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

Egypt: Lack of modern sanitation systems threatens groundwater, health

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

Nearly all Egyptians - 98 percent of the population - have access to piped water but only some have proper sanitation facilities. Not much attention has been paid to the effective and safe disposal of sewage, especially in rural areas, say specialists.

In rural areas - deserts and agricultural areas alike - only 58 percent of inhabitants have access to any kind of sanitation, said Rania El-Essawi, water, environment and sanitation officer at the Cairo office of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Most rural sanitation is primitive, and does not involve a proper sewage system.

A recent report by Water Aid ranks Egypt the 16th worst place in the world sanitation table.

The UN water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal implies that Egypt must provide sanitation to 77 percent of its 80 million people by 2015, El-Essawi said. Currently at 70 percent, Egypt appears to be on track, she added.

Yet numbers alone do not tell the full story. The type of sanitation, its potential for contaminating groundwater, its impact on human health, attitudes, education and behavioural change are important factors.

Egypt: Scientists uncertain about climate change impact on Nile

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

One scenario set out by climatologists is that global warming in Egypt could speed up the Nile river evaporation process and lead to a decline in freshwater supplies, exacerbating the country’s acute shortage of water for drinking, irrigation and hydro-electric generation.

Such a scenario could also have serious socio-economic consequences, one of which could be that Egypt might not be able to feed its 80 million people.

However, experts offer conflicting projections and remain uncertain whether climate change will have such a negative impact on the Nile.

Specialists say Egypt is already facing massive water management challenges due to demographic pressures and rising demand for water and electricity, but it is not clear how climate change will affect future Nile flows, and the key vulnerabilities have yet to be assessed.

Nahla Abou El-Fotouh of the Strategic Unit at the National Water Research Centre in Cairo said scientific studies have shown conflicting climate change scenarios for the future availability of Nile water as a result of global warming and changes in the earth’s hydrological cycle.

A 2004 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said a rise in temperature of just one degree centigrade would lead to large evaporation losses and significantly reduce Nile flows, assuming a 4 percent increase in evaporation per degree centigrade rise in temperature.

According to Mohamed al-Raey, a professor of environmental studies at Alexandria University, a large number of studies foresee up to a 70 percent decline in Nile water availability, while other studies project an increase in Nile water levels by 25 percent over current yearly levels due to changing rainfall patterns.

The river Nile supplies 95 percent of Egypt’s total water needs for irrigation, and industrial and economic activities. Most of the population is concentrated on the narrow T-shaped strip along the Nile and the delta coast. The delta makes up only 2.5 percent of Egypt’s land mass but is home to over a third of the country’s population.

The country is, therefore, extremely vulnerable to any adverse climate change impacts on water availability in the coastal zones and the Nile.

The controversial results show that improved hydrologic methodologies are needed to assess the magnitude of potential future climate change impacts on Nile flows and to design an appropriate public policy.

In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), together with the National Water Research Centre and Egypt’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation, have developed the computer software tool Decision Support System for Water Resources, which can produce various climate change scenarios for the Nile basin and therefore improve water resource planning and management.

While substantial uncertainties remain about how exactly climate change will affect Nile flows through evaporation or changing rainfall patterns, several policies and adaptation measures have been suggested to limit the possible threat of acute water scarcity.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation’s National Water Resources Plan for Egypt describes how the country can develop additional water sources, implement an efficient water management strategy and protect public health and the environment.

Options proposed by the OECD include the improvement of rain-harvesting techniques, increasing the extraction of ground water, recycling water, water desalination, and improving accessibility of water reserves.

Abou El-Fotouh of the National Water Research Centre told IRIN: “None of the Nile countries has conducted serious research on the effects of climate change. Most research and initiatives come from Western countries and institutions. But we [Egypt] are planning to initiate deep impact investigations and to find measures to reduce the threat of climate change.”

At the same time, UNDP’s Bayoumi said hydrologic models are currently being elaborated which will give insights into water evaporation from the Nile and rainfall patterns in the Ethiopian highlands and Lake Victoria, the headwaters of the Nile.

