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

PhD scholarship to study water governance in the context of ethical consumerism

2007-06-01T00:00:00Z

The School of Law at the University of Bristol , UK and Frank Water are offering a three-year collaborative PhD scholarship (CASE) , funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, starting in October 2007. CASE studentships offer an opportunity to bridge the gap between theory and practice by explicitly linking PhD research to on-going work in a partner organisation.

The principal objective of the studentship is to explore governance frameworks that link ethical consumerism in the developed world with social outcomes in the developing world, in the context of small and medium-sized voluntary sector social ventures.

The project will be supervised by Professor Bronwen Morgan. Frank Water is a social venture based in Bristol , UK that distributes Devon-sourced water on the UK bottled water retail market and gives 100% of its net profits to water projects in developing countries.

The deadline for applications is 5.30pm on 8 June 2007, with interviews for short-listed candidates on 19 and 20 June 2007.

2007-06-01T00:00:00Z

1st announcement of the 3rd International Scientific Conference BALWOIS 2008

2007-06-01T00:00:00Z

After the great success of BALWOIS 2004 and BALWOIS 2006 - more than 300 participants from 30 countries with 249 papers in 2004 and 304 in 2006 all available on www.balwois.net - the Third International Scientific Conference BALWOIS 2008, traditionally will be organized in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia from 27th to 31st May 2008.

As the previous ones, the main objectives of BALWOIS 2008 will be to provide at international and Balkan levels :
        - a meeting that will further the progress of the knowledge in the fields of Scientific Research, Education, Policy and Development Activities and on all Water related issues on climate changes, hazards mitigation and water resources assessment, management and protection,
        - an atmosphere to enhance the links between the providers and the end users of water related knowledge,
        - a forum for free discussion of new ideas, research, development and applications, including techniques and methods to stimulate future works,
        - opportunities for students and young researchers and engineers to meet their experienced peers and to stimulate them to join BALWOIS activities,
        - an exhibition of current hardware and/or software in the field of water, and
        - new knowledge through the publishing of high quality papers on www.balwois.net and through DVD bundle, books edition, etc.

The main topics of BALWOIS 2008 are :
        1 - Climate and Environment
        2 - Hydrological regimes and water balances
        3 - Droughts and Floods
        4 - Integrated Water Resources Management
        5 - Water bodies protection and Ecohydrology
        6 - Lakes and wetlands
        7 - Hydrological modelling
        8 - Information systems

Spêcific attention will be dedicated to the remote sensing technologies applied to water management, aquatic ecosystems protection, climate and environment changes, etc. Participants willing to present their papers (oral, poster, software or multimedia) are requested to send an abstract not exceeding one page before October 15th, 2007 to secretariat@balwois.org .

Exhibitors are requested to contact the Secretariat of the Conference. All proceedings will be published on the BALWOIS Web site and on DVD.
Important dates :
        - deadline for the abstracts :          15 October 2007
        - notification to the authors :         15 November 2007
        - deadline for full papers :            15 February 2008

2007-06-01T00:00:00Z

IHA World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower Bulletin - Vol. 139 No. 1

2007-06-04T00:00:00Z

The International Hydropower Association (IHA) World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower convened at the Talya Convention Centre, Antalya, Turkey, from 29-31 May 2007. The congress was preceded by a training course on hydropower sustainability assessment, held on 27 May, and a field and networking tour of the Manavgat River Basin, held on 28 May. A hydropower exhibition also took place concurrently with the congress. The event was the IHAs inaugural international congress, providing a forum for dialogue between hydropower companies, investment and development banks, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders involved in the development and operation of hydropower projects for discussion of: technical hydropower innovation; social and environmental performance; the role of the public and private sectors; social responsibility; and certification of good practice in the hydropower sector. This report consists of a brief history of the IHA and multilateral energy initiatives, and a summary of congress proceedings.

Euro-Mediterranean Statistics, 2006: The first bulletin issued by the MEDSTAT II statistical cooperation programme

2007-06-04T00:00:00Z

The bulletin on Euro-Mediterranean Statistics 2006 has been released in trilingual version. The bulletin covers the period up to 2005; more than eighty tables and figures gather statistical data of the ten Mediterranean partner countries (MPC) alongside those of the 25 European Union Member States and of three EFTA countries.

The publication on Euro-Mediterranean statistics is one of the first tangible achievements of the MEDSTAT II project. It expresses the will to achieve a common basis for comparable and harmonized data.

Apart from a general portrait of each country, the publication offers 8 distinct chapters: National Accounts (in particular: GDP, debt, public finance), External Trade and Balance of Payments, Social statistics (literacy rate, living conditions, employment), Energy, Agriculture and Fisheries, Environment, Tourism and Transport.

