Water is too precious to waste...

You are receiving this monthly email alert for your timely information about forthcoming activities and new materials available on the SWIM websites.

We hope you will find it useful and will bring you even closer to the SWIM family!

With best wishes,

The SWIM-SM Team

SWIM- Support Mechanism

• A documentation of best practices in Non-Revenue Water management in selected Mediterranean Countries (Algeria, Israel, Jordan and Morocco) is available in English and French.

• A review and analysis of private sector participation modalities in water service delivery, with emphasis on the Southern Mediterranean regionis available in English.

• A review and analysis of the status of implementation of wastewater strategies and/or action plans in Egypt is available in English. The executive summary of this review is also available in French.

• A review and analysis of the status of implementation of wastewater strategies and/or action plans in Morocco is available in French. The executive summary of this review is also available in English.

• A review and analysis of the status of implementation of wastewater strategies and/or action plans in Tunisia is available in French. The executive summary of this review is also available in English.

• Regional experts group meeting for the Development of a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation system (M&E) for Participatory Irrigation Management & Irrigation Management Transfer process (PIM/IMT) (2-4 September 2013, Athens – Greece). The following documents are now available: 1) Report of the meeting in English and French; 2) Executive summary of the Review of the International and Regional Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation Systems with special reference for the Formation and the Support of Water Users Associations in French.

• Kick-off Meeting of the Pilot Implementation for the System to Monitor and Evaluate the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) Process in Jordan (9 December 2013, Amman): the report is available in English and a press note in Arabic, English and French.

• A short handbook related to the Operation and Management of waste water treatment plants based on the experience gathered during the related SWIM-SM study tour organized in Spain and the Netherlands (9-20 September 2013) is available in English and French.

• The report of the Training Workshop on Strengthening Public Sector Capacity to mobilize Depollution Investments and Private Sector Participation (3-5 July 2013, Luxembourg) is now available also in French.

• The training material for developing the capacity of prosecutors and investigators on improving compliance and enforcement of water and environment legislation that has been used during the workshop and related study tour (3-17 June 2013, The Netherlands, Spain and France) is now available also in French.

The following activities are planned in the months February – March 2014:

• Launching the collection process of success stories for sustainable integrated water management in the South Mediterranean that present local solutions and have replicability potential at regional scale (February 2014). Solutions will fall under the following topics: non-conventional water resources, water governance, economic valuation of water degradation and remediation actions and water financing, and no-regret action for adaptation to climate change. 

• Training and study tour on the state of the art for desalination using renewable energy sources (17-21 March 2014, Spain)

www.swim-sm.eu

SWIM – Demonstration Projects

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SWIM - ACLIMAS

Adaptation to Climate Change of the Mediterranean Agricultural Systems

The following activities are planned in the months February – April 2014:

• Field day on "Planting Dates and Fertilizer Application" in Irbid, Jordan (12 February2014);

• Field Day on "Crop establishment"in Lahyout (implementation site), Settat, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco(12 February2014);

• Field dayon"Weed control"  in Gdana (implementation site), Settat, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco (25 February2014);

• Field dayon"Fertilization under conservation agriculture"in Tamadroust (implementation site), Settat, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco(4 March2014);

• Training courseon"Sustainability analysis of adaptation to climate change of Mediterranean agricultural systems"at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre Régional de Recherche Agronomique (CRRA), Settat, Morocco (11 – 13 March2014);

• Field day on "Weed Control" in Irbid, Jordan (11 March2014);

• Field dayon"Disease and insect control"in Sidi M’hammed be Rahal (implementation site), Settat, Morocco(25 March2014);

• Field dayon"Rotation under conservation agriculture"in Souaka (implementation site), Settat, Morocco (2 April2014);

• Field dayon"Constraints of adoption of No-TILL package"in Ain Nzagh (implementation site), Settat, Morocco (8 April2014);

• Field dayon"Water productivity under conservation agriculture", a demonstration trial at Sidi El Aydi Experimental Station, Settat, Morocco(29 April2014).

Additional activities are planned to be organizedin Lebanon. However, due to the complex security situation in the target area, dates and locations of events cannot be planned with a large anticipation.

www.aclimas.eu

SWIM – All Across the Jordan

Trans-boundary NGO Master Planning of the Lower Jordan River Basin

• The now completed Baseline Report describes the current situation in the Lower Jordan River Basin and presents the major challenges for each of the three riparian countries (Jordan, Palestine and Israel) towards creating sustainable development conditions, including:environmental flows provided through its natural resources; a healthy eco-system; equitable sharing of water resources; free public accessibility for all nationalities within an appropriate security framework and; a healthy economic development perspective. The report marks a critical first-ever integrated inventory of the Lower Jordan River's current situation including up-to-date data and will be used as a starting point for the remainder of this study: the development of national and regional NGO Master Plansto be hopefully adopted in full or in part by the national authorities in the region to advance the principles of integrated water resource management. 

