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In this issue N°31
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HEADLINE
    1. Development Cooperation Programme under Austrian Presidency of the EU
IN BRIEF
2. First two twinning contracts between EU and Tunisia
    3. Challenges in achieving the sustainable use of ground water
    4. Managing the risks of flooding in Europe
    5. The EC adopted a review of the European strategy in favour of the sustainable development
    6. Sustainable Water Management in the Mediterranean Countries
    7. Efficient Management of Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean Countries
    8. Economic Benefits of Improved River Basin Management
    9. Europe’s Vulnerability to Environmental Change
10. Water for the poor act of 2005
11. Big year for European research
  12. 2006: International Year of Deserts and Desertification
  13. Romania: Siemens to build turnkey wastewater treatment plants
14. Romania: EIB loan of €300 million for flood damage reconstruction
  15. France: "Les Hauts-de-Seine"; a new plan for sanitation for the next 15 years
16. France: Water priorities for 2006
17. Morocco: Strategy for hydraulic resources management
18. Algeria: Algiers water management handed over to Suez-Environnement
19. Libya: Call for a rational exploitation of ground waters
20. Finland: Work continues to limit diffuse pollution in Lake Lappajärvi
21. Solar energy to provide fresh water to Maghreb countries
22. TIGER Innovators enhance North-South collaboration
  23. SNS REAAL Group to invest US$ 50 million in international water projects
NOMINATIONS & VACANCIES
PUBLICATIONS
CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRAINING
EVENTS
BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
CONTACT US / COMMENTS

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HEADLINE
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1. Austria wishes to expand the EU’s undisputed role as the international leader in development cooperation. A prime concern is to support developing countries as effectively as possible in overcoming the many challenges they face. As in other fields the Austrian Presidency is bound by the valid "multi-annual planning" document for the GAERC (General Affairs and External Relations Council) and the chapter on development co-operation therein. Austria sets great store by cooperation with the European Parliament in the area of development. The Presidency’s main priorities in development cooperation will be presented to the European Parliament in due course. The ongoing dialogue with civil society will also figure prominently in the work of the Austrian Presidency. See here the main lines of this programme.

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IN BRIEF
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2. The EU and Tunisia signed on 19 December the first two twinning contracts concerning cooperation between the Tunisian Customs Directorate General and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, and their French counterparts. These contracts are signed in the framework of the Association Agreement Support Programme, financed by the EU with a budget of €20 million. This type of contract, used for the first time in Tunisia, opens a new chapter in its relations with the EU. Engaged in its reform process, the Tunisian administration will be able to benefit from the experience of its counterparts in EU Members. See ANSAMED website for more information.

3. The University of Alicante will host the International Symposium on the Sustainable Use of Ground Water from January 24th to 27th. This meeting is part of the Interacademy Panel's Water Program for 2004-2006. During the symposium, Alicante will be the centre for the debate about global problems concerning ground water, irrigation, industry, countries' development and preservation of many aquatic ecosystems. The symposium will bring together specialists from different academic fields concerning the hydrological cycle. All of them are worried about the preservation of global reserves. They propose the maximum, rational use of water ground resources based on the life cycle of the aquifers (discharge, recharge, storage and extraction) and its economic consequences. See EMWIS news section for further information.

4. Centuries of dam building and urbanisation of flood plains combined with global warming are taking their toll on Europe’s landscape. Severe flooding now hits the region almost every year. But the EU also leads the world in flood research, from multi-sensor weather modelling to real-time alert warning systems to non-invasive inspection of 200-year old levees. How to shift from absolute flood prevention – an impossible task – to optimal management of risk is today’s challenge, as discussed at a recent Commission workshop of flood experts. See the website of the EC for further information.

5. The European Commission’s review of the EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy calls on all governments, businesses, NGOs and citizens to come up with new and better ways to move towards a more sustainable way of life and seize the opportunities available. The review reiterates the Commission’s commitment to continue to play a key part in achieving change whilst setting out further concrete actions for the coming years. See the website of the EC for further information.

6. MEDA WATER International Conference on Sustainable Water Management: Rational Water Use, Wastewater Treatment and Reuse (RUWTR 2006) to be held in Rabat (Morocco) next 13-15 June 2006 announced a call for paper to be due on 25 February 2006. The conference aims at supporting the competent authorities and all actors involved in the specific field by providing them new knowledge on various technologies, methods and tools for the promotion of best. It represents an opportunity to promote these new approaches among Government Agencies and Municipalities. Successful case studies and salient results from ongoing sustainable water projects shall be presented and discussed. The conference shall also provide an opportunity to bring together scientists, engineers and professionals from government departments, private institutions, consultants, research, education and training institutions. This conference is jointly organised by MEDAWARE and Zer0-M, two MEDA WATER projects. See EMWIS news section for further information.

