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

Qatar Islamic helps fund $150m desalination plant

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

Qatar Islamic Bank said on Sunday it had agreed with Qatar Electricity and Water Co a $150 million Islamic finance deal to help fund a water desalination plant. The 20-year istisna-ijara facility will be used to finance the construction of three desalination units for the Ras Abu Fontas A1 plant, the lender said in a statement. Due to be completed in the summer of 2009, the plant will have an ultimate capacity of 45 million imperial gallons a day.

Saudi Arabia: Expansion plans for water projects

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

Saudi Arabia is set to expand the privatisation of its desalination and wastewater treatment sector to cover more cities in the country. The move follows the creation of the National Water Company earlier this year to oversee the privatisation process, which aims to improve water services in Saudi Arabia and save dwindling supplies. The company will initially target the privatisation of water projects in four cities, including Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh. "Within the next three years, we hope to cover most major cities in Saudi Arabia," said HE Loay Al-Musallam, head of privatisation team and deputy minister of planning and development, Ministry of Water & Electricity. "I'm confident that we can create a leading water utilities service in the region."

Al-Musallam added that desalination and wastewater treatment projects are implemented either as a build-operate-transfer (BOT) or private-public partnership (PPP). "Having both schemes gives us the ability to attract different types of bidders. We issue a management contract for the distribution of water and wastewater collection, one for construction of the plant and another for the sales promotion.

"The way in which we have built these contracts gives us the confidence that our targets will be met in collaboration with the private sector." The process of privatising Saudi Arabia's water projects began in November 2005, when a consortium of Saudi and Malaysian companies was awarded a US $2.4 billion (SR9.1 billion) contract to build the Shuaiba-3 desalination plant.

Middle East: $120b to flow into water projects

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

The Middle East is set to spend $120 billion upgrading its water infrastructure over the next ten years, according to industry experts. The region is home to five per cent of the global population, but has just one per cent of the world's renewable fresh water. Rapidly rising populations, particularly in the GCC region, along with greater industrialisation and construction, are dramatically driving up water consumption in the region. According to a World Energy Council estimate, investments in electricity production and water desalination projects in the region until 2012 will hit a staggering US$120 billion, representing around seven per cent of the Arab nations' Gross Domestic Product.

The region was faced with a colossal challenge of stepping up electricity and water supply capabilities in the wake of soaring demand and more importantly, the difficult task of water conservation employing new technologies, speakers at the eighth Gulf water Conference and Exhibition organised by the water, Science and Technology Association, Bahrain's Electricity and water Authority and GCC General Secretariat said yesterday.

The event being held under the theme, 'water in the GCC, towards an optional planning and economic perspective' brought together experts in water technology from across the world to discuss water strategies and national planning, water economics and finance, natural water resources, non-conventional water resources and public awareness, conservation and capacity building.

To meet the growing drinking water demand from 3.9 billion cubic metres in 1999 to 8.8 billion cubic metres by 2010, GCC governments had turned to desalination in a big way. The six GCC states collectively spent more than $40 billion on building around 550 seawater desalination plants over the last 25 years.

Lisa Henthorne, President, International Desalination Association, said the region accounted for 50 per cent of the desalination facilities in the entire globe. Desalination costs rose drastically in the last five years owing to steep increase in cost of material inputs. "Demand too was rising fast with population exploding." "Bahrain continues to invest heavily in its desalination capacity, as well as water distribution facilities. We have to cope with rising consumption and production costs while maintaining subsidisation of its services," said Works Minister Fahmi Al Jowder. A staggering BD215 million were being pumped into improving drinking water facilities in the Kingdom in the next decade, more than double that was spent in the past 10 years while desalination projects would get BD400 million in the coming 10 years.

Al Jowder hailed the cooperation between the private and government sectors in Bahrain which, he hoped, would ensure the success of Al Dour electricity and water production station project.

Euro-Mediterranean Statistic 2007 published: Mediterranean and EU countries coming closer

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

The Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) are coming closer to the EU Member States, with their higher literacy levels, growing trade links and increasing tourism, according to the second annual Euro-Med statistical data bulletin published by the MEDSTAT II EU-funded Programme.

