6th World Water Forum
References
6th World Water Forum
The Energy Efficiency Directive - romance novel or modern tragedy?
Following a speech on the Energy efficiency Directive by the Danish presidency today, NGOs call on Energy ministers for a new level of ambition and urgency into the negotiations.
The UfM Gaza Desalination Project and the 6th World Water Forum discussed in France
Deputy Secretary General Dr. Rafiq Husseini, and the Minister of Water of the Palestinian Authority Dr. Shaddad Attilli met with the French Minister of International Cooperation Mr. Henri de Raincourt.
French Cooperation Minister Henri de Raincourt met with the Palestinian Minister for Water, Shaddad Attili, and with Deputy Secretary-General Rafiq El Husseini at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, to discuss development projects in the water sector and prepare for the forthcoming World Water Forum to be held on 12 March in Marseille, France.
The talks reviewed the progress made to expedite the water projects in the Gaza strip, in particular the Project for Desalination Facility in Gaza labeled by the UfM. Mr. De Raincourt commended the start-up of the desalination water project which will provide 1.6 million Gazans with potable water at a cost of 350 million euros.
This visit aimed to evoke the preparation of the 6th World Water Forum, where the UfM project tin Gaza will be discussed, as well as the needed actions towards the right to water access. Palestine and France also reaffirmed the importance of entry into force of the 1997 UN Convention which encourages the cooperation between countries who share water courses.
On 22 June 2011, the Union for the Mediterranean “labelled” its very first project which consists of the construction of a 100 million cubic meters desalination facility and distribution system in the Gaza strip that would help to address the major water deficit for a population of 1.6 million. The “labeling” of this large-scale project, submitted by the Secretariat’s Environment & Water Division in collaboration with the Palestinian Water Authority, by the representatives of the 43 UfM countries was partly based on a unanimous recommendation from the UfM’s Water Expert Group.
This humanitarian project will contribute to job creation and future economic and sustainable development in that highly populated region of the Mediterranean.
Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Arab Countries - MNA Flagship Report
While the people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been coping with a harsh environment for thousands of years, climate change offers unprecedented challenges. With rapid climate change existing coping mechanisms are often becoming inadequate or obsolete; hence climate change impacts negatively on people’s lives and livelihood. Solutions to reduce vulnerability and capitalize on opportunities are presently difficult for policy makers in the region to identify and implement. This has motivated the World Bank and the League of Arab states to produce the flagship report: Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Arab Countries.
The objective is to provide information on current and future climate variability and change and provide actions and policy recommendations that can improve people's lives and livelihood in a changing climate.
Thousands of people throughout the Arab world are being impacted by climate change through increased cyclones, floods, and multi-year and recurrent droughts. In Syria more than 250,000 families have left the arid rural areas after their assets, including livestock, have been slowly and steadily depleted.
Some decades ago pastoralist such as the Bedu could move to new areas where they could find grass and water to feed their livestock. Now with growing populations, borders and property rights it is often difficult, if not impossible to move to where the grass is greener. Instead, livestock often succumbs to drought and the only option is to move to the outskirts of towns and cities where the pastoral way of life so critical the Bedu culture is lost, assets are depleted and the skills of the rural poor are hard to deploy. With few assets and often with few social networks, they have limited capacity to adapt and face enormous hardship.
Another example of such hardship is the current drought in the horn of Africa which has led to migration and depleted heath and caused hunger for thousands of people. Due to the lack of adequate food intake, malnutrition is widespread and people are traveling often far in search not only of new livelihoods but often for survival. This illustrates the hardship climate change is leading to for many people in MENA.
Let us not forget that the poorest in the region are the hardest hit and often the most vulnerable to climate variability and change. This is because poor people are the most dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods and well-being and often live in geographical locations which are particularly vulnerable to climate change such as on steep slopes, in valleys, or in arid areas. With the increased impact of climate change already difficult situations can become life threatening.
It is no secret that it is getting warmer, dryer and more variable in MENA. In 2010 alone four countries in the region logged temperatures above 50 C.
The changing climate impacts people's well-being in a multitude of way. For example: through their livelihoods, health, access to water and assets as well as gender relations in both rural and urban areas. This calls for action and this is what the report is aiming to provide.
The report is being produced by regional and international experts in the above mentioned areas. By making sure that researchers in these countries play a prominent role in the process of producing the report, it is more likely that local knowledge and experience will be captured and options to address the changing climate in the region will be addressed adequately and appropriately for the reality the the people in the region live with today and in the near future.
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Report Chapters Full Report Appendices Chapter 1: Climate Change is Happening Now and People Are Affected in Arab Countries Chapter 2: Ways Forward for Climatology Mini-Chapter: Disaster Risk Management Chapter 3: Projected Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources Chapter 4: Climate Change is a Threat to Food Security and Rural Livelihoods Chapter 5: Urban Livelihoods and Living Conditions are Affected by Climate Change Chapter 6: Gender - Responsive Climate Change Adaptation: Ensuring Effectiveness and Sustainability Chapter 7: Improving Health in a Changing ClimateChapter 8: Recommended Policy Directions and Adaptation Actions
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http://www.arabwatercouncil.org/AWF/Downloads/Sessions/Theme2/3-Dorte-CC-Adaptation-Action-Plans.pdf
Launching of MDGs Monitoring and Evaluation for Water in North Africa “MEWINA” Project
CEDARE has just signed project agreement with African Water Facility for a “Regional Program for Monitoring & Evaluation of the MDGs & the Water Sector in North Africa” (MEWINA project). With a budget of about 1.9 million Euros, the project is divided into 4 components including:
COMPONENT 1: Assessment of existing M&E Systems
COMPONENT II: Standardizing and harmonizing National and N-AMCOW M&E systems and reporting
COMPONENT III: Preparing a North African M&E Action Plan and Program
COMPONENT IV: Project Management
The project is expected to establish national units for Water Monitoring & Evaluation within the main ministry in-charge of water at the national level in the 6 North African countries. Coordinated at the national level by a national focal point, the national units will work with a national task force consisting of representatives from the main water-related ministries and authorities at the national level. The project will provide these national units with the necessary equipment, and will develop national capacities for better harmonization, standardization, and sharing of water related information. With North Africa being the first sub-region in Africa to start the M&E Water program under AMCOW, the expected harmonized Water M&E system at the North African sub-regional level, will eventually be replicated and implemented at the Pan-African level.
Project coordinator CEDARE has organized in Cairo the Launching regional workshop on launching the MEWINA project: “MDGs Monitoring and Evaluation for Water in North Africa-MEWINA Project” on the 31st of January, 2012. As the Technical Secretariat of the North African Ministers Council on Water-NAMCOW and hosting organization of the project’s Regional Management Unit, the Centre for Environment and Development in the Arab Region and Europe-CEDARE.
Implemented under the umbrella of the African Ministers Council on Water-AMCOW and funded by the African Water Facility-AWF, the project has a regional outreach that covers the 6 countries of the north-African sub-region: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, & Tunisia.
The Opening ceremony commenced at 9:30 a.m. with the opening session and ends with a press conference. Then significant presentations by outstanding speakers took place till the end of day 2. Day 3 was scheduled for training the MEWINA regional and national team on the logistical and financial rules and procedures of the project.
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Related information:
http://www.cedare.int/namcow/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=487
http://hebdo.ahram.org.eg/arab/ahram/2012/2/8/envi2.htm
http://namcow.cedare.int/namcow/
http://water.cedare.int/cedare.int/Main.aspx
http://namcow.cedare.int/namcow/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=505
http://174.129.40.80/en/projects/monitoring-evaluation-for-water-in-north-africa-project-mewina
Fathallah Sijilmassi Elected New Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean
Fathallah Sijilmassi, Director of the Moroccan investment promotion agency (AMDI), was unanimously elected, on Friday (10 February 2012) in Brussels, as Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
Sijilmassi succeeds to his countryman Youssef Amrani who was appointed in the current Moroccan government as Minister Delegate to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
He holds a PhD in economics, being Graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Grenoble, France. Nn 22 November 2004, he was appointed Morocco’s ambassador to France, a position he held until December 2008.
Upon his return to Morocco, King Mohammed VI appointed him in July 2, 2009 Director of the Moroccan Agency for Investment Development.
Previously, F. Sijilmassi was Ambassador, Head of Mission of Morocco to the European Communities. He was also ambassador of Morocco in charge of the Barcelona Process and the Mediterranean Dialogue of NATO. Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, he was Director of Multilateral Cooperation (1999-2000) and Director of European Affairs (2001-2003).
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http://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/8883/fathallah-sijilmassi-tete-l-upm.html
Call for Nominations and Applications: Chair of the Global Water Partnership
Call for Nominations and Applications
The GWP seeks an outstanding and internationally recognized leader to serve as its Chair, guiding the global Network of water partners, and heading the GWP Organization. Given the scale of water-related challenges across the globe, the Chair has a unique opportunity to lead the GWP at an important time, as action now is essential for a water secure world.
ANQUE ICCE 2012: Apply now for the Young Researchers Awards
Launch of the French agency for sustainable Mediterranean regions and cities
The French agency for sustainable Mediterranean regions and cities was officialy set up on the 3rd February 2012 in Marseille (France) as a Public Interest Group -GIP-. The objective of this agency is to implement a mechanism for exchange of experience, expertise, training, and cooperation to foster integrated and emonstrative approaches for urban and regional development in the countries of the Union for the Mediterranean. Diplomat Serge Telle has been appointed President of this new agency.
Natura 2000 is mission possible
The EEB has released today a report showing that making the N2000 network effective is still possible, with the help of more EU funds and more involvement from member states.
13.03.2012: STREAM Policy Seminar “Achieving solutions for water scarcity and drought”, Marseille, France
Application deadline extended: Internship, European Water Stewardship
Report of the EP Water Group meeting last January 2012 on "Water priorities of the Danish Presidency"
The report of the latest EP Water Group meeting last January 2012 on "Water priorities of the Danish Presidency" with Danish Minister of Environment, Ms Ida Auken is available.
The next meeting of the EP Water Group is scheduled for 29 February 2012 from 17h30 - 19h00 to discuss the "6th World Water Forum - Marseilles 12-17 March: Parliamentarian and Europe region preparatory processes".
Regional Approaches to Food and Water Security in the Face of Climate Challenges
The global focus on the threats posed by climate change has drawn attention to the fact that water will be the medium through which many of its impacts will be felt. In addition to the direct impacts of damaging floods and interruptions to water supply due to drought, a particular concern in many regions is the threat to food security, driven by changing rainfall patterns and increased aridity.
EU pollution standards still treading water
Despite last minute internal opposition, the European Commission finally launched proposals to tackle chemical pollution in Europe’s waters. Green group EEB said the proposals needed much strengthening to be successful.
Hydro & political Baseline of the Upper Jordan River
The Association of the Friends of Ibrahim Abd el Al is pleased to announce the publication of the Hydropolitical Baseline of the Upper Jordan River, a study undertaken by the UEA Water Security Research Centre.
The Hydropolitical Baseline of the Upper Jordan River study examines the history and current politics of water use in the basin – specifically the Liddan, Banias and Hasbani sub-basins. An interdisciplinary lens interprets the archives of French and British authorities, Lebanese and Israeli river flow data, news media, interviews and unpublished official reports. Finding the distribution of the transboundary flows to be asymmetric in the extreme, the study investigates how the inequity has been achieved and is maintained. It also situates the Lebanon-Israel water conflict within the broader political conflict, and examines the effect of the 2006 war on water resources and water infrastructure. The study thus fills an important gap with significance to the wider Jordan River Basin (including Syria, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza) – and lays the baseline for the river’s equitable use.
Amonst many other findings, the study:
- Clearly establishes the physical basis for the Liddan as an international river;
- Identifies significant knowledge gaps in the public domain of hydrology, hydro-geology, and water use;
- Finds that transboundary groundwater flows are of greater volume than surface water flows;
- Provides an estimate of use of the Upper Jordan River basin (surface water and groundwater, in million cubic metres per year): Syria – 0, Lebanon – about 11, Israel – 360 to 520;
- Shows how control of water resources can be maintained with (the Golan – Banias and groundwater recharge of the Liddan) or without (e.g. the upper Hasbani) the control of territory, and other aspects of hydro-hegemony;
- Identifies established and emerging narratives constructed about the flows, and discusses the implications of an Israeli discourse linking water with state security on resolution of the water conflict;
- Evaluates the importance of control over water resources with the Israeli occupation of Ghajar and the Cheba’a Farms, alongside military and religious motives;
- Documents the extensive damage to water resources and water infrastructure during the 2006 war, in violation of the laws of armed conflict;
- Finds that mediation by the international diplomatic community during the 2002 Wazzani Springs dispute tended towards conflict management, and away from conflict resolution; and
- Discusses the extent to which International Water Law may form the basis of equitable use and resolution of the water conflict.
The Executive Summary, Main Study and Annexes are available on the website of the UEA Water Security Research Centre.