The Report will be available shortly at: www.foeme.org

SWIM – IMPROWARE

Innovative Means to Protect Water Resources in the Mediterranean Coastal Areas through Re-injection of Treated Water

• An article related to the cooperation activities implemented in Tunisia by IMPROWARE was released on January 25 2014 by the newspaper “Le Quotidien” with the title “Appui européen pour la valorisation des eaux usées traitées" and can be downloaded at this link;

• The photos related to a groundbased TEM mapping executed in Nobarya, Egypt (December, 5-19, 2013) with the purpose of developing a 3D geological and hydrological model of the area can be seen here;

• Registration for the E-learning Programme on Water Resources Management is still open for interested stakeholders from the South Mediterranean countries! For more information click here.

The following activities are planned in the months February – April 2014:

Technical Surveys:

• The exact location of pumping wells for hydrogeological investigation will be provided to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) (14 February 2014);

• Finalisation of the tender document related to the preparation of the new wells  (20 February  2014);

• Publication of the tender on the IMPROWARE website and distribution among the Egyptian drilling companies (27 February 2014);

• Selection of the drilling company (13 March 2014);

• Finalisation of all documents and start of the activities by the selected drilling company (17 March 2014);

• Completion of the activities by the drilling company (10 April 2014).

Pilot Projects:

• Completion of the tender procedure for the realization of the Constructed Wetland in Nobarya, Egypt (February 2014). The tender documents for the area’s monitoring activities are currently being prepared;

• Execution of a technical mission in Egypt to finalise the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) project design and include it in the relevant tender documents (February 2014);
• Execution of a technical mission in Tunisia to manage and monitor the status of the tender preparation for the WWTP in Korba (February 2014).

Local Stakeholdersinvolvement, communication, Capacity Building and Disseminationactivities:

• Update of the Communication Strategy for Egypt and definition of the agenda of future workshops (February 2014);

• Completion of the Syllabus for the Socio-Economic Module in the framework of the E-learning programme (February 2014);

www.improware.eu

SWIM – Sustain Water MED

Network of demonstration activities for sustainable integrated wastewater treatment and reuse in the Mediterranean countries

• A call for presentation abstracts for the Regional Conference on Sustainable Integrated Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean (deadline: March 28^th, 2014) is available in English;

• The Baseline Assessment Study for the Tunisian Pilot Project on Wastewater Quality Control in the irrigated zones around the Ouljet El Khoder Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Medenine Gouvernorateis available in French;

• The Baseline Assessment Study for the Jordanian Pilot Project on Decentralized Wastewater Management in Semi-Urban Areas in Jordan (at the Head Quartersof the Public Security Directorate)is available in English;

• The Baseline Assessment Study for the Moroccan Pilot Project on Eco-Sanitation and Rainwater Management in rural areas (Ait Idir village in the Souss-Massa-et-du-Draa region)is available in French;

The following activities are planned in the coming months:

• Field visit to present the results of the planning mission for the pilot project in Morocco (mid- February 2014, Ait Idir village in the Souss-Massa et du Draa region);

• Launching of tendering process for the Tunisian pilot activities (construction of a sand filter, procurement of laboratory equipment, establishment of a cross-sector water quality control IT platform, environmental impact analysis) (January-May and September 2014, Medenine Gouvernorate – Tunisia);

• Launching of tendering process for the elaboration of tender documents (technical specifications, design work) and an Environmental Impact Analysis for the Egyptian pilot project (February-March 2014, El Gezayra Village in the Ismailia Governorate – Egypt);

• Launching of the tendering process for the implementation of reuse activities for the Jordanian pilot project (design of irrigation network and plan, impact assessment) (February-September, Public Security Directorate);

• Local training on “Institutional Framework of Wastewater Quality Control and Norms/Standards” (17 February 2014, Medenine Gouvernorate – Tunisia). The target group includes local Water User Associations, local representatives of the National Sanitation Office (ONAS), of the Regional Authority for Agricultural Development (CRDA) and other relevant authorities (health related);

• Local training on the “Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants” (18-20 February 2014, Medenine Gouvernorate – Tunisia. The target group includes local representatives of ONAS, CRDA  and other relevant authorities (health, National Environmental Protection Agency, ANPE);

• Local training on “Operation and Maintenance of Irrigation Networks fed by Treated Wastewater and of Pumping Stations” (17-18 March 2014, Medenine Gouvernorate – Tunisia). The target group includes local representatives of the CRDA.

www.swim-sustain-water.eu

SWIM – WADIS-MAR

Water Harvesting and Agricultural techniques in Dry lands: an Integrated and Sustainable Model in MAghreb Regions

• A technical visit and monitoring of agronomical activities in some of the demonstration sites in Tunisia (Chaabet el Anz, Ksar el Hallouf, Bedoui and Megarine, Medénine area has taken place on 10-13 February 2013.

• The project’s Steering Committee took place on 2 December 2013 in Tunis, Tunisia.

The following activities are planned in the months February – March 2014:

• Technical mission at Biskra for the finalization of the executive plan of the artificial aquifer recharge intervention in the infero-flux aquifer in the Oued Biskra (Algeria) (February);

• Geophysical prospections in Tunisia;

•  A session of training on the job and data analysis/processing, targeting the technical staff of the project’s local partners and other local institutions (Algeria and Tunisia);

• Training session on agro-climatic issues at Biskra (Algeria).

www.wadismar.eu