The Euro-Mediterranean Statistics bulletin, released today, shows that the annual growth rate is above 5% in most of the MPCs, with Morocco reaching 8% in 2006. On the other hand, the GDP per capita in the MPCs is lower than in Bulgaria, that has the lowest rate among EU-27, with the exception of Israel, where it is around the level of Slovenia and Portugal.

More information and trends can be found in Euro-Mediterranean Statistics, the principal publi-cation of the MEDSTAT II statistical cooperation programme launched in 2006, for a duration of three years. The publication includes more than eighty tables and graphs on the latest statistical data for the nine MPCs, plus Turkey, the EU Member States and EFTA countries.

It is divided into nine distinct chapters: General profile of the countries, National Accounts, Ex-ternal Trade and Balance of Payments, Social statistics, Energy, Agriculture, Environment, Tourism and Transport. It is based on data from the ten Mediterranean countries, mainly na-tional sources. The publication can be downloaded and ordered free of charge on the Eurostat website.

Published in paper version and on CD-ROM.

MEdIES representation in Water Training in Podgorica, Montenegro, 25-28 March 2008

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

MIO-ECSDE and MEdIES contributed to the Capacity Building Workshop entitled “Stakeholders Involvement in Transboundary Water Resources Management” that took place in Podgorica, 25-28 March 2008, aimed at water directors and stuff working in the management of transboundary rivers and lakes of the Balkan region.

The targeted workshop was attended by ~22 participants from Albania, Fyrom, Greece, Kosovo, and Montenegro. MIO-ECSDE and MEdIES took part in the organisation of the sessions based on ESD principles, in an authentic experiential way. Ms Iro Alampei, participated to the event.

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

'Senior Programme Officer' (Project Position), Division of Regional Cooperation in Geneva

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

VACANCY NOTICE NO.: NA-08-015
ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION: UNEP/ROE
DUTY STATION: Geneva
FUNCTIONAL TITLE: Senior Programme Officer
GRADE: L-5
POST NUMBER:
IMIS NO:
DURATION: 1 Year (with possible extension)
CLOSING DATE: 02 April 2008

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system’s designated
entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to
coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment
under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international
community for action. UNEP’s Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC) helps to implement UNEP’s
global programs in the regions by initiating, coordinating and catalyzing regional and sub-regional
cooperation and action in response to environmental problems and emergencies.

UNEP wishes to recruit a Senior Programme Officer (L5) to manage the European Poverty Environment Initiative to support integration of environmental sustainability into national development processes, including within the UN country teams. The SPO will oversee implementation of UNEP’s poverty and environment programme, coordinate the delivery of UNEP’s One UN activities in the region, and provide strategic and policy guidance to the environmental work of the UN Country Teams. The Senior Programme Officer (SPO) will be essential in strengthening UNEP’s Poverty and Environment team and on other high-profile, ongoing processes such as wider UN reform, including Delivering as One at a country level.

Duties and Responsibilities:
• The Senior Programme Officer will work in close collaboration with relevant officers in UNEP responsible for overseeing specific parts of UNEP’s programme in relevant countries and relevant project personnel and national authorities. The Senior Programme Officer will also work closely with Environment and Policy Advisors of the UNDP Regional Centres.
• (S)he will report directly to the Director, UNEP's Regional Office for Europe.
• Annual Evaluations are made in accordance with the procedures of UNEP with inputs from the UN Regional Centres and the Poverty Environment Facility in Nairobi.

All applications to be sent to the following address on or before the deadline of 02 April 2008.
Chief, Recruitment and Classification Section
Human Resource Management Service
United Nations Office at Nairobi, (UNON)
P.O. Box 67578 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: Recruitment@unon.org
Facsimile (254 20) 62 42 12/62 41 34
Deadline for applications: 02 April 2008
PLEASE QUOTE VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO.: NA-08-15

Invitation and Application: Future Water Leaders

2008-04-02T00:00:00Z

The implementation team of USAID's Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative announced the invitation and the application for the Future Water Leaders Program. This is a professional development program consisting of seminars in the Middle East region. It includes five one-week modules taking place between August 2008 and January 2010. It is aimed at people between the ages of 30 - 45 currently involved in water supply and sanitation issues. Applications are due by 1 May 2008.

