EMWIS Flash N°80, May 2010

EMWIS Flash - May 2010 Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the know-how in the Water Sector EMWIS is a program of the Union for the Mediterranean. For further information: http://www.emwis.net Monthly Flash produced by the EMWIS Technical Unit- OIEAU, CEDEX, SOGESID- It is available in English, French & Arabic. (French & Arabic versions are available few days later)

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In this issue N°80 (http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/eflash/flash80)
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HEADLINE
1- Union for the Mediterranean: After the failure of the IVth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Water - for'UM of Marseille
IN BRIEF
2- UfM Summit postponed to ensure ‘complete success’, Egypt, France and Spain insist
3- EU Ministers take note of preparations for UfM food and agriculture conference
4- InfraMed Infrastructure: new UfM investment fund targets €1 billion commitments
5- Meetings between HE the Secretary General of the UfM and the President of EMUNI
6- WANA Forum 2010; 16-18 May 2010: Pursuing Supranational Solutions to the Challenges of Carrying Capacity
7- OECD workshop: Improving the water information base
8- AFD: 2.4 billion euros in 2009 to fight against climate change
9- France: A world water cluster for PACA region
10- Tunisia: Mountain dams in remote Tunisian districts
11- The Tunisian water legend introduced to teenagers
12- Morocco, Tunisia Seal Several Cooperation Agreements, including drinking water & environment sectors
13- Morocco: Oum Er Rbia Basin Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project
14- Morocco: HM The King enquires about Oujda Liquid Sanitation Program
15- Lebanon: General Directorate of Hydraulic and Electric Resources (GDHER) has signed partnership agreements with EMWIS and OIEAU
16- Jordan: Auja Farmers struggle to get their water rights
17- Egypt: Irrigation Innovations in the Nile Delta
18- Cyprus: BEL wins pressure-vessel order
19- Israel's giant Hadera desalination plant inaugurated
20- River Jordan to fall dry next year: will it be cooperation or riparian suicide ?
21- Water demand predicted in Abu Dhabi for the next 20 years
22- Saudi Natl Water launched water and wastewater projects
23- ESA's SMOS water mission goes live
NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
PUBLICATIONS  
CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRAINING
EVENTS
BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
CONTACT US / COMMENTS

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HEADLINE
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1- Despite of the political conflicts that prevented countries to agree on a Strategy for Water at the IVth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Water that took place in Barcelona last 13rd April 2010, the Union for the Mediterranean process is going ahead with concrete projects in different priority fields, as demonstrated at the For'UM in Marseille at the end of May. We remind that the outcome of this conference was unfortunate given that the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean had agreed on the entire content of the draft Ministerial Declaration and on almost all of the Strategy text. A huge effort has been given by Spanish organizers, the UfM Co-presidency  and their partners to make this conference successful.  In particular, the Spanish Directorate General for Water acknowledged the technical and administrative support provided by EMWIS Technical Unit to the formal process and its political partners: "EMWIS has granted advice when needed, has reviewed and made appropriate translations and has contributed actively to the conference website contents, and facilitated the upload of all the digital information related to the Technical Draft Group, Water Expert meetings and the conference itself".  On the other hand, some UfM projects have been presented at Marseille investors’ forum last 27th May 2010 (for'UM), to which financial institutions and private investors were invited, a one-day meeting dedicated to the funding of projects under the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), organised by the Franco-Egyptian co-presidency. The meeting was addressed by Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, by Ahmad Masadeh, Secretary General of the UfM and by Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank in charge of FEMIP. Further information related to the for'UM's session dedicated to water and environment on UfM-Water website.

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IN BRIEF (Full news)
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2- Spain, Egypt and France declared that the decision to postpone the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Summit, that should have been held on 7 June in Barcelona, is to "ensure [its] complete success", insisting on the "importance and significance" of the UfM. "The UfM was created to resolve crises, not to create them," said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, addressing a joint press conference in Cairo with his counterparts from France, Bernard Kouchner, and Egypt, Ahmed Abul Gheit. The ministers insisted that the decision had been taken primarily in order to give a chance to the indirect negotiations taking place between Palestinians and Israelis since 9 May - a negotiation process that has a deadline of four months. Holding the UfM summit at the beginning of that process "would have been very early", said Kouchner. The Summit has now been rescheduled for November. Moratinos stressed the importance of the UfM: "It is not just a diplomatic initiative to take a group photo or have a political meeting, but a really deep strategic partnership between 43 countries," he said. Further information on EMWIS website.