The publication aims at answering the information needs of all those who are interested in the economic and social development of the Mediterranean countries taking part in the Barcelona process.

The MPC data presented in this publication are essentially derived from national sources, in order to give visibility of national statistics products.

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2006 – 208 pp.- trilingual. Exists also in paper version and on CD-ROM.

This publication is produced by Eurostat with data transmitted by the National Statistics Offices (NSOs) of the EU's southern and eastern Mediterranean partner countries. It presents the data of the EU-25 membre states, EFTA countries and the data and metadata collected within the partner countries in the framework of the MEDSTAT II programme.

Peter Cook appointed as President of EWA

2007-06-04T00:00:00Z

Hennef, May 2007 - At the Council Meeting of EWA on 26 April 2007, the outgoing President Jiri Wanner handed over to Peter Cook (UK).

Jiri Wanner was given a fulsome vote of thanks by the Council for his contribution as President.
Jean Philippe Torterotot (FR) was appointed Vice President. Furthermore, the Management Committee gained two new members - Dr. Werner Flögl (AT) and Mr. Gamaliel Martinez (ES).
The EWA thanks Mr. Jürg Meyer (CH) who retires from the Management Committee at the end of his second term.

Peter Cook is the President of EWA for the period of office April 2007 - May 2009. Part of the water industry for 40 years, Peter has a sound commercial knowledge of engineering consultancy, construction and of water services delivery both in the United Kingdom and overseas. He has held a wide range of executive roles.

The new Vice President - Dr. Jean Philippe Torterotot, France, is Head of the Department of Water Resources, Uses and Risks in Cemagref. He co-ordinates 7 research themes at 6 research units (about 250 staff), which address natural hazards related to water and avalanches, safety of dams and dikes, hydrological regimes and processes, irrigation and its impacts; management of water resources and water uses. He also becomes Chairman of the European Policy Committee of the EWA.

Changes within the EWA Management Committee The Management Committee welcomes two new members - Dr. Werner Flögl, Austria and Mr. Gamaliel Martinez, Spain. Both took office at the Dubrovnik meeting on 25 April 2007. At the same time, Mr. Jürg Meyer, Switzerland resigned having completed his second and final term of office. The Management Committee thanks Jürg Meyer for his contribution during his four years as a Management Committee member.

EWA publishes new e-journal “E-WAter”: “European Water Management Online” (EWMO)

2007-06-04T00:00:00Z

Hennef, 31st May 2005 – The Management Committee of EWA resolved upon a refresh of the EWA electronic journal “European Water Management Online” (EWMO) and decides to emphasise this by renaming the journal now into “E-WAter”. Authors are invited to utilize this modern media platform for publications.

Papers on any issue related to any branch of the water cycle - including the urban cycle - to be known by about 50 thousand European practitioners, experts and scientists can be published in the electronic journal E-WAter. E-WAter can be downloaded from the EWA homepage - http://www.ewaonline.de/journal/online.htm - where Instructions for authors can be found. Articles (about 5 MB) can be sent to the Chairperson of the EWA Communication Committee, Dr. Maria Helena
MARECOS do MONTE (hmarecos@dec.isel.ipl.pt; hmarecos@netcabo.pt ), who will activate a referee evaluation process before publication.

Proceedings of the European Symposium of Spatial Planning Approaches towards Sustainable River Basin Management, May 14-15.2007, Rovaniemi, Finland

2007-06-04T00:00:00Z

On behalf of the Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B project Watersketch partners, the organising committee organised its final event European Symposium on Spatial Planning Approaches to Sustainable River Basin Management. The symposium took place at the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi , Finland , on 14-15 May 2007.

The overall aim of the symposium was to present and discuss some of the cross-cutting issues on spatial planning approaches to sustainable river basin management and to present the results of the Watersketch project. The symposium welcomed river basin managers, environmental and spatial planners and researchers.
Main themes presented and discussed in the symposium were:
European legislation on water courses and spatial planning
Approaches to sustainable river basin management
Decision-support tools and systems related to river basin planning
Public participation and the Water Framework Directive
Environmental data management
GIS in river basin management and planning

EuroMed Info Centre - Redesigned Website: The essential site for Euro-Mediterranean news and information

2007-06-08T00:00:00Z

The EuroMed Info Centre is delighted to announce that its newly-redesigned and enhanced website is now online at www.euromedinfo.eu

A main objective of the new user-friendly website is for it to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for anyone interested in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, regional and bilateral projects, the European Neighbourhood Policy and a great deal of information that is, at present, spread inconveniently across a large number of different websites.

Benita Fererro-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, had this to say about the new website and the work of the EuroMed Info Centre: “Like any policy, our Neighbourhood Policy can only truly succeed if it has the support of the people whose countries comprise the partnership. Therefore ‘spreading the word’ to the media and the general public is crucial. Over the past 18 months the EuroMed Info Centre in Brussels has served this purpose well. With the launch of its newly-revamped website in three languages – including Arabic, which I consider to be of particular significance – I am confident that it will be in an even better position to fulfil its task of raising the visibility of the European Neighbourhood Policy. I sincerely hope that you, the Internet users in the region, will make good use of the new EuroMed Info Centre website. I believe that it will contribute to learning about the advantages that the European Union’s genuine partnership with the countries in our neighbourhood can bring to each of you.”

The EuroMed Info Centre is a project financed by the MEDA Regional Information and Communication programme. It promotes the visibility of the partnership between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours to the general public and opinion leaders (political, institutional, business, industrial, in civil society and the media) in all areas covered by the partnership.

Special Issue "Gender, Environment, Conflict" - ISSN 1861-6771

2007-06-08T00:00:00Z

This newsletter is part-financed by the German Federal Environmental Agency and the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety. © Adelphi Research gGmbH and Germanwatch 2007

ESA's water mission instrument passes test programme

2007-06-08T00:00:00Z

After successfully undergoing a rigorous three-month testing programme, the innovative SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) payload is about to make its journey from ESA's Test Centre in the Netherlands to France, where it will join the platform to form the satellite in preparation for launch next year.

African water project supported by space

2007-06-08T00:00:00Z

Algeria, Libya and Tunisia have kicked off an ambitious water project called GEO-AQUIFER that will use satellite imagery to support the monitoring and sustainable management of their common, transboundary groundwater resources, bettering the living conditions of their population.

The Aquifer project was developed under ESA's Data User Element (DUE) programme and takes place as part of the TIGER Initiative, aimed at applying EO data to develop a technical, human and institutional capacity to bridge Africa's water information gap using satellite data. Since Aquifer’s initiation in 2004, more than 200 African organisations have become involved in different TIGER projects around the continent.

GEO-AQUIFER provides continuity with the ESA Aquifer project. Its principal aim is to provide information to decision makers and thus to strengthen the integrated water management practice. GEO-AQUIFER will use products and services based on satellite data, such as land-use and land-cover maps, change maps, surface water extent and dynamics, digital terrain models, and derive information on water consumption for irrigation.

Capitalising on the encouraging results of the Aquifer project, GEO-AQUIFER will be an extension and expansion towards increased geographic coverage and user specific fine-tuning of products and services.

DHI Women's Water Fund - advancing career opportunities in water management

2007-06-11T00:00:00Z

The DHI Women's Water Fund has been created as an initiative benefiting from the “King Hassan II Great World Water Prize” presented to Prof. Torkil Jønch Clausen of DHI at the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico in 2006. The objective of the DHI Women's Water Fund is to support women in developing countries in advancing their career opportunities in the development and management of water resources.

The first call for applications earlier this year yielded a number of highly qualified candidates. In the selection process the Board gave priority to applicants with some years of practical experience in water resources management, rather than applicants with mainly academic or strictly technical backgrounds. The Board also prioritized applicants with a current leadership or management position in government, NGO or private sector with a potential to develop further in this role through support to career development.

Based on the above criteria the Board decided to award five grants to women from Iran , India and Armenia .

Next call for applicants is expected early 2008.

Position announcement – postdoctoral fellow in integrated water resources management

2007-06-11T00:00:00Z

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are international non-profit research and capacity building institutions supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

IWMI and ILRI jointly seek an innovative, self-motivated, scientifically outstanding, and highly competent candidate for a postdoctoral fellow position in integrated water resources management. The successful candidate will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and will work under the overall guidance of ILRI and report to the scientist responsible for livestock-water productivity and the project leader.

Responsibilities: The postdoctoral fellow will work in the project: ‘Improving Water Productivity of Crop- Livestock Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa’. This project looks at optimizing productive use of water to increase incomes and improve the environment, within crop-livestock systems in the semi-arid areas of Southern Africa and the Blue Nile basin.

Interested candidates who meet the above requirements, please forward an application, resume, list of publications, and the names and addresses (e-mail, telephone and fax) of three referees to work-at-iwmi@cgiar.org

Applications will be accepted until 4 July 2007.

For further information on IWMI – http://www.iwmi.org ILRI – http://www.ilri.org

IWMI is an equal opportunity employer and is keen to further diversify its staff in terms of both gender and nationality.