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

Now available online:

• The assessment on the Cost of Degradation of the Litani River Basin (Lebanon) is available in English, while an executive summary of the study is available in French. A policy Note related to this activity is also available in English and French.

• The material related to the training of Jordanian and Tunisian stakeholders to monitor and evaluate their country’s participatory irrigation management process is available in English.

• Documents and materials related to two sub-regional Capacity Building activities for South Mediterranean countries to assess the cost of water resources degradation and prioritize remediation measures at the basin level (16-18 June, Tunis-Tunisia and 23-25 June Athens-Greece) are available respectively in French and English.

• Documents and materials related to the Expert Group Meeting on “Cumulative Environmental Impacts of Desalination in the Mediterranean" (23-24 June 2014, Brussels-Belgium) are available in English.

• The section of the SWIM website related to the Demonstration projects has been updated with information on activities implemented until June 2014 (Arabic, English and French versions).

   

Planned activities:

• An Evaluation Workshop of the Pilot Implementation for the M&E System to Monitor and Evaluate the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) Process is planned to take place in Jordan and Tunisia, respectively on 15-16 September 2014 (Amman) and 29-30 September (Tunis)

• A High Level Policy Dialogue on Enforcement of Water Laws in SWIM-SM countries is planned to take place on 14-15 October in Athens-Greece

• The 1st Regional Conference “Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector” will take place on 28-30 October 2014 in Athens-Greece. The activity is organized by the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) labeled project “Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector” in collaboration with SWIM-SM.

• A Training on Risk and Insurance in Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) for Water Infrastructure will take place on 30-31 October 2014 in Athens-Greece. The training is organized by SWIM-SM back-to-back with the above-mentioned Regional Conference.

• A regional workshop to disseminate the M&E System that was developed by SWIM-SM to monitor and evaluate Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Management Transfer (PIM/IMT) Process is planned to take place in Athens, on 17-18 November.  The workshop is targeting regional and international organisations and other stakeholders in the SWIM countries that are involved in PIM/IMT. 

www.swim-sm.eu

SWIM – Demonstration Projects

SWIM – All Across the Jordan

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

The following activities have been implemented:

• A workshop for Jericho Master Plan was co-organised by the project on 8-9 June 2014, with the participation of around 30 participants, representatives of all concerned ministries and stakeholders.A WEDO-FOEME representative made a presentation about the Lower Jordan River sustainable Master Plan and valuable feedback came from the professional audience. The baseline report was also disseminated for additional comments.

• The phases of intervention and the future vision of the FOEME Master Plan were discussed with relevant Palestinian institutional stakeholders (Palestinian Water Authority and the Water Department in the Negotiation Unit of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation) who provided valuable feedback.

www.foeme.org

SWIM – IMPROWARE

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

The following activities have been implemented and/or are planned shortly:

Nobariya Wadi El-Nutrun- Egypt

• The IMPROWARE GIS archive has been updated.

• Drilling activities for wells and piezometers have been carried out.

• A publication about the geophysical and hydrological mapping in Nobariya has been drafted.

• The construction works for the Constructed Wetland are proceeding as planned and will be finished by the end of September.

• A manual on treated wastewater for agricultural reuse was translated into English and distributed.

• A 2 days seminar on Groundwater mapping and management is planned to take place in October. All interested Egyptian partners are welcome to participate.

• Three dimensional numerical models of the Nobariya area are going to be developed in September-October.

Involvement of Local Stakeholders, Communication, Capacity Building and Dissemination

• A Meeting with Policy Makers (20 Government's Policy Makers and NGOs at National Level) on key questions related to Trust Building and Legal Framework of Water Reuse was organized in July.

• Three Training Sessions about the participatory approach and communication strategies and their tools are going to be held in Nobariya in September-October.

• A training course about sustainable development, climate change and water management, with the presentation of best practices from NGOs, will be organized in September-October.

• Various events of the awareness campaign for local women and for students will be also organized in the months of September and October.

• Guided visits will be organized to the Constructed Wetland in the process of being built.

Korba – Tunisia 

Technical and Hydrological Surveys and Pilot Projects

• Two numerical models on Sand filtration treatment and buffles installation were prepared in order to study the final water quality of the plant.

• A TEM data report, summarizing the results of the TEM survey is currently being finalized. The report is expected to be ready by the end of September and will be available for all IMPROWARE partners and the public.

Involvement of Local Stakeholders, Communication, Capacity Building and Dissemination

• A Workshop with farmers and local institutions to present IMPROWARE activities was organized in Korba on 7 August.