3- EU Foreign Ministers meeting in the General Affairs Council have taken note of preparations for a Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) ministerial conference on food security, agriculture and rural development to be held in Cairo, Egypt, on 15 and 16 June. The Council Conclusions said that the conference "will aim at identifying and promoting projects related to sustainable rural development, the development and promotion of quality products and the coordination of agricultural research on topics such as water stress resistant plant species and water resources management". Further information on EMWIS website.

4- A group of major financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank, have come together to launch InfraMed Infrastructure, the first financing facility of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). The InfraMed Fund will be the largest fund dedicated to infrastructure investments in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. With initial commitments of €385 million, the new fund is targeting commitments of €1 billion. InfraMed Infrastructure, which will be established under the French law, will contribute to the Union for the Mediterranean by providing funding to sustainable urban, energy and transport infrastructure projects on the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Further information on EMWIS website.

5- Prof. Joseph Mifsud (Euro-Mediterranean University -EMUNI) and H.E. Ahmad Ma'sadah (UfM Secrtariat) attended together the establishment of the International Jury of the Prize Al Idrisi, which constitutes a new award for the advancement and achievement of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.  Both have accepted to be members with top academic, diplomatic and institutional personalities coming from the North and South of the Mediterranean who will sit on the jury of this prize. Prof. Mifsud and H.E. Ma'sadah agreed to continue periodical exchanges to align tangibly the actions of EMUNI to the objectives that the Secretary General of the UFM intends to give to his priorities and projects.  H.E. Ma'sadah , Secretary General of the UFM acknowledged publicly the strategic role that EMUNI is playing in the UFM. Meetings were also held by the President of EMUNI with ARLEM leaders, with whom a close collaboration is being sought on common issues in the UFM.  They agreed to set up a liaison committee for EMUNI to participate and to provide technical knowhow to the activities of ARLEM.  This collaboration will start in a first meeting to be held in July in Brussels and to alternate EU and Non-EU locations. Further information on EMWIS website. See also: EMUNI University and the Association of Arab Universities Sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

6- The 3-day West Asia North Africa forum came to an end last May 18, 2010 in Amman (Jordan), with conclusions on how best to sustain the region's carrying capacity, ranging from creating a citizen's social charter and cohesion fund, establishing a hima revolving fund for the legal empowerment of the poor to achieving a WANA Forum regional presence at international meetings and forums. WANA Forum participants agreed that the region needs to look at itself in full panoramic view to help shift focus from the glass half-empty reality on a national scale to the glass half-full possibility on a regional scale. Over 130 participants, representing different backgrounds, expertise and nationalities agreed that developing supranational and regional cooperation is essential if the area wants to find solutions to its challenges. Prince El Hassan emphasized the power of knowledge and education and called for creating networks of cooperation across all educational institutions in WANA. Proposals that emerged from the West Asia North Africa forum highlighted the significance of regional networking and partnership in several areas, especially education, water, energy, green economy & social cohesion.  The Water Plenary session chaired by the Indian Think Tank (Strategic Foresight Group) emphasised that concentric circles of cooperation should be based on a shared conceptual premise, and that Water should be treated as a cornerstone of cooperation, that Water scarcity is closely linked to food security and health security. Therefore, cooperation in water should be seen in the context of agriculture and sanitation. Food is already perceived as a basic human right. In a similar way, sanitation should be treated as a human right. While not ignoring water rights, water should be treated as an instrument of partnership driven by needs and sustainability of the entire population in a given geography. During this water plenary session, a draft report on water scarcity and drought, co-drafted mainly by EMWIS & ARAB-WAYS, was presented as well as some recommendations, among others: to identify the steps and financial and human resources needed to establish an effective WANA water scarcity and drought information system. Further information on EMWIS website.