If you are reading this information, then you, yourself, might be interested and eligible to apply. It is also likely that you are working with subordinates and colleagues whom you think are appropriate and would benefit from the program. We encourage you to share this message broadly. Put the application in the hands of the people whom you think will benefit from a program that provides training in the latest approaches, ideas, strategies, and systems in the water supply and sanitation sector. Put the application in the hands of people who will be dealing with the critical issues facing the sector in the next ten years.

The first module will be held in Cairo, Egypt from 3-7 August, 2008. The exact timing and location of subsequent modules may change, but are tentatively scheduled as follows:

November 2008: Sanaa, Yemen
March 2009: Amman, Jordan
July 2009: Tunis, Tunisia
January 2010: Marrakech, Morocco

Application form

UNESCO organizes workshop: Adapting to the impacts of global changes on river basins and aquifer systems

2008-04-03T00:00:00Z

Global changes brought on by population growth, climate change, urbanization, expansion of infrastructure, migration, land conversion and pollution is altering the Earth and the way it functions. Although these changes are global, no institution or country can face the challenges they pose alone. UNESCO-IHP, as the only intergovernmental programme on water sciences with a focus on freshwater in the UN system, can foster the cooperation needed to bring all players together, whether they are Member States, research institutions, universities, UN agencies, NGOs, or national or international associations. The role of UNESCO IHP is to offer a platform to facilitate and support research and capacity to help to understand the scope of global change impacts on water resources in order to manage the water resources in a sustainable and adaptive way.

On 8-9 September 2008, UNESCO will convene the workshop “Adapting to the impacts of global changes on river basins and aquifer systems”, which will aim to bring together scientists form different networks such as HELP, GWSP, G-WADI, GRAPHIC, ISARM, FRIEND, IFI, ISI, IRI, IWMI, and WMO, Universities, research organizations and centres in order to:

identify key research topics related to global change issues
identify common topics for synergy and coordination of research agendas for different IHP projects and networking partners focusing on the major drivers related to global change and their impacts on hydrology and water resources
develop a background paper on global change issues
develop a global change network

The development of a background paper which will be a contribution to the Global Change and Risk Management theme of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. Furthermore the background paper will be used by UNESCO-IHP to help foster and streamline the research on global change issues.

Remote Sensing Applications to Groundwater

2008-04-03T00:00:00Z

By A.M.J. Meijerink, D. Bannert, O. Batelaan, M.W. Lubczynski and T. Pointet
IHP Series on Groundwater No. 16

This book is written for those who wish to become acquainted with the use of remote sensing for groundwater studies. It is written from the point of view of a hydrogeologist-practitioner. Emphasis is placed on the interpretation of images of diverse geologic terrain in warm climates, and on extraction of hydrogeologic information, for which knowledge of the basics of digital image processing techniques is required. This book will help to raise awareness for the use of remote sensing data, which is still needed in many organizations dealing with groundwater.

UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have cooperated with other space agencies, UN organizations and African partner organizations, which use satellite data within the framework of the TIGER initiative, to develop a network of experts to strengthen the scientific base and work towards developing sustainable satellite-based information services to support water resources management. This manual was devised as a contribution to the TIGER project.

Full publication [PDF format – 35 MB]

Job opportunity at the World Water Council

2008-04-03T00:00:00Z

The World Water Council is initiating its Africa Programme “water, a tool for development” in partnership with several African organisations.

The first component of the programme is the preparation of a synthesis report of work which has been or is being done in Africa on the theme of “Water in a Context of Global Changes,” (i.e. relevant visioning and forward planning activities incorporating demographic changes, climate change, etc,) and the effects these changes may have on the sustainable development of Africa.

