This activity was carried out in Athens, Greece on the 10 and 11 of September 2012 in synergy with the EC funded “H2020 Capacity Building –Mediterranean Environment Programme (H2020 CB/MEP)”.
The overarching objective of the workshop was to expand the capacity of water and environment stakeholders in the SWIM Partner Countries (PCs) in developing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plans and strategies.
The specific objectives of the training were to introduce mainstreaming and participation as basic measures in planning and implementing IWRM through informing and training government water officials and stakeholders from PCs on the following:
1- Best practices and success stories from countries of the region with emphasis on reasons behind success and achievement of target objectives,
2- Main constraints and challenges hindering proper planning and failure in implementing sustainable water resources management within IWRM context,
3- Common gaps encountered in PCs and the appropriate measures to bridge them,
4- Available opportunities and means to improve these prospects for the advancement of water resources planning and management,
This activity was part of the tasks foreseen under SWIM-SM towards developing mechanisms and building capacity of PCs on sustainable water resources management policies and practices.
For more information:
A Regional workshop on Planning of Water Resources in SWIM-SM Countries has been organized in Athens on 13-14 June 2012 with the following objectives:
(a) Review, discuss, complement and validate the findings of a regional review of national water plans and/or strategies realized in the framework of SWIM-SM activities with the view of suggesting a series of policy options for further actions towards mainstreaming water resources management in non-water sectors.
(b) Discuss degree of success and achievements of PCs in planning and implementing IWRM principles such as level of participation of stakeholders, horizontal coordination, gender balance, institutional and legislative reforms, etc.
(c) Deliberate the main constraints, shortcomings, and main gaps facing proper implementation of IWRM principles and the most applicable measures to bridge these gaps.
(d) Discuss the main challenges to sustainable water resources management such as population growth, urbanization, climate change, inadequate financing, etc. and identify measures to overcome these challenges.
(e) Examine available opportunities, discuss and agree on a series of measures, policy options and propose further measures to expedite implementation of IWRM principles with a main focus on mainstreaming sustainable water resources management in non-water sectors.
For more information:
Four (4) National Information Workshops targeting journalists and information professionals in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia were recently organized in order to introduce to them the SWIM Programme.
The workshops involved 40 journalists working for broadcast, print or online media and the sessions included interventions of experts from both SWIM Components, i.e. the Support Mechanism and the Demonstration Projects, particularly those that will implement activities in the four specific countries.
The workshops contributed to increase the understanding of participants about critical water management challenges facing the Mediterranean countries and possible solutions at focus in SWIM, as well as to build in each country a core group of information professionals that might follow-up closely the implementation and achievements of the Programme and inform accordingly their audiences.
For more information:
Information Note and Agenda - Lebanon
Presentations and Materials - Lebanon
---
Information Note and Agenda - Jordan
Presentations and Materials - Jordan
---
Information Note and Agenda - Morocco
Presentations and Materials - Morocco
---
Information Note and Agenda - Tunisia
Presentations and Materials - Tunisia
The 1st Meeting of the Core Desalination Group (CDG) set-up in the framework of SWIM-SM took place in Athens on 11-12 June 2012 with the objectives to:
(a) Review, discuss and validate the findings of a SWIM-SM assessment on Desalination Best Available Technologies (BATs) in Rural and Local Areas;
(b) Discuss the necessity for the formulation of a regional vision and strategic plan for desalination tacking stock of existing knowledge and good practices, including previous assessments by UNEP and UNEP MAP, EC funded projects on techno-economic potential on combined solar power desalination plants, work of specialized organizations, etc.;
(c) To establish a dialogue with national desalination experts on desalination BAT applicable to the region;
For more information:
A two-day regional workshop involving experts from the SWIM Partner Countries was organized on 23-24 April 2012 in Athens with the aim to:
a) promote sharing of experiences and best practices in the establishment and operationalization of WUAs in the region and
b) discuss / validate the findings of a SWIM-SM Regional Assessment illustrating the range of experiences – both successful and less successful - in water users’ participation with regard to irrigation, complemented with specific case studies coming from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. The Regional Assessment was conducted in cooperation with and input from the SWIM National Focal Points and involved relevant stakeholders.
Twenty (20) international, regional and local experts from seven countries participated in the regional workshop, including representatives of governments, WUAs, regional organisations and donors in addition to non-governmental organisations involved in the establishment and empowerment of WUAs in the region.
Among outcomes, the workshop identified gaps and concrete follow-up actions for the SWIM-SM Project to undertake, including targeted capacity building and trainings in order to improve local water management and reinforce users’ participation in irrigation management.
Opportunities for networking between the countries’ representatives and international, regional and independent experts were also created.
The workshop falls under one of the four thematic pillars of the SWIM project involving enhancement of knowledge on ‘water governance at the local level’ with emphasis for the first year on experiences in Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and irrigation management transfer for WUAs in the region.
For more information:
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The website management is the responsibility of SWIM Support Mechanism