7- The OECD organised a Workshop in Zaragoza in the beginning of May, on Improving the information base to better guide water resource decision-making, reflecting the urgent need for more reliable data in this field. This gathered a wide range of experts on water information from International organisations, OECD and non OECD countries. For the Mediterranean countries in addition of the European perspective and country cases, Turkey and EMWIS contributed with the experiences of non EU countries. On the basis of the experiences presented and the discussions held during the various thematic sessions, a set of final recommendations were produced. All the presentations, discussion papers, background material and the recommendations are available online. Further information on EMWIS website.

8- According to its balance sheet in 2009, the French Development Agency (AFD) contributed 40% of its funds in the fight against climate change, or 2.4 billion euros, an increase of 93% over 2008.
Two billion euros have been allocated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, through 51 projects. 70% of these projects are funded in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Africa accounts for 35% of AFD's commitments, on a par with Asia. Finally, 430 million € have been spent on adaptation to climate change, 90% for the protection of water resources in Africa. Further information on EMWIS website.

9- The French Riviera region (PACA) together with the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrenees regions (i.e. the 3 French Mediterranean regions) will host a new world water cluster as part of the French initiative on territories' competitiveness. The Interministerial Committee on Planning and Spatial Development - CIADT- announced recently at a meeting in Paris that  six new clusters linked to environmental technologies were approved.  In addition to the water cluster, the other five centers dedicated to environmental technologies are: * "Management of inland waters" (Alsace-Lorraine) * Dream - Water and environment "(Center), * "Avenier - Managing the basement, CO2 capture and storage, geothermal (Aquitaine), * "Team - Recovery of waste" (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), * "Energivie - Sustainable Building and Energy Efficiency" (Alsace). Further information on EMWIS website.

10- Sixteen mountain dams were built between 2002 and 2009 in remote Tunisian districts. With a total budget of 14.5 million Euros, this project supported by the EU, helped developing irrigated areas, and reinforcing the autonomy of rural women, who constitute 35 % of Tunisian women. A TV report has been prepared by Eurojar team to present and disseminate the main achievements. Further information on EMWIS website.

11- For the Youth International Day, the Tunis city of Science held a conference on the Tunisian water legend. Since the Roman times life has been organised around water sources and the management of water resources has always be a priority with aqueducts and more recently large dams, wells and now desalination. This meeting aimed at raising the awareness of teenagers on the importance of water management for life and economical development. The conference chairs was optimistic towards the future thanks to science progresses as well as a better management of water demand in Tunisia. Further information on EMWIS website.

12- Morocco and Tunisia signed, several cooperation agreements at the closing ceremony of the 16th Moroccan-Tunisian joint committee. The 12 agreements covered the sectors of drinking water, renewable energies, environment, building and public works, as well as the parliamentary and religious fields. Morocco's Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi and his Tunisian peer Mohammed Ghannouchi, who co-chaired the closing ceremony, expressed their satisfaction at the positive results of this meeting. Both officials also voiced their common will to implement the signed agreements and iron out the difficulties hindering the achievement of the fixed goals, as part of their bilateral cooperation and partnership. Further information on EMWIS website.

13- The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a frant of $70 million last May, 27 for the "Oum Er Rbia Basin" Irrigated Agriculture Modernization project. The project intends to help participating farmers, in the "Oum Er Rbia" basin in Morocco, increase productivity and reach a sustainable use of irrigation water to overcome current and future water deficits. The project is divided into three components. The first component aims at providing participating farmers with irrigation service necessary for high efficiency drip irrigation. This will be achieved mainly through: (i) replacing irrigation canals with pressurized systems or adapting existing pressurized systems; and (ii) providing irrigation water on-demand, with a predetermined annual quota according to surface water availability. The second component of the project intends to support farmers and their partners have better access to technology, financing, and agricultural markets. The third component of the project is intended to assist implementing agencies in project management and monitoring. This project, with its three key components and concrete objectives, falls in line with , the recently announced, strategic partnership between the World Bank and Morocco in support of the country's ambitious development goals. Further information on EMWIS website.

14- HM King Mohammed VI reviewed the progress of the Oujda liquid sanitation priority program, with a cost of 550 million dirhams (about $ 63 million), and inaugurated a rainwater drainage system to protect the southern sector of the city against floods. This ambitious program provides sanitation facilities for under-equipped neighborhoods as well as for upgrading and expanding the sanitation network through the setting up of two wastewater pumping stations and renewal of two collectors. The program includes the implementation of the first phase of the construction works to protect the southern sector of the city against floods, worth 178 millions dirhams. During the first phase a rainwater drainage system, strengthening the main collector will be built together with eight storm water detention pond. Further information on EMWIS website.

15- A partnership has been signed between the General Directorate of Hydraulic and Electric Resources (GDHER) of the Lebanese Ministry of Water and Energy and EMWIS last May 7, 2010 in Beirut (Lebanon). This agreement focuses on the implementation of the Water Information and Training Center, an initiative responding to the needs of water stakeholders in Lebanon but could be further developed as a regional center of excellence. On the other hand, the GDHER also signed the same day a partnership agreement with the International Office for Water (OIEau) focusing also on the center on the basis of OIEau unique experience on training centers for water professionals and water information management. Further information on EMWIS website.

16- The Auja Spring in the Jordan Valley used to be one of the largest springs in Palestine, providing water to the Auja community and its thousands of sheep, and irrigating 130,000 dunams of land. Currently, the construction of a series of deep Israeli wells in the Auja Valley has led to the almost total drying out of the source, forcing local farmers to abandon agriculture and take day jobs in nearby settlements. The Jordan Valley (Al-Ghor) and the area of Auja are not productive anymore. Due to the closed military area, the local community has  no right to the water from the Jordan River. Before 1967 they were able to reach the Jordan River (6-7km from Auja) and use its water for irrigation. The people who lived near the Jordan River were expulsed, the Israelis closed it and the farmers from there came to live around Auja. The non-profit multimedia initiative "From the Source" interviewed the mayor of Auja village, Sulaiman Romaniin, about water: "We need a solution, a sustainable source of water," Romaniin said. "We want our water rights. Even if we can't get all of our rights, we would like at least half of them." Further information on EMWIS website.

17- Egypt depends almost exclusively on the Nile River for its water supply. Of this, 85 percent is used for irrigation. As with the rest of the world, the country's water demands are ever growing. For Egypt, the solution lies in making better use of the Nile's existing flows. To do so, the most viable solution is to make the current irrigation system more efficient--while being responsive to farmers' needs. In order to address the country's growing water demands, Egypt has adopted innovate approaches to make better use of the Nile's existing flows. In collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), the World Bank, the German aid agency, KfW, and the government of the Netherlands developed the Integrated Irrigation Infrastructure Management Project (IIIMP). The strength of the new approach is that its engineering and institutional innovations complement and reinforce each other. Involving farmer groupings in the management of the new pumping and water control systems means that water gets to the right field at the right time, thus boosting crop yields and farmers' incomes. Further information on EMWIS website.

18- BEL Group Ltd announced in mid-May 2010 that its subsidiary, BEL Composite industries Ltd, had been contracted to supply its composite pressure vessels (desalination membrane housings) for the 60,000 m³/d Vasilikos Power Plant seawater desalination plant in Cyprus. The reverse-osmosis plant is being constructed under a € 46 million (US$ 57.7 million) contract awarded to IDE Technologies earlier this year. IDE's third desalination plant in Cyprus will produce water for potable and agricultural use. Further information on EMWIS website.

19- Israel's president, Shimon Peres, inaugurated the 275,000 m³/d Hadera desalination plant, the largest reverse-osmosis plant in the world at present, on 16 May 2010. The plant will supply about 20% of Israel's annual domestic consumption. It will supply water at the cost of US$ 0.57/m³ and will demand 450 GW of electricity each year. The industrial consortium stated that "As we take pride in the results of the Hadera plant, we rededicate ourselves to reach for new horizons in the Soreq plant we are now constructing". The investment in the construction project, which totalled approximately NIS 1.6 billion (US$ 463 million) was funded by a consortium of international banks, including the European Investment Bank; Calyon, the French investment bank; and Esperito Santo (BES), the Portuguese investment bank. Further information on EMWIS website.