The second component comprises the development and management of a continent-wide collaborative platform to facilitate exchange of information, experiences, debate and development of innovative projects. Three topics of focus have been initially defined;

Infrastructures and their maintenance
Water as a means for development of all economic sectors
Water development as an instrument in the prevention of future crises

The first steps in the Africa programme are being financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For the implementation of this Africa Programme, the World Water Council recruits a project manager with the following duties and expected qualities

Main Tasks:

- Management of programme work plan incl. budget & reporting

- Facilitation of debate and coordination of action for programme development and implementation for program components;

- Identification, development and management of partnerships with relevant African and International organisations

- Organisation, facilitation and synthesis of regional expert and partnership meetings

- Support the executive direction and council work bodies in preparation and implementation of the World Water Forum and other specific events in this context.

Requirements:

- Socio-economic-political profile with focus on water and population questions

- 10 years of relevant experience of which at least 5 years in Africa.

- Willing to be stationed for longer duration in Africa

Skills:

- capable of analysis and synthesis identifying key issues, translating them into action programmes and preparing concise synthesis and action programme reports

- active networker and providing others access to these networks; networker with excellent communication skills

- bilingual (French and English), fluent in speaking and writing

- team-player

- proficient with main office and website management software packages

The position is initially for 18 months. The working location will initially be at WWC-Headquarters in Marseilles (France) and during the development and implementation of the programme at one of the partner organizations in Africa (station to be decided in consultation).

Advancing wastewater treatment in rural areas

2008-04-03T00:00:00Z

The LIFE-TCY project 'Sakhnin Centre' (LIFE03 TCY/IL/000035) has used LIFE funding to improve wastewater treatment and environmental awareness among rural Arab communities in northern Israel. The beneficiary of the project was the Towns Association for Environmental Quality-Beit Natufa (TAEQ), an organisation based in lower Galilee that serves the local population of six Arab villages. Its goal is to increase public awareness and community involvement regarding environmental issues.

TAEQ is responsible for the Sakhnin Regional Demonstration Centre (SRDC), located in the village of Sakhnin, which provides environmental planning, education and wastewater treatment (WWT) services. Rural area WWT plants usually use low investment technology, and suffer from problems of low process efficiency and poor effluent quality. Such plants can result in environmental damage – such as the pollution of existing surface and groundwater sources - and in the loss of significant quantities of potentially reusable water. This was the case with the Sakhnin plant, which, although it was treating effluent from some 70% of local households, was in dire need of an upgrade.

The LIFE project tested the possibility of treating the wastewater in such a way as to allow reuse for local irrigation. One additional benefit would be a dramatic reduction in freshwater consumption. Together with project partner Istanbul Technical University (ITU), TAEQ developed cheap and simple treatment methods such as wood shavings, cloth and plants.

Four methods were tested and all four managed to produce, on a small-scale, the expected quality improvements, with the most succesful being the application of an intermittently-fed bio-filter and a seasonal reservoir with a fixed medium.

The project also set out to allow the added water quality benefits to be studied and communicated both to local communities, and further afield.

One way was via a series of mini-research projects carried out by secondary school pupils throughout Israel. A total of 27 ‘final works’ were done by students majoring in environmental sciences, and 310 ‘Ecotops’ (projects on environmental topics) by other pupils. One lecturer working at the SDRC said it was amazing to watch students arrive with little environmental knowledge and then to see their perceptions change.

Three annual workshops were held, involving the participation of students, experts, academics, entrepreneurs and policy-makers. The project was also visited by many politicians, diplomats, academics and others from both Israel and abroad.

Sakhnin Centre as a Model for Environmental Education and International Cooperation on Advanced Wastewater Treatment (A-WWT) in Rural Areas.

Policy Officer – Governance and Accountability, WaterAid, UK

2008-04-04T00:00:00Z

Based in Vauxhall, London with overseas travel
Salary: £36,500 pa

WaterAid is seeking to appoint a Governance and Accountability Policy Officer. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of research, analysis and advocacy in public policy reform and international development issues. You will have the drive and the commitment to develop and promote a successful pro-poor reform agenda that will help strengthen the political commitment and capacity of official institutions charged with ensuring service delivery.

Candidates will be expected to travel overseas for between 6-8 weeks per year.