• A Workshop on the current regulations and proposed legislations on the reuse of waste water was organized in Korba on 27 August.

• A Workshop on the techniques of wastewater treatment was also organized in Korba on 27 August.

Regional activities

• Between June and August the three modules of the IMPROWARE E-Learning course have been delivered and are accessible on the e-learning platform:

MODULE 1: Scientific and Technical Aspects of Water Resources Management

MODULE 2: Legislative framework on water resources management

MODULE 3: Socio-economic impacts of phytodepuration

• An International Symposium “Any Drop of Water - Promoting innovation and best practices for a sustainable Present” is planned to take place on 1-3 October in Tunis, Tunisia.

The following updates have been published on the website:

Article on Training session on TEM survey methodologies

Awareness Campaign in Schools (Tunisia)

IMPROWARE at the WATER DAY of the Polyvalente Licèe Pilote of L’Ariana (Tunisia)

Photogallery of the Egyptian Environment Day in El Gouna

Awareness Campaign in Schools (Egypt)

Photogallery on a Convention on Water Saving organised in Hammamet in the framework of the IMPROWARE Communication Campaign for students

Updates on IMPROWARE on the news

www.improware.eu

SWIM – Sustain Water MED

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

Implemented activities:

Regional

• An Egyptian-Jordanian exchange workshop on ‘Decentralized Wastewater Management’ was conducted on 20-21 August at the Dead Sea, Jordan. A summary report including policy recommendations will be available on the project’s website shortly.

• The Conference ‘Sustainable Integrated Wastewater Management’ will be held in Sharm El Sheikh on  1-2 December.

• The final Regional Coordination Meeting will be held in Sharm El Sheikh on 3-4 December.

National

Egypt

The construction of a sewage network, treatment plant and reuse system are being tendered. The construction work is envisaged to commence in November and last for about 4 months (until end of February 2015).

Jordan

• A training on safe and efficient reuse practices will be carried out with relevant staff of the Public Security Directorate and Greater Amman Municipality in September.

• An impact assessment mission with stakeholders took place on 7-9 September in order to evaluate the impact of project activities on socio-economic and environmental aspects.

• A sustainability study will be carried out in the months September-November for the Fuheis demonstration site on Decentralized Wastewater Management. The study will assess the feasibility of turning it into a training centre.

• A demonstration garden will be built in October at the Public Security Directorate (PSD) to highlight necessary practices for the safe and efficient reuse of treated wastewater in landscaping.

• The official handover of the on-site treatment plant and reuse system from GIZ to PSD will take place in November.

Morocco

• The work related to the eco-sanitation technologies (Urine Divertying Dry Toilet, constructed wetlands, biogas digesters) is currently being tendered. The construction activities are planned to begin in October and to last until the end of December. The construction work will be accompanied with training for the construction companies as well as village representatives.

• An information center including panels describing the project’s technology selection and sensitization work will be established at the main office of the municipalit of Ait Idir in the month of October.    

Tunisia

• A sand filter is being installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant Oueljet El Khodher in the province of Médenine. Construction works should be completed by the end of October.

• The establishment of an IT-platform for cross-sector water quality monitoring is being tendered in the months of Sectember-October.

• A training for farmers on safe and efficient reuse practices will be held in October.

• An impact assessment mission will be conducted with stakeholders in October in order to evaluate the impact of project activities on socio-economic and environmental aspects.

www.swim-sustain-water.eu

SWIM – WADIS-MAR

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

Implemented activities

• Technical missions were organized in Algiers, Algeria (14-27 July) and in Médénine and Tunis, Tunisia (7-10 September). 

Planned activities:

• Field Workshops concerning Public Participative GIS activities are planned to be organized in October, both in Tunisia and Algeria;

• The 5^th Steering Committee in Algiers, Algeria is planned to be held in October.

Visbility and dissemination activities:

• The project will make an intervention during “The Italian Geosciences of the Future” (10-12 September 2014, Milan - Italy) on: Geological 3D model for the design of artificial recharge facilities into the Oued Biskra inféro-flux aquifer (oral presentation) and Geological modeling for hydrogeological purposes in Oum Zessar area – South East Tunisia (poster presentation).

• WADIS-MAR will be presented during the Panel Discussion  on “Groundwater recharge under controlled conditions: the Italian experience in the European context" taking place on 3 October during Piacenza EXPO. 

www.wadismar.eu