7. EMWater project, one of the MEDA WATER (Euro-Mediterranean Regional Water Programme for Local Water Management) projects, is organising a Regional Conference on "Efficient Management of Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean Countries" to be held in Amman (Jordan), on October 30- November 1, 2006. The conference will bring together government officials, scholars, representatives of the international development community and different segments of the private sector to discuss the issue of the management of wastewater treatment and reuse and the several conference themes relating to it. 15 March 2006 is the deadline for electronic submission of abstracts and registration forms. See EMWIS news section for further information.

8. Improving the quality of European water bodies is the main goal of the EU Water Framework Directive. For its successful implementation it is important to integrate ecology, economy and equity in management of European river basins. In this context, it is crucial that researchers, authorities and stakeholders share information on measures to be taken and to be as clear as possible about their costs and benefits. A recently achieved German project provides a good example of an interdisciplinary, integrative approach to river basin management. Its objective was two-fold. The first one focused on planning measures to reach good ecological status of the Werra River Basin (central Germany) by 2015. Secondly it assessed hydrological and ecological consequences of the planned measures as well as their relative costs and benefits. The socioeconomic analysis of the proposed measures revealed that their benefits will significantly outweigh the costs. See more details.

9. A new study suggests that in Europe, Mediterranean and mountain regions are the most vulnerable to environmental change. In the coming decades, changes in climate and land use in these regions are likely to result in large changes in ecosystem services supply causing problems to water regimes, energy, biodiversity, agriculture, forestry and tourism. See EC DG Environment for more details.

10. The "Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005" was passed by unanimous consent by the United States Senate and had previously been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 319 - 34. It was signed by President Bush on 1st December 2005. The recently passed bill establishes increasing affordable and equitable access to water and sanitation for the very poor as a major objective of United States foreign policy. The current efforts are focused almost entirely on a very few places, most of the investment to be found in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, the West Bank, and Gaza. This bill would establish one of the Millennium Development Goals in U.S. law for the first time. This would be regarded as a very positive development around the world. See more details.

11. The arrival of a New Year is usually accompanied by bold statements of how to change our lives for the better. While Headlines makes no predictions, it is safe to say that the European research scene is in for a big year with preparations for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the longest and most ambitious one to date, entering full swing. This year’s FP7 timetable could include a first reading by the European Parliament in March, with European Council readings (co-decision) chaired by the Austrian and then Finnish presidencies. An inter-institutional debate on the establishment of a European Security Research Programme is expected in 2006. All going to plan, the final steps in the co-decision process for adopting FP7 should be concluded in time for the end of FP6. Research is needed at EU level for the implementation of international commitments such as the Kyoto protocol, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the objectives of the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, including the EU Water Initiative, and contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Earth Observation initiative. In addition there are significant research needs arising from existing and emerging EU level policies, the implementation of the 6th Environmental Action Plan and associated thematic strategies, the action plans on Environmental Technologies and Environment and Health, and Directives such as the Water Framework. See the website of the EC for further details.

12. The United Nations General Assembly, at its 58th session, adopted resolution A/Res/58/211 which declares 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The decision was taken to help prevent the exacerbation of desertification around the globe. The General Assembly invites all countries, international and civil society organizations to celebrate the Year 2006 and to support public awareness activities related to desertification and land degradation. The main objective of the year is to get the message across that desertification is a major threat to humanity, compounded by both climate change and loss of biological diversity. Land degradation affects one third of the planet's land surface and around one billion people in over a hundred countries. See UNCCD website for more information.

13. The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group is to build two turnkey wastewater treatment plants in the Romanian seaport of Constantza. The customer is the state-owned port authority, Maritime Ports Administration S.A. Constantza (MPAC). For a waste-dump leakage treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant, Siemens is to supply and install all the systems, machinery and electrical equipment and will also be responsible for all the construction work. The order is valued at around €6.5 million and the new plants are scheduled to start operating at the end of 2006. See Water World website for more information.

