The sixth workshop towards an Action Plan for the Water Strategy in the Western Mediterranean 5+5, Marseille (France), 23-24 June 2016

The water group of the 5+5 dialogue met in Marseille on 23-24 June 2016 to finalise the action plan and related documents to be proposed for Ministers approval. The 5+5 represents Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Malta from the EU and Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya from the Southern Med countries. Since the Water Strategy in the Western Mediterranean (WSWM) was endorsed by Ministers in Algiers on 31 March 2015, the working group met twice to work on the Action Plan. Countries as well as observer members made the final amendments to the action plan, the dissemination roadmap as well as the rules of the procedure. These documents will be put forward to the Ministers by the end of July for a possible official endorsement during the COP22 of the UN framework convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech next November. Each of these technical working group meetings as a special thematic focus, in Marseille it was Climate Change adaptation. The Rhone Mediterranean River Basin Agency presented its newly approved adaptation plan and the process that led to it. The topic of Water Information System has been suggested as a cross cutting issue for the next meeting (date and place not defined yet). In the meantime, the process will be presented at the Water and Climate global conference to be held in Rabat, 11-12 July, the MEDCOP Climat in Tangiers, 18-19 July and at the drafting group of the Water Expert Group of the Union for the Mediterranean in Malta, 27-28 July.

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The Dialogue 5+5 adopts its draft Action Plan of the Water Strategy in the Western Mediterranean