Application deadline: 18 April 2008.

To apply, please download the Policy Officer application pack ( Word 660Kb). Completed applications should be sent to jobs@wateraid.org.

Israel: The Sea-Water Desalination Tender

2008-04-07T00:00:00Z

The Israelian Ministry of National Infrastructures, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Water Authority, through the Sea-Water Desalination Inter-Ministerial Tender Committee invites entities and consortia from the private sector in ISrael and abroad, to participate in a pre-qualitication process of private sector entities for a tender for: the finance, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and transfer to the State of Israel, of a sea-water desalination facility at Sorek, with production capabilities of at least 100 million m3 per annum (the "Project").

The Invitation for Pre-Qualification and any updates thereto shall be available for online review starting on April 8, 2008, at the Ministry of Finance website at:
http://www.mof.gov.il/tender.htm#mmm2008desalination. In addition, the Invitation for Pre-Qualification is available for review, at no charge, as of April 15 2008, Sunday through Thursday, between 09:30-14:30, subject to prior coordination with the Coordinator of the Tender Committee, Ms. Ayelet Yosfan-Shaul; at 972-3-9778154 or 972-3-9778163.

The Invitation for Pre-Qualification may be purchased for twenty five thousand NIS (25,000 NIS), during the times as specified in Section 3 above. Payments shall be made by transfer of the aforesaid amount to account No. 310018001, at the Bank of Israel, Jerusalem Branch - 99001, in the name of the Accountant General. Upon transfer of the aforesaid payments, the participants shall indicate the following: "Pre-qualification process for the Project of finance, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and transfer to the State of Israel, of a sea-water desalination facility at Sorek".

Participants will submit their Pre-Qualification Submissions by no later than 12:00 on Sunday, June 15th, 2008, to the Tender Committee’s tender box, at the following address: Private Public Partnerships Division, Inbal Insurance Company Ltd., Inbal House, Arava St., 5th Floor, P.O.B. 282, Airport City, Ben-Gurion Airport 70100

Questions and requests for clarifications may be submitted, in writing, to Ms. Ayelet Yosfan-Shaul, at the address detailed in Section 7 above, through facsimile no. 972-3- 9778165, or via e-mail: ayelety@inbal.co.il; with a copy to Adv. Noa Meidan, Levy, Meidan & Co. Attorneys-at-Law, through facsimile no. 972-3-5102493, or via e-mail: noam@levymeidan.co.il. Written answers will be issued to all purchasers of the Invitation for Pre-Qualification.

Arab leaders have approved a ten-year strategy (2008–2018) for higher education

2008-04-07T00:00:00Z

Member states of the Arab League have approved a ten-year strategy aiming to boost higher education and scientific research: The strategy was presented at a summit of the 22 member nations of the Arab League in Damascus, Syria, last week (29–30 March) and builds on an earlier plan signed in 2007 (see Arab states sign ten-year science development plan).

It calls for an increase in the ratio of students enrolled in science and technology at undergraduate level from 30–45 per cent and encourages more women to pursue scientific careers.

The strategy also seeks to increase the number of Arab postgraduate research centres. Eighty per cent of Arab postgraduate students currently carry out their study abroad, which is contributing to Arab brain drain.

To implement the strategy via grants and loans, the plan encourages the establishment of a special fund to be located at the Tunisia-based Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

Bahlul Eliagoubi, director of science and the scientific research programme at ALECSO, told SciDev.Net that this plan will aid the Arab states in achieving excellence in higher education, "which is closely linked to scientific research productivity and the development of sustainable knowledge-based economies in Arab countries".

An action plan will be prepared to ensure that the strategy is implemented. This will be monitored and evaluated using specific indicators, such as the number of patent applications filled, research papers, the number of women researchers recruited and measured productivity growth.

The strategy also recommends setting up special higher education programmes to provide the private sector with a skilled scientific workforce. The league says this will help encourage the private sector in Arab countries to increase funding for higher education and research, which currently stands at only one per cent of total financial support.

Member states of the Arab League will fund the strategy. A report addressing its implementation and progress made will be presented at the 2009 Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar.