EU project supports 30 municipalities in monitoring and alleviating pollution of water resources

Mediterranean cross-border cooperation project has delivered a series of actions aiming to improve the technical and administrative skills of staff from 30 municipalities in Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Spain in dealing with the actual and potential pollution of groundwater.

 The project, "Promoting Sustainable Groundwater Resources in the Mediterranean Basin",funded under the Mediterranean Cross-Border Cooperation programme (CBCMed), presented its results during an international conference on May 27th-28th at the Dead Sea in Jordan.

 The actions delivered over the last three years include:
 • Training courses in Geographical Information System (GIS) as an instrument to support decision makers;
• Mapping and monitoring of existing risks to groundwater in 30 municipalities located in Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Spain;
• Preparation of hazard reduction and prevention plans to deal with any future threats to groundwater.

 The aim is to enable these communities to face the challenges of huge discharges of wastewater from municipal, agricultural and industrial water sources, due to the weakness of sewage networks, and/or lack of them, and posing serious threats to the quality of groundwater and human health.

 Thanks to the skills acquired under the project, the staff of the municipalities involved underwent an important learning process, and will be more up to the task of sustainably managing water resources with positive impacts on over 1.4 million people in four countries.

 The project has been implemented by "EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East"(FoEME), a regional organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to promote sustainable development, in cooperation with Malaga County Council (Spain) and the Water and Environment Development Organization - WEDO (Palestine). The ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2007/2013 is a multilateral cross-border cooperation programme funded by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. It aims at reinforcing cooperation between the EU and partner countries' regions located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.