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

European Commission proposes to improve and streamline the European system for collecting, analysing and reporting environmental information

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

Timely, reliable and relevant information on the state of environment is essential for sound policies. This includes information on how the climate is changing, whether European waters are improving and how nature is reacting to pollution and changing land use. Such information should be made available to all and be easily understood. To this end the Commission proposes to improve, modernise and streamline the present information systems by establishing a European Shared Environment Information System. The objective of this system is to tie better together all existing data gathering and information flows using modern tools such as the internet and satellite technology. The objective is also to move away from paper based reporting and reports to a system where data is made available to the users at source in an open and transparent way.

More than 70 of the several hundred pieces of environmental legislation in force in the European Union require Member States to report on specific aspects of the environment within their territory. A large amount of environmental data is thus collected by various levels of public authorities throughout the EU.

This information is used to analyse trends and pressures on the environment and is vital when drawing up policy and assessing whether policy is effective or being properly implemented. At present, this wealth of information is neither made available in a timely manner nor in a format that policy makers and the public can readily understand and use. This is due to a range of obstacles of a legal, financial, technical or procedural nature.

With the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) environmentally-relevant data and information would be stored in environmental databases throughout the European Union and would be interconnected virtually and be compatible. The proposed SEIS is a decentralised but integrated web-enabled information system based on a network of public information providers sharing environmental data and information.

Information and communication technology will enable real-time data to be made available to decision-makers and allow them to make immediate and life-saving decisions. Recent experiences of forest fires, floods and droughts show how much timely environmental information can make a difference during an emergency.

Tackling today's environmental challenges such as water scarcity, preserving ecosystems and biodiversity, and adapting to climate change depend on the assessment of data from a variety of sectors and sources. For example, the health effects of air pollution can be evaluated if statistics on air quality, population concentrations and health statistics are overlapped for a specific region or geographical area and analysed collectively. Action can follow based on the results.

SEIS will offer EU Member States an efficient electronic system to fulfil their reporting obligations on EU environmental policies and legislation. The new system will be especially helpful in avoiding the duplication of reporting efforts, the streamlining of data flows, and reducing monitoring and reporting costs.

In return SEIS will provide Member States and EU institutions with more coherent environmental information to facilitate the drafting, implementation, and effectiveness of environmental policies.

European citizens will also be empowered by SEIS. It will provide them with useful environmental information in their language and thus enable them to make informed decisions on their environment and influence public policy.

A detailed implementation plan for SEIS will be presented some time in 2008. It will be built on efforts already being undertaken in Europe to create integrated information systems. These include the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) and the European environment information and observation network (EIONET), the 2007 INSPIRE Directive on access and interoperability of spatial data, and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative on Earth monitoring data from satellites. However, there is no integrated platform to connect all these initiatives into a shared and common system. SEIS aims to fill in this gap.

EU financial support to complement the national and regional budgets to implement SEIS will come from the Research Framework Programmes, LIFE, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and the Structural Funds.

Environmental Expert : sanitation / wastewater, EGIS BCEOM International, Morocco /Expert Environnement : assainissement / stations d'épuration

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

PROJET D’ASSAINISSEMENT DU GRAND NADOR:

L’ONEP prévoit la réalisation d’un projet d’assainissement du Grand Nador qui vise à assainir la ville de Nador, les communes voisines notamment le centre de Kariat Arekmane et à protéger la lagune de Marchica.

Ce projet a fait l’objet, par l’ONEP, d’une évaluation environnementale et l’élaboration d’un premier Plan de Gestion Environnementale et Sociale.

L’objet de la présente consultation est :

la validation de l’évaluation environnementale
la finalisation du Plan de Gestion Environnementale et Sociale

Application deadline: 12 March 2008.

Short-term assignment, 45 days.

INSPIRE Conference 2008: Call for papers

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

The INSPIRE Conference will take place in Slovenia, 23-25 June 2008.

With the adoption of the INSPIRE directive, 2007/2/EC, the focus of this year's conference is on reviewing the progress of the INSPIRE Legislation and on the development of SDIs in general. The objectives of this year's conference are to:

View the current state of progress of the INSPIRE legislation
Share knowledge on the progress of transposition of the INSPIRE directive in the member states
Offer an opportunity to the INSPIRE Drafting Teams and Thematic Working Groups to report on the development of the INSPIRE Implementing Rules
Further our understanding of the implementation challenges, costs, and benefits of SDIs at national, regional, and local level
Identify key issues and opportunities for European SDI projects
Explore and define synergies with other initiatives such as Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS)

The conference will be organised through a series of plenary sessions addressing common policy issues, and parallel sessions focusing in particular on applications and implementations of SDIs, research issues and new and evolving technologies and applications.

With this in mind this call for papers envisages submissions for the following topic areas:

INSPIRE Implementation
Sharing of national experiences with transposition
Coordination and organisational models
Process of legal transposition
Sharing of experiences and tools for implementation of National SDIs
Licensing frameworks
Portals and registries
Social and economic impacts
Education and awareness raising
Trans-national SDI projects (including EU (co-)funded projects)
... and beyond
New policies, new requirements, new stakeholders
European voice in global SDI initiatives
Evolving technologies

Organizers are particularly interested in accounts of what works, and what does not work, what are perceived benefits for policy, public administration, citizens and the private sector. Proposals will be evaluated by the programme committee and those accepted will be included in the on-line conference proceedings.

The deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 March 2008.

Water and Sanitation Project Engineers, EGIS BCEOM, Global

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

An experience on a wide range of international projects is required, whether it has been gained on technical assignments as an Expert, or in leadership roles as a Project Manager or Team Leader.

You have proven experience (minimum 10 years) as a qualified Hydraulic, or Civil Engineer in the water and sanitation sector. You have gained international experience in master planning, design and supervision of water and/or wastewater treatment plants, dams, drinking water supply, networks, technical assistance projects, or institutional support positions.
These assignments will be based abroad.

Assignments longer than 6 months

Application deadline: 1 April 2008.

Postdoc ‘Water footprint’, University of Twente, The Netherlands

2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

The postdoc (2 year position) will have the following tasks:

• Further develop the methodology of and draw up guidelines for water footprint accounting for application in different contexts, including the provision of national water footprint statistics (feeding into UN statistics) and business water footprint accounts (in cooperation with companies).
• Explore how water footprint accounts can be used as a basis for policy formulation aimed at the prevention, reduction and offsetting of water footprints.
• Study how the water footprint methodology can be applied in analysing business risks to water scarcity.
• Carry out ad-hoc short-term assignments in support of WWF’s water footprint activities at a maximum of 150 hours per year.

The gross monthly salary will be minimum 2802,– euro and maximum 4284,– euro depending on experience and qualifications of the candidate.

Application deadline: 15 March 2008.

Your written application, provided with a CV, list of publications, and references should be sent before March 15, 2008 to the University Twente, Personal Affairs CTW, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands or by e-mail to personeelszaken@ctw.utwente.nl, with reference to the vacancy ‘postdoc water footprint’.

Prof.dr.ir.Arjen Y. Hoekstra, telephone +31 53 489 3880 (e-mail: a.y.hoekstra#utwente.nl; replace # by @). More information is available at www.wem.ctw.utwente.nl (about the Water Engineering and Management Department) and at www.waterfootprint.org (about the water footprint research programme). Starting date of the project is flexible, but should preferably be before June 2008. Postdoc ‘Water footprint’, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Syria: External Announcement For tenders - Ministry of Irrigation

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

The Ministry of Irrigation in Damascus announced an external invitation of offers to implement the project of conveying water from Euphrates in Deir el –Zaor site to Palmyra and the phosphate mines according to special technical, financial and legal conditions.

The deadline for offers submissions is: 20 May 2008 (before 15.00 PM local time).

Call for papers for the 2nd General Assembly of the RISKBASE project: "Common System Understanding for Risk-Based Management of River Basins" in combination with the 2nd Thematic Workshop of the RISKBASE WP 1b: “Bridging Science, Water Management and Practical Experiences in European River Basins”

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

In RISKBASE, leading European scientists and representatives of major European stakeholder groups will review and synthesise the outcome of EC RTD Framework Pro-gramme projects, and other major initiatives, related to integrated risk assessment-based management of the water/sediment/soil system at the river-basin scale. The synthesis will lead to the development of integrated risk assessment-based management approaches enabling the prevention and/or reduction of the negative impacts caused by human activities on that system.

At present there is a fragmentation and a narrow view on the research that is going on at the various river basin case studies that are being carried out in the different ongoing EU funded projects. Since most of the partners involved in those projects are coming from research the links to river basin managers and other stakeholders are often weak. Sharing of the understanding of river basins between scientists and basin managers/stakeholders is the objective of the 2nd RISKBASE General Assembly and the integrated 2nd Thematic Workshop of WP1b (“River Basin Cases”).
This common understanding is seen by RISKBASE as the basis for risk-based management of river basins.

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2nd Thematic Workshop of WP 1b: “Bridging Science, Water Management and Practical Experiences in European River Basins”: This 2nd Thematic Workshop of WP 1b organised by CSIC aims at linking the knowledge and experiences from scientists, river basin authorities and stakeholders. Different institutional settings as well as main environmental issues at stake will be presented through three parallel sessions focused on the following European regions: Southern (Llobregat/Ter), Central (Danube) and Northern (Dommel). A fourth parallel session will focus on the impact of biofuel production. This global approach will allow a common system understanding of river basins.

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The scientific programme will comprise poster presentations on 15th / 16th May 2008. The abstracts should be submitted before 18th April 2008.

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Registration form.

These conferences will be held in Budapest (Hungary) in 15-17 May 2008.

Water and Environment Journal vol. 22 no. 1 (March 2008)

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

IngentaConnect: keeping you InTouch

Record 1.
TI: EDITORIAL MARCH 2008
AU: Butler, David
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 1-1(1)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/wej/2008/00000022/00000001/art00001
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Record 2.
TI: Stochastic simulation of the severity of hydrological drought
AU: Abebe, Adane; Foerch, Gerd
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 2-10(9)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/wej/2008/00000022/00000001/art00002
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Record 3.
TI: Development of an electromagnetic hydrocyclone separator for purification of wastewater
AU: Ali-Zade, Parviz; Ustun, Ozgur; Vardarli, Feyzullah; Sobolev, Konstantin
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 11-16(6)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/wej/2008/00000022/00000001/art00003
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Record 4.
TI: Spatial and temporal changes of hydrogeochemistry in ancient tank cascade systems in Sri Lanka: evidence for a constructed wetland
AU: Mahatantila, Kushani; Chandrajith, Rohana; Jayasena, H. A. H.; Ranawana, K. B.
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 17-24(8)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/wej/2008/00000022/00000001/art00004
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Record 5.
TI: Investigation of the impact of intensive broiler rearing on local fine particulate matter concentrations
AU: Bull, Michael
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 25-31(7)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
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Record 6.
TI: A new management approach for the remediation of polluted surface water outfalls to improve river water quality
AU: Dunk, M. J.; McMath, S. M.; Arikans, J.
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 32-41(10)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
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Record 7.
TI: Developing an integrated water management strategy to overcome conflicts between urban growth, water infrastructure and environmental quality: a case study from Ashford, Kent
AU: Furey, S. G.; Lutyens, B. C.
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 42-53(12)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
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Record 8.
TI: Inventory of water management practices in Harare, Zimbabwe
AU: Nhapi, Innocent
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 54-63(10)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
IS: 1747-6585
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Record 9.
TI: Accuracy of the ISIS bridge methods for prediction of afflux at high flows
AU: Atabay, Serter
JN: Water and Environment Journal
PD: March 2008
VO: 22
NO: 1
PG: 64-73(10)
PB: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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Call for papers for the Conference: "Water in Africa: Hydro-Pessimism or Hydro-Optimism?"

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

How are water resources being managed in Africa? What are the main challenges concerning access, distribution and allocation of freshwater resources in the continent? What are the driving forces that shape current and future demand for water? What are the solutions being developed by communities, policy-makers, private sector and environmental activists? What are water scientists and international donor organisations contributing?

Pessimists highlight water scarcity and insecurity, water inequity and the conflict potential at local and regional levels. They forecast a gloomy future for Africa. Can they be wrong? Optimists emphasise the potential of improved water management practices, water policy reforms and socially, economically and environmentally sustainable policies. They argue that local adaptive capacities can be enhanced and regional hydropolitical cooperation can be established. Water optimists believe in windows of opportunity to improve water resources management and that Africa’s water crises can be addressed. Can they be right?

The Centre of African Studies invites researchers and practitioners to contribute with water management experiences and case-studies from the diverse regions of Africa, and to participate in a wide debate on hydro-pessimism and hydro-optimism in the African context.

Call for Abstracts:

Authors are invited to submit an abstract of 250 words by the 30th April 2008, containing the
following information:

§ Proposed title
§ Authors’ names
§ Contact address (institution, email and telephone)
§ Paper proposal
§ Keywords

Presentations can be submitted in English, French or Portuguese. Abstracts will be reviewed by a Scientific Committee, and authors will be notified by email of acceptance or refusal of their proposals by the end of June 2008. Accepted papers can be published in the Conference Proceedings (paper and CD/ROM formats). There are no registration fees.

All abstracts must be submitted via email to ana.cascao@kcl.ac.uk

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

Jordan: Sewage network crumbling in city of Zarqa

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

A crumbling sewage system in the city of Zarqa, 30km east of Amman, could trigger the spread of diseases on a large scale, according to community leaders and residents.

Residents say streets flooded with effluent have become a common sight. Many say the situation has taken its toll on their children.

Officials at the Ministry of Water said a plan had been drawn up to replace the entire network by 2012 at a cost of US$275 million.

"The government has started implementing a project to renew the sewage network in the city. Currently a US$5 million renovation project is near completion," said Emad Moumani, head of Zarqa water department at the Ministry of Water.

The government also has a "hydraulic analysis" project designed to uncover leaks, he added.
Water experts say chronic water shortages and official policy to ration water are putting pressure on the sanitation system in general.

Elias Salameh, a professor at the University of Jordan who specialises in water issues, argued that the real problem is not so much the dilapidated sewage network, but rather the close proximity of the sewage network to domestic water supply lines, combined with irregular water pumping.

WWC News Update n.33 - La lettre du CME n.33

2008-03-04T00:00:00Z

The WWC News Update, issue No.33 is now available. To download it, please click on the following link: http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=760

In this issue:

-          Editorial: Sanitation needs science, but first it needs awareness
-          At a glance: Development Assistance: From Statistics to Reality
-          WWC and World Water Forum News
ü       Congress on Achieving the MDGs for Water and Sanitation in Africa
ü       Strengthening Local Authorities
ü       From Questions to Sessions: 2nd Thematic and Regional Coordinators Meeting
ü       4th ISC and Committees Meetings
ü       Political Process Kick-off Meeting for Local Authorities
ü       World Water Day(s) in Istanbul
ü       DHI’s Women’s Water Fund - Call for applications

-          Water and Film
ü       A Call to Compete in the 3rd Edition of FIFEN
ü       Verviers International Water Film Festival

-          News from Members and Partners
ü       connect2earth.org: Launching a New Community for Young People
ü       First Water Week in Africa
ü       Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools
ü       www.watmed4.org
ü       WWDR-3 – Table of contents open for public comments

-          In Brief
ü       Launch of Caribbean Desalination Association
ü       Norway Contributes NOK60M for Water, Energy
ü       Call for submissions to the SEED Award 2008

-          Where to meet, Agenda, Publications, A few acronyms

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