from WESH's US $9m annual budget.

WESH is also helping rebuild 12 other water tanks as well as pipelines, and has provided 12 generators to southern towns to keep water pumps working during the daily electricity cuts. Jihad al-Bina, Hezbollah's construction company, has repaired the damaged network of pipes in Khiyam, but local leaders say water shortages will continue, and blame the central government for years of neglect. Until two years ago, Lebanon's water system was managed by 22 separate institutions. Those have now been reduced to four, but cost recovery on supplying water to the public remains at just 60 percent, according to UNICEF. A lack of urban planning by central government means homeowners often connect themselves to the mains water supply, while the fixed annual water bill of US $120 and absence of water metres in homes perpetuates disparities of water access for rich and poor. WESH now joins fortnightly meetings with the government's Water Establishment for the South department to coordinate strategy.

Lebanon suffers huge disparities in the distribution of its water resources across southern areas of the country. In Sidon, a southerly port city, water supply for the 17-square-kilometre city will remain at three times the requirement of residents until 2025, according to WESH, due to an abundance of natural wells. By comparison, the poorly supplied mains water system for the council of Nabatiyeh, further south, covers some 800 square kilometres, leading to mains water only three times a week.
With 70 per cent of Lebanon's water system lacking any form of sewage treatment, most effluent simply ends up in rivers, further compounding pollution.

By the end of March, 29 gas chlorination systems will have been installed across southern Lebanon, with WESH assistance, to increase water quality, while the EU and World Bank are working on a scheme to build 12 sewage treatment stations across the country.

World Bank - CSO dialogue scoping study about urban water supply and sanitation

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

Freshwater Action Network (FAN) is currently conducting a scoping study to explore potential for feasible dialogue activites between civil society organizations (CSOs) and the World Bank (WB) about urban water supply and sanitation. Part of the work included a workshop at World Bank Water Week at the end of February this year.

The World Bank and Freshwater Action Network (FAN) last week took a step forward in their joint efforts to develop systematic dialogue between the Bank and civil society organisations (CSOs) about water and sanitation services for the urban poor. They held a joint workshop at the Bank's Water Week in Washington, D.C., as part of a scoping study to assess the potential for dialogue and identify particular themes and modes for dialogue at global, regional and national levels. The Bank's 15-strong delegation at the workshop was led by Jamal Saghir, the Bank's Director of Energy, Transport and Water in the recently established Sustainable Development vice-presidency. Welcoming the participants, Mr Saghir stressed the institution's commitment to working with CSOs and other actors to strengthen efforts to bring water and sanitation services to all. World Bank participants also included several water task managers from around the globe, as well as specialists in civil society engagement and communications.

Morocco: The “Global Partnership for Output Based Aid” Trust Fund Supports Access To Water Supply and Sanitation Services

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

The World Bank, acting as Administrator of the Global Partnership for Output-Based Aid Trust Fund (GPOBA), signed on January 29, 2007, a Grant Agreement for an Output-Based Aid (OBA) pilot project to improve access to water and sanitation services in poor communities in Morocco.

The total amount of the Grant financed by GPOBA, is US$7.0 million through contributions from the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group (US$4.9 million) and the UK Department for International Development (US$2.1 million). The objective of the project is to demonstrate an output-based subsidy mechanism to facilitate access to water and sanitation services for approximately 11,300 low income households in selected peri-urban neighborhoods of Casablanca, Tangiers and Meknès, also targeted by the National Initiative for Human Development (“INDH”).

At present, access to water supply and sanitation services is impaired by high connections costs that are generally unaffordable to peri-urban households. It is expected that the OBA approach will contribute to the development of a sustainable and diversified financing strategy that meets the Government’s service access goals in Morocco’s poor urban areas.

The Grant will be implemented by municipal utility operators, respectively AMENDIS in Tangiers, LYDEC in Casablanca and RADEM in Meknès. The pilot project will be supervised in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance and Privatization.

Europe and Egypt to cooperate on science plan

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

Egypt has agreed to a series of scientific and technological reforms under a European Union (EU) initiative to foster deeper political and economic harmony with its neighbours. The reforms were agreed by the EU-Egypt Association Council this week (6 March) as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The European Commission has approved around US$733 million to help Egypt implement the ENP reforms from 2007–2010, although sources in Egypt told SciDev.Net that the allocation for the science and technology reforms has not yet been decided. Planned activities include development of a 'patent culture' in technology parks and universities, which will be organised by intellectual property offices, as well as the introduction of a doctoral level programme in intellectual property law. Egyptian scientists' access to European scientific databases and their participation in European research groups and international scientific debates and fora will be improved. In addition, scholarships will be offered for Egyptian students to attend European universities, broader links between EU and Egyptian scientific institutions will be established, contacts between academics will be improved and Egypt will be eligible for ENP funds to encourage cross-border co-operation and sustainable development.

Egypt will also increase its collaboration with the EU in common energy strategies, nuclear safety, information technology, education, agriculture and fisheries, and environmental issues, such cleaning up pollution in the Mediterranean.

World Bank donors Informal Meeting - Water Week

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

Held one day before the start of the Water Week, at the invitation of the WB. Most of the bilateral donors in attendance and all the regional development banks, one UN agency representative and a rep of the Gates Foundation. For first time, this meeting was opened to CSOs to observe - a promise that JS made during the WB-CSO dialogue organised by WaterAid in 2004. DFID's proposal for a global action plan, (one annual report produced by UN Water and 1 annual meeting, 1 national plan and coordination body and 1 UN body to coordinate UN activities) was met with polite questions and some support for different components of the plan. Generally supportive of an annual report, but who is going to do this and who is going to ensure its quality. Other milestones /changes to business between 2000 -2005 include a shift to multi-sector projects; a renewed focus on results brought about by the MDGs; the need for sub-national support as expressed by the Camdessus Panel. Public investment in the sector is decreasing, bilateral donor support is 'at best stable' but Bank investment is on the increase - around 2.5 billion USD this coming financial year.

Wastewater collection and treatment for Tarfaya

2007-03-12T00:00:00Z

Wastewater collection and treatment is a key issue in national water policies. At present, less than 5% of household discharge is treated, posing a serious threat to the environment and public health. Accordingly, it was agreed that Belgium would help Morocco to catch up in this area in both rural and semi-rural settings.

PIANC WFD Seminar: Navigation and the EU Water Framework Directive

2007-03-13T00:00:00Z

On 31 January in Brussels, around 130 people attended the WFD seminar organized by PIANC, together with its partners in the WFD Navigation Task Group1 Footnote. The seminar was organized as part conference (providing participants with an overview of progress with WFD implementation) and part workshops, the latter enabling discussion of some of the as-yet unresolved WFD issues.
The morning session started with keynote presentations. They were then followed by a lively debate about environmental protection, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and EU policy priorities. After lunch, three parallel workshops were held, dealing respectively with sediment management, hydromorphology, and the relationship between the WFD and EU maritime policy. Each workshop was introduced by a series of speakers (in total representing the EC, NGOs, river commissions, port authorities and research institutes) who ensured that the topic was covered from a variety of viewpoints.
In closing the conference Fritz Holzwarth, the German Water Director, remarked that it had been a useful and productive conference and he stressed the need for the navigation sector, the water community and the WFD competent authorities to continue to work together.

Planning for the future of Spain's southern coastal waters

2007-03-14T00:00:00Z

The waters off the coast of Andalusia and Murcia in Spain are rich in marine habitats and life, including endangered turtles and cetaceans. However, conservation efforts in the area were previously uncoordinated, involving different stakeholders with varying interests. Interest groups in the area also needed to extend their experience and knowledge of conservation issues. The development of coordinated conservation strategies was the main objective of a 2002 LIFE project, “Conservation of cetaceans and turtles in Andalusia and Murcia” (LIFE02 NAT/E/008610).
Representatives of the “Conservation of cetaceans and turtles in Andalusia and Murcia” preparing for a port visit (picture: Astrale). The beneficiary, the Spanish Cetacean Society, had previously identified several potential marine Natura 2000 sites along the southern coast of Spain. Through the project, the Society aimed to do two things: build consensus on management plans for these sites; and take practical steps to reduce pollution and by-catch from local fishing activities.

2007-03-14T00:00:00Z

EU-funded project investigates environmental policy integration

2007-03-14T00:00:00Z

Whilst environmental issues have steadily risen on citizens' lists of most critical concerns facing society, have public authorities done enough to address these concerns? An EU-supported project recently got underway to try and answer this particular question. The Coordinated Action project funded under FP6, Environmental Policy Integration and multi-level Governance, or EPIGOV, recently held its first conference in Brussels to debate environmental policy integration and attempt to identify which sectors are best placed to address issues of climate change and pollution.