14. The European Investment Bank (EIB) lends €300 million for repairs of the Romanian road infrastructure damaged by the catastrophic floods. The loan will finance road repair works as well as rehabilitation of damaged bridges, consolidation of road embankment, reconstruction of riverbanks protections as well as preventive measures that will reduce the risk of the reoccurrence of flood damages in the future. The loan involves emergency funds of €75 million, which could be allocated to local authorities for priority needs caused by the disastrous floods of 2005. See EIB press release for full information.

15. In comparison with the lawful requirements and climatic context, the department of the French region "Les Hauts-de-Seine" lays down new orientations gathered in its plan for sanitation in terms of collection and treatment of rain water and wastewater. This plan for sanitation will be financed by the additional budget, supplied with the royalty of sanitation and will make it possible to deal with the management of wastewater. The general budget takes charges of reduction of the floods related to the storms through a programme of €150 million over 15 years. See "Actu Environnement" for further information. (Only in French)

16. During the French National Committee of Water meeting on January 5th, 2006, the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Nelly Olin presented the priorities for the year 2006 in the field of water: drought, water law. To know more, consult the speech of the minister on the risk of the drought in 2006 and her speech on 2006 priorities in the field of water. (Only in French)

17. The Moroccan national plan of water under development aims to establish a future strategy for water management and climate and environmental protection, which was affirmed recently by the Minister of the environment, Water, and Regional planning, Mohamed El Yazghi. With this plan, first axis of the reforms undertaken by the ministry, Morocco will be able to control its hydrous resources. To know some more, read the continuation of this article.

18. Drinking water management for Algiers has been handed over to French firm Suez-Environment via a partnership contract signed with Algerian authorities aimed at guaranteeing daily drinking water for those living in the city. The Algerian government reached a €120M agreement with French firm Suez-Environnement 28 November to improve water management in Algiers through modernisation of the water distribution network. Within three-and-a-half years, the goal is for water distribution service to be available 24 hours of every day to the people of Algiers. If the experiment proves successful, the plan will also be implemented in Oran, Annaba and Constantine. See Magharebia website for further information.

19. The participants in an international conference organized by the Arab research Centre on the Sahara and the development of the Saharan companies invited to rationalize and regulate the use of water in the desert zones, to plant fruit trees in these areas and to adopt the most modern methods of irrigation there. With the exit of their work, the participants also pled for a strict application of the legislation in force regarding water management, for a control of the level and quality of the national wealth of water and for the creation of a bank of data on this vital resource. The conference also exhorted the Libyan general Office of water to pass from its current policy of water resources development to water demand management and to multiply the efforts in order to increase the use of sea water and treated wastewater. To know some more, read this article entitled call for a rational exploitation of ground waters. (Only in French)

20. The Finnish LIFE-Environment “Lappajärvi” project aimed to develop an integrated management system for the general restoration of eutrophied lakes. This was demonstrated at Lake Lappajärvi, a 149 km² brown water lake in Western Finland containing humus and a high phosphorous content (on average 25 µg/l). Specifically, the beneficiary, the West-Finland Regional Environment Centre (WFREC), sought to develop a new way of promoting sustainable development: to maintain the lake’s natural ecosystems, to preserve its surrounding cultural landscape and to help improve its recreational value. See the website for further information.

21. Near 50.000 inhabitants of 52 villages of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia have got energy and water thanks to a project that began to work four years ago in the Maghreb by the Polytechnical University of Madrid (UPM). A group of investigators and professors of the Energy Solar Institute of the UPM decided four years ago to install in the countryside of the Maghreb photovoltaic panels, fed with an abundant power plant as the Sun, to obtain freshwater. See full information in Marruecos Digital website. (Only in Spanish)

22. Five international partnerships have recently been awarded funding through ESA’s TIGER Innovators project to develop new ways of applying Earth Observation data as a tool for water resource management in Africa. ESA (European Space Agency) launched the TIGER Initiative in 2002 following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Focusing on the use of space technology in water resource management in Africa, the primary objective of TIGER is to help African countries overcome problems faced in the collection, analysis and dissemination of water related geo-information by exploiting the advantages of Earth Observation technology. More than 200 African water basin authorities, universities and other organisations have become involved in TIGER projects across the continent. See the website of ESA for further details.

