Rural areas are characterized by high poverty levels and lack of resident skilled labor. The main barriers are financing and available skills for the operation and management of the treatment plant. Consequently, the choice of technology and treatment process is crucial to the success of the sewage treatment and reuse project.

The Assessment of Best Available Techniques (BAT) for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Rural Areas aims at responding to the need for appropriate technology choices based on selection criteria cross-matching the characteristics of rural areas with the specifications of treatment technologies.

The characteristics of rural areas that apply to most PCs and that are relevant to the assessment are presented at the start of the report. This is followed by a review of a number of treatment and reuse technologies that are suitable to rural areas. The review shows that there are technologies on the market that can be used in rural areas and do not need highly trained technicians and high costs to be operated and maintained. These systems are called natural treatment systems and do not require energy input except for some pumping for the transfer of influent and effluent.  Running cost is very low and agriculture labor is enough to operate them.  Natural systems, however, are constrained by their high requirements for land space. Since land availability is variable, the report comes to the conclusion that there is no “one fits all solution”.  The regional and national variability precludes the selection of the “one” process/technology that can be used.  Accordingly, the assessment describes a selection process based on a set of criteria that can be used by decision makers as a tool to choose the most appropriate treatment technology and for suitable communities. The report recommends that after the final analysis, the technology that is cheapest and easiest to operate be selected.

The available enabling political environment conditions success.  Proper policies and strategies are needed to support wastewater treatment and reuse projects.  Guidelines for integrating sewage treatment and reuse into national policies, strategies and plans, are also presented in the assessment.

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Global figures point out that desalination is one of the most expensive water supply options. Some countries, however, have no other alternative. They have actually exhausted all possibilities but still suffer of a water supply gap.  For others, it is crucial to determine the feasibility of desalination and compare it to other options before taking the final decision. Feasibility studies of desalination plants should take into consideration costs related to the environmental degradation due to carbon emissions and brine discharge. Economics and financials vary considerably between countries and consequently feasibilities of desalination plants. Since variability precludes a decision on feasibility of desalination, this study aims to serve as a decision support tool to help decision makers draw conclusions on economic feasibility of desalination.

The main objective of this study is to undertake a socio-economic and environmental cost analysis of supplying water through desalination, and compare it with other options for increased water supply such as reuse of treated water, water demand management, policy options, incentives, etc.  Economic theory mixed with a hypothetical example and supported by case studies from countries in the Mediterranean and other regions help the reader/user properly understand all the implication of desalination projects and make an accurate decision.

As it cannot advise on feasibility due to reasons stated earlier, the study starts with an identification of socio-economic and environmental costs of desalination and other options, it then compares the opportunity cost of desalinationor, in other words, foregone benefits for investing in desalination versus other water supply options.  Since the opportunity cost analysis is important to carry out the study provides guidelines for performing opportunity cost analysis for supplying water through desalination. It finally concludes by highlighting a set of suggested recommendations to be taken into account in performing such an analysis. Some of these recommendations are listed below:

·         Socio-economic and environmental cost and benefits for supplying water through desalination should include the health and environmental costs of CO₂ emissions

·         Opportunity cost for desalination plants should be fully considered and accounted for.

·         Other options include investing in a decentralized wastewater treatment facility, investing in upgrading and improving the water network to reduce wastage. Other demand management water saving measures include investing in storage and recycling facilities, new irrigation techniques, wastewater treatment, reuse and recycling, ecosystems that promote water conservation and provides purification services.

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A training workshop was organized to contribute developing the capacity of PCs to undertake immediate precautionary measures towards the adaptation of the water sector to climate change.

Participants in the workshop, included government officials, water resources practitioners, environmentalists, planners and other stakeholders from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.

Journalists from the same countries have been invited to the workshop and to a media information event organized back-to-back, with the aim to know more about how their country could prepare to face the possible challenges of climate change on their water resources and to possibly contribute to this by informing the public through their media.

The training addressed effective concepts and mechanisms in place to face potential negative impacts of climate change and for planning and implementing no-regret climate resilient options in the water sector, i.e. actions that are likely to protect from climate change irrespectively if this would vary and to what extent.

It was structured around the following topics:

- Risk identification of climate change impacts on water resources in the Southern Mediterranean Region

- Assessment of climate change risks on environment and development

- Management of risks through different types of instruments and interventions, such as no-regrets actions, building climate resilience practices in water management, strengthening the enabling environment and mainstreaming no-regret strategies into IWRM frameworks

- Risk Communication to enhance public awareness and support

The workshop contributed to:

1)      Raising the awareness of the participants on the potential impacts of climate change on water resources in the region, its socio-economic and environmental consequences,

2)      Increasing their understanding on the degree of vulnerability particularly to increasing drought and flood events,

3)      Making the case for adopting the no-regret actions approach as the appropriate and immediate means for the water sector to adapt to climate change,

4)      Introducing appropriate approaches for planning, strategizing and developing no-regret actions measures, plans and policies, with a special focus on drought and flood management-

5)      Reviewing capacity, political commitments and measures needed for the creation of an enabling environment for the implementation of no-regret actions including institutional, legislative and financial needs

6)      Identifying and discussing appropriate approach and practices for mainstreaming no-regret actions into IWRM policy frameworks

7)      Identifying the optimal communication and public participation strategies to enhance the role of communities in designing and implementing no-regret water management measures.

A document with guidelines for mainstreaming no regret actions in IWRM policies, programs and projects at regional level has also been produced in the framework of SWIM-SM activities and assisted with the conception of the training workshop.

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