20- A flurry of international media attention has gone around the world about the stark warning that the River Jordan is expected to fall dry next year. Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME) issued this stark warning during a conference in Amman, Jordan to try to find solutions for saving the River Jordan.  Right now the question is, will it be cooperation or riparian suicide ? In terms of a shared ecology and ecosystems approach, the only way forward is to find a sustainable solution to water scarcity-a process that must involve cooperation and coordination between communities. The population of the region is growing but the water supply is not increasing. Another option, the desalination of seawater, if even a viable option, can cause environmental damage by introducing large amounts of water into a fragile ecosystem and may not be a sustainable solution. According to Clemens Messer-Schmid's , a German expert working in Palestine "As a hydro-geologist, desalination here, and everywhere else in the world, is a great absurdity: it's crazy to use non renewable resources that were created millions of years ago in order to manufacture the most mobile element in the universe-i.e. water." Therefore the countries must find alternative solutions. Solving the problem lies mainly in managing demand. Today most of the economies of Middle Eastern countries like Egypt and Syria are based largely on agriculture. The international standards to form and develop a framework for riparian countries to share river basins are there. It only needs courage and a "peace of the braves" to come to an environmental solution which will save the lives of many future generations in the region.  It is time for politicians and policy makers to strongly listen to these efforts. The solution is there. It only needs courage and peace.  Further information on EMWIS website.

21- The Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Company (ADWEC) has forecast water demand levels up until the year 2030 using a risk-based methodology. The move comes as the city relies almost entirely on desalinated seawater for its potable water requirements and will need to forecast accurately the amount needed in future years to reduce operational costs and environmental impact of the desalination process. Required by the regulatory body of Abu Dhabi to use such measures to assess water demand and required capacity, the company is using Palisade's @RISK software to determine the quantity of water required over specific timescales, such as per capita water consumption rates and the rate of population growth. Variables used to predict such figures are based on water demand categories such as domestic, agricultural and industrial. It is hoped that by undertaking risk analysis of the variables involved in assessing demand and supply, ADWEC will minimise the potential for water production capacity to be over or under deployed. Mohammad Al-Hajjiri, head of the water forecasting in ADWEC's Planning and Studies Directorate, said: "In Abu Dhabi, potable water is a scarce resource and we depend on seawater desalination for producing it. So we need to plan its production carefully." Further information on EMWIS website.

22- Saudi Arabia's state-owned National Water Co. or NWC, launched water and wastewater projects during the last two years at a  cost of 10 billion Saudi riyals ($2.67 billion), Jeddah-based Okaz daily reports Saturday, citing an official. Turkish, Korean, and United Arab Emirates companies, as well as local contractors are engaged in projects in this sector across the kingdom and NWC is cooperating with them to set up a plan to accelerate the implementation of these projects, Loay Mussalam, the company's chief executive. The daily says that the Saudi government has allocated SAR8 billion in the public budget for wastewater projects in Jeddah. Further information on EMWIS website.

23- ESA's SMOS satellite completed its six-month commissioning this week and formally began operational life. This milestone means the mission is now set to provide much-needed global images of soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the water cycle. Further information on EMWIS website.

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NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
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24- Dr. Shaddad Al Atilli was appointed as Palestinian Minister of Water (honor degree) in Ramallah. Further information on EMWIS website.

25- Master of Integrated Water Management (MIWM): The program takes a multi-disciplinary, whole-of-water cycle approach. It is a co-badged and co-taught degree by The University of Queensland, Griffith University, Monash University and The University of Western Australia. The program equips students with the integration, leadership and managerial skills to become part of an elite group of water leaders with sustainable and holistic solutions to global water and climate change challenges. The program commences February 2011 and can be completed in 12 or 18 months full-time or 3 years in part-time/distance study mode. Further information on EMWIS website.

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PUBLICATIONS
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26- The European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) has published the recommendations and proposals that emerged from the first Barcelona Euromed Forum on four of the main projects of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). The European Commission in conjunction with the Spanish Foreign Ministry, appointed IEMed to coordinate four working groups on the main economic projects of the UfM - De-Pollution of the Mediterranean; Maritime and Land Highways; Alternative Energies: Mediterranean Solar Plan; and the Mediterranean Business Development Initiative.  Further information on EMWIS website.

27- Climate Change and Mediterranean Security. New Report, Barcelona, May 2010- International, National, Environmental and Human Security Impacts for the Euro-Mediterranean Region during the 21st Century, Proposals and Perspectives; by Hans Günter Brauch; Barcelona, ed. IEMed., 2010.  The author, Hans Guenter Brauch, is Chairman of Peace Research and European Security Studies (AFES-PRESS), he teaches international relations at the Free University of Berlin, and is a fellow at the UNU Institute on Environment and Human Security. Further information on EMWIS website.

28- The presentations of the 1st Meeting of the Stakeholder Forum on water scarcity and droughts policy review that took place in Brussels last 27 April 2010, are available online now at the EC DG ENV website. Further information on EMWIS website.

29- Calculating Your Water Consumption: This module on Water consumption has been developed by ENSIL (National School of Engineers of Limoges in France: http://www.ensil.unilim.fr/W3/index.php) for the International Office for Water 'OIEAU' (www.oieau.fr). Not exhaustive, this tool will give you an order of magnitude of your water consumption. Further information on EMWIS website.

30- The Land and Water Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main are co-operating in the development of a global irrigation mapping facility. Further information on EMWIS website.

31- IUCN announced the publication of a new toolkit "NEGOTIATE - Reaching Agreements Over Water". NEGOTIATE will help water professionals negotiate workable agreements on how to best manage water resources. Further information on EMWIS website

32- Ecosystem accounting and the cost of biodiversity losses ?— the case of coastal Mediterranean wetlands: This report focuses on ways we can use land and ecosystem accounting techniques to describe and monitor the consequences of biodiversity loss in the coastal wetlands of the Mediterranean. It also shows how individual wetland socio-ecological systems (SES) can be defined and mapped using the remotely sensed land cover information from Corine Land Cover. Further information on EMWIS website.

33- Assessment of activities of decentralized cooperation in the field of water and sanitation between 2007 and 2009: With support from the AFD and the Exchange Group CNE - NCCD, pS-Eau has produced a review on water and sanitation activities carried out by local authorities, and the French Water agencies between 2007 and 2009. Covering approximately 300 actors and 650 actions, the study has allowed to identify: - who are the actors of decentralized cooperation - what are their levels of financial mobilization - what actions they support. Further information on EMWIS website.

34- Sharing Scarce Resources in a Mediterranean River Basin: Wadi Merguellil in Central Tunisia. Further information on EMWIS website.

35- BioVision Alexandria 2010 Conference presentations available online: The Fifth International Biennial Conference, BioVisionAlexandria 2010, is held as a continuation of the tradition that started in BioVision 1999 in Lyon, France.  The  BioVisionAlexandria 2010  aims to identify the new frontiers in life sciences that will vastly serve humanity.  Further information on EMWIS website.

36- Geosig offers an application for managing drinking water, accessible through a web browser. "Potable Water @ map" can report leaks and automatically identify which valves to shut, to investigate applications for connection, to perform all management operations and maintenance. www.geosig.fr . Further information on EMWIS website.

37- "Squeezed Dry: the Historical Trajectory of the Lower Jordan River Basin": This chapter illustrates the gradual anthropogenization and complexification of the lower Jordan River basin over a time-span of 60 years. It describes a striking transformation from the situation around 1950, when only 10,000 ha were irrigated, groundwater was untapped and abundant water flowed to the Dead Sea, to the current situation, when nearly all surface resources are diverted and committed and groundwater is being severely overexploited. This trajectory has revealed a drastic concomitant change of societies and waterscapes in an arid region subject to dramatic political tensions and socio-technical change. Further information on EMWIS website.

38- The International Institute for Environment and Development announced the publication of a new policy brief: "Channels for change: private water and the urban poor". This briefing can be downloaded along with over 4,000 other resources, from the website www.iied.org/pubs. Further information on EMWIS website.

39- River Basins - Trajectories, Societies, Environments: Book now freely available. There is broad consensus on the need to improve water management and to invest in water for food, as these are critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Further information on EMWIS website.

40- Water Framework Directive: Model supported Implementation. A Water Manager's Guide. Edited by Fred F Hattermann and Zbigniew W Kundzewicz.  It provides a framework for model-supported participatory planning of measures at various river basin scales and practical guidance to water managers and other interested stakeholders. Further information on EMWIS website.

41- Pricing Water Resources and Water and Sanitation Services by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).  In both OECD and non-OECD countries the water sector is facing the challenges of increased competition for water resources, deteriorating water quality, and the effects of climate change and poor management. In this context, how can countries ensure access to adequate, sustainable and affordable water and sanitation services for all? Pricing water-related services is an essential part of the answer. This report compiles reliable and comparable data on pricing water and on water supply and sanitation services across OECD countries. It sheds additional light on such policy issues as the choice of tariff structures for water services, cost recovery for water services and affordability. Further information on EMWIS website.

42- Laws of the Rivers & World's Major Rivers.  Further information on EMWIS website.

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CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
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43- "ENPI-MED CBC: call for strategic projects announced": The Joint Management Authority announced that the call for proposal on strategic projects for Cross-Boarder Cooperation in the Mediterranean will be launched during the second semester 2010. These projects will involve a minimum of four partners representing four different countries, of which at least one EU Mediterranean Country and one Mediterranean Partner Country. Their budget range from a minimum of € 2 million up to a maximum of € 5 million. Budget announced for this call about € 37 million. Water management will be one of the priority topics with 2 sub-themes: i) Quantity and quality of supply, with a focus on alternative water supplies and wastewater re-use; ii) Efficient use of water resources, with a focus on agricultural use. The following partner countries have signed a Financing Agreement with the European Commission : - Egypt - Israel - Jordan - Lebanon - Palestinian Authority - Syria - Tunisia. These countries are now fully eligible to receive Programme funds. All the Financing Agreements have been countersigned by the Joint Managing Authority. Further information on EMWIS website.

44- December 2010 ENPI CBC-MED call for proposals on standard projects: Call for proposals on standard projects (one-step open procedure) focusing on the four Programme Priorities.  Indicative launch date: December 2010. Indicative amount allocated: € 33 million. Further information on EMWIS website.

45- The fourth LIFE+ call for proposals has been published on 04 May 2010, with up to €243 million available for co-financing of projects under three headings: nature and biodiversity; environment policy and governance; and information and communication. Project proposals should be sent to the relevant national authority no later than 01 September 2010. Thereafter, national authorities will send project proposals on to the European Commission by 04 October 2010, and the Commission will check the outline projects against the LIFE+ eligibility criteria and will assess proposals on the basis of the LIFE+ selection and award criteria. Final announcement of the projects chosen for funding is expected in July/August 2011, with projects starting at the earliest on 1 September 2011. Project promoters are encouraged to make best use of the time available up to the deadline for submission of proposals to national authorities (01 September). Project proposals should be carefully checked to ensure that they are in line with all the criteria set out in the call documents. Further information on EMWIS website.

46- EC launches €35 million call for projects that turn environmental challenges into business opportunities: Under the 2010 CIP Eco-innovation call for proposals, funds are available for new projects in the area of materials recycling, sustainable building products, the food and drink sector and green business practices. Applications are particularly welcome from small businesses with green products or services that need backing to penetrate markets. The call runs until 9 September 2010. Some 50 projects could end up being chosen for funding. Some 44 projects are currently running under the scheme, and another 45 are set to launch in the course of this year. Some examples include: converting used tyres into valuable insulation materials; using bamboo plantations to purify 'grey' water; and replacing conventional paper labels with innovative laser technologies. Further information on EMWIS website.

47- The call for proposals on prevention activities to halt desertification in Europe was published on 29/04/2010 in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ C 110, 29April 2010, p.4). The deadline for the submission of proposals is 30 June 2010. Further information on EMWIS website.

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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48- SedNet calls for abstracts for platform presentations and posters for the Open Conference. Abstracts related to the main issues of the Conference with a special focus on the Mediterranean area will be particularly welcomed. Issues to be addressed among others are: Sediment management measures and cost-benefit analysis, Climate change and sediment: effects on bio-availability and contaminant biogeochemical cycles, Sediment Environmental Quality Standards and monitoring. Deadline for abstract submission: 1 September 2010. Further information on EMWIS website.

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TRAINING
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EVENTS (Full Agenda)
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BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
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ABOUT EMWIS (Priorities, Activities, Objectives, Structure, Funding, Team)
WATER in the EURO-MED PARTNERSHIP (MEDA programme, Key dates, European Neighbourhood Policy)
EMWIS NATIONAL WEBSITES: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg
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