23. Within the next 5 years, SNS REAAL Group will invest US$ 50 million in international water projects, targeting drinking water supply, sanitation, water purification and irrigation. The sustainable sound Investment Fund will also invest in small and medium sized companies that are active in this field and stimulate sustainability in the field of water. The SNS REAAL Water Fund will exclusively select investments that comply with the social, environmental and economic criteria of SNS REAAL Group according to the triple bottom line investment strategy, serving People, Planet and Profit (3P). See the flyer of the SNS Reaal Water Fund, see the press release for further information, and you can also get here more information about this group.

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NOMINATIONS & VACANCIES
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24. François Mauvais was nominated new General Director of the ASTEE. Following the departure in retirement of Alain Lasalmonie, François Mauvais is named general manager of the Scientific and Technical Association for Water and the Environment (ASTEE), since January 2nd, 2006. To know some more, consult the site of the ASTEE.

25. José Manuel Silva Rodriguez has been nominated New Director-General of the Research DG in the EC, and the Organisation chart of the Research DG has been updated too. See the website of the EC for further information.

26. Nominations Welcome for the 2006 Stockholm Industry Water Award: The nomination period for the 2006 Stockholm Industry Water Award has now started. Nominations are welcome until February 28, 2006. The Stockholm Industry Water Award stimulates business sector contributions to sustainable development in the water sector, and to minimised water consumption and pollution load on the environment. It was established in 2000 by the Stockholm Water Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The nomination brochure and an on-line nomination form can be found by visiting the website of SIWI.

27. The EIB (European Investment Bank) is looking for a Water Sector Specialist (Economist / Engineer) to Assess within a multidisciplinary team, of the economic, financial, technical, operational, environmental and social viability of water and sanitation investment projects, to Monitor the implementation of projects financed by the Bank, to prepare water sector studies and sector lending strategies, to manage technical assignments for project preparation and technical assistance to promoters, and to coordinate water sector strategies and project development with the European Commission and International Aid Agencies. This advertisement will be withdrawn on the 10th February 2006. See EMWIS Forum for more details.

28. Applications are invited for one post-doctoral research fellowship starting 1st April 2006, at INRA-Castanet, in collaboration with the Mesoscale Modelling Group at Centre National de la Recherche Météorologique (CNRM) in Toulouse, France, to work on the following subject: "Estimating the impact of climate change on the irrigation water demand of the Adour-Garonne basin". The objective of the project is to develop a simulation tool integrating a CO2-responsive land surface model and a realistic representation of farming practices in order to analyse possible impacts of climate change on the water demand for irrigation at a catchment scale. The closing date for applications is 15 February 2006. Contact Dr. Jacques-Eric Bergez or visit our Forum for further information.

29. The Cooperative Programme on Water and Climate (CPWC) is an international programme to stimulate activities in the water sector to enhance the management of the impacts of climate variability and climate change in particular for the most vulnerable communities. CPWC is looking for a hydro-meteorologist. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from Mr. H. van Schaik. Applications (letter of motivation, CV and references) can be sent until 31 January 2006 to UNESCO-IHE, attn. Department of Personnel and Organisation, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands. See full details at Job section in EMWIS forum.

30. A research vacancy is announced in INRA (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique) of Toulouse (France), and the deadline is: 27/02/2006. See our forum for further information. You can also find other vacancies in Jobs section of our forum.

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PUBLICATIONS
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31. The international “Water Week” conference held in Beirut on November 14-17, 2005, has published its recommendations: English version, French version, or see EMWIS news section for further information about this conference.

32. A recent report on "the rainwater isotopes in Lebanon" by Zeinab Saad et al. has been published in the Journal of Environmental Hydrology. See Hydroweb for further information.

33. A new online brochure has just been published on the 24 best LIFE-Environment projects (2004–2005), presenting the results of each of these projects, according to the five LIFE-Environment themes. The projects, with beneficiaries from across the EU Member States, have been classified according to LIFE-Environment’s main themes: land-use development and planning; water management; minimising the impact of economic activities; waste management; and Integrated Product Policy. See LIFE website for further details.

34. “2005 Year of the Mediterranean, The Barcelona Process 10 years on” – This Publication has been prepared in the framework of the “Information and Communication” Programme, a MEDA-funded regional Programme, managed by EuropeAid, Cooperation Office of the European Commission, for the celebrations of the 10 years Anniversary of the Barcelona Process. Now available and can be downloaded.

35. The key documents of the Future European Union research policy the 7th framework programme (COM 2005 705 final) are available on line.

36. New Publication: "EU Research for Sustainable Earth Observation Watching the world for a better tomorrow" is available on line.

37. The publication "Space Applications for the Environment - Development of Earth Observation Technologies within the Fifth Framework Programme" is available on line.

38. A new publication under the title: "A Rough Guide to the Marie Curie Actions (new edition)" is available now on line. This document provides some basic information for individual researchers or research organisations that may be interested to participate in Marie Curie Actions. You can also download other related documents.

40. A new blog in Spanish about the European Water Framework Directive in Spain has been launched.

41. "Géoéconomie" is a quarterly journal dedicated to the study of international economic strategies, issues related to globalisation and to the analysis of the economic forces that underlie international relations. See the website for further information.

42. A recent report "Sustainable use and management of natural resources (EEA Report No 9/2005)" has been released on the European Environment Agency (EEA) website. Given the broad coverage of the term 'natural resources', a decision was made at the outset to focus the analysis on a selection of natural resources: fisheries, forestry, water, fossil fuels, metals and construction minerals, and land use. The factors behind this choice included ensuring a mix of renewable and non-renewable resources, the policy relevance and political importance of the resources, and the ability to illustrate the various policy approaches. See here this report.

43. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA's Office of Water has published a guide to watershed management as a tool in developing and implementing watershed plans. The draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters is aimed toward communities, watershed groups, and local, state, tribal, and federal environmental agencies. The draft handbook is available online. View all news releases related to water.

44. "Water and Ethics: A Historical Perspective. Essay 2 in the IHP Series on Water and Ethics" by Fekri A. Hassan, reviews the ethics of freshwater use from a historical perspective as a background to our current problems. It covers in outline the interaction between water use and the development of civilisation from the advent of agriculture through the development of state action and of cities, and from the rise of ancient civilisations to the emerging global society. Access the full publication.

45. A new resource has been shared in the resource section of MENA Region Water Resources and Wastewater Network by Noha Gaber, under the title: "LCHR Water Report" in Arabic. This report by Land Centre for Human Rights (LCHR) deals with Water Problems in Rural Egypt. You can view this new resource in the aforementioned Network website.

47. The bulletin "Around the Mediterranean" has published its 7th issue. (Only in French)

48. A new publication "les cours d'eau et le droit" by Philippe Marc that won the prize of the French Association "EPTB" has been published by Johanet Editions. See Johanet Editions website for further information. (Only in French)

49. The proceedings from the FRIEND Seminar «Climatic & Anthropogenic impacts on the variability of water resources», held at the HydroSciences Laboratory, in Montpellier, in November 2005, are now available at the webpage of the University of Montpellier. The process is now beginning for the publication of all the papers by UNESCO in its series Technical Documents.

50. The "Number 3" issue of the Newsletter of the EU Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) : "Clean, Clever, Competitive" has been published.

51. A new report "Benchmarking management of sewer systems– the 2005 snapshot" by Enrico van den Bogaard, RIONED foundation, has been published. The report offers an interesting ‘snapshot’ of the actual management of sewer systems in Dutch municipalities, but cannot be regarded as representative for the Netherlands as a whole. The report also offers insight into the continuing process of improvement of the benchmark tools itself. The report (only in Dutch) can be ordered via Email at a price of €45.

52. The new book "Understanding Water and Terrorism" will help you understand the situation in USA regarding the water supply and availability are so critical to our way of life and how that quality of life may be threatened in the coming years by terrorists.

53. "Understanding Water Rights and Conflicts" is a new book must be read for anyone interested in clean water and the impact our lifestyle has on water supplies. It is written in straightforward, easy to understand language. Find out about the persistent drought, what impact it may have on our lives, and what can be done.

54. "Practical Guide to Water Supply and Terrorism" is a new practical guide that will help water suppliers understand and implement ways to safeguard their water supply and protect their customers from terrorist attack.

55. The resolutions of the aids granted by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation (AECI) for the interuniversity cooperation between Spain and Morocco has been published. Two projects among the granted projects deal with wastewater issue.

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CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
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56. Algeria: A contract of technical attendance for the "regional program of modernization of irrigation systems in the River Basin of the Chelif" is announced by the AECI (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation). The deadline is: 23 January 2006. See AECI website for further information (given in Spanish), but you can check the terms of reference in French in the same page.

57. The 2nd Call for Proposals of the ACP-EU Water Facility is expected to be launched by the end of March 2006. Contrary to the first call for proposals, there will be only one phase of evaluation for the 2nd Call (Due to the sunset clause of the 9th EDF programme the Commission is obliged to commit all funds before the end of 2007). The European Commission unit responsible for the EU Water Facility organized a meeting on December 9th in Brussels, to which representatives of local authorities and NGOs from Europe and Africa were invited. See EUWF website for further information. See the website of EuropeAid for further details.

58. The Work Programme for the fifth call for proposals (SSP-5) on "Scientific Support to Policies" has been published on 22 December 2005, with closing date on 22 March 2006. As for all SSP calls, the instruments are: STREP, CA and SSA projects. Official call documents are available at CORDIS webpage.

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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59. The organisers of the International Workshop: "International Perspectives on Balancing Multiple Bottom Lines: Financial, Environmental, and Social Justice" which is organised under the umbrella of the 5th World Water Congress to be held in 10-14 September 2006 in Beijing (China), look for potential speakers who might be able to attend it. See the Workshop proposal and an abstract on the main issue of the workshop for further information. You can also contact Cheryl K. Davis. You can finally consult the official website.

60. BALWOIS Conference on Water Observation and Information System for Decision Support will be held in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia, 23/26 May 2006. The last call for papers is open till 15 February 2006 for receipt of the final presentations. Topics of interest are: Climate and Environment, Hydrological regimes and water balances, Droughts and Floods, Integrated water management, Lakes, Water protection and Eco-hydrology, Hydrological Modelling, Information Systems. All information on BALWOIS Information System is available on line, and on the conference itself also here. Abstracts must be sent to the secretariat.

61. First Announcement and Call for Abstracts: 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm: Abstracts to be considered for presentation at the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm are being sought now and are welcome until February 1, 2006. “Beyond the River – Sharing Benefits and Responsibilities” is the theme of the 2006 World Water Week, which takes place August 20-26, 2006, and will address livelihood improvement, land-based activities within a river basin, and society’s ability to cope with natural disasters, among other aspects. For more information, or to download the First Announcement, visit the completely updated home page. You can even submit an abstract on-line.

62. The 2nd International Symposium on Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing to be held in Torrent (Valencia, Spain) next 25-29 September 2006, has announced a call for paper to be due on February, 15th, 2006. This symposium organised by the Global Change Unit (University of Valencia) addresses the scientific advances in connection with real applications, its main goal being to assess the state of the art of both theory and applications in the analysis of Remote Sensing data. Contact Prof. José Antonio Sobrino or visit the website for further information.

63. The 3rd International Conference on the Water Resources in the Mediterranean Basin "WATMED 3" to be held in Tripoli (Lebanon) on November 1-3, 2006, announced a call for paper to be due on 30 March 2006. This conference is organised by the Lebanese University and The Lebanese Committee for Environment & Sustainable Development. It aims to review and compare the state of water resources in the Mediterranean basin, to reconcile between scarcity, quality, durability of resources, to interrelationship between global change, drought and desertification, to review the methods of for assessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems "health", to formulate strategies and identify ecotechnological approaches for the restoration and management of aquatic ecosystems, and to identify areas of co-operation in aquatic sciences between Mediterranean countries. See EMWIS news section for further information.

64. A Special Session on 'Remote Sensing and GIS for Environmental Monitoring' is organised within EEESD'06 that will be held in Athens (Greece) on July 11-13, 2006. Deadline for paper submission: March 25, 2006.

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TRAINING
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65. The National Centre of Training for Water Jobs in France (CNFME) organises a training session to know about the techniques of sea water desalination for the production of drinking water, and to study the problems by case studies. This training will be held in Paris the days 23 & 24 May 2006. See the website of CNFME for more details about it. You can also see the list of training sessions offered by the CNFME in 2006 at the same website.

66. A 6-day intensive course on: Theory and Practice of Brackish/Seawater Desalination by Reverse Osmosis Technology (Phase One) will be held in Hurghada (Egypt) for the first phase of this course during 3 days (07-09 March 2006). The seminar is aimed at technicians involved in desalination by Reverse Osmosis technology, as operators, design-engineers or site managers with the target of providing practical knowledge and information about raw water pre-treatment, system design and system construction. Forty participants will be selected by MEDRC/TMEu based on internal procedures. See EMWIS news section for further details.

67. A 4-day intensive course on: Fundamentals, Design and Applications of RO Membrane Desalination, will be held Bejaia (Algeria) the days 18-21 March 2006. This course is organised by the MEDRC in collaboration with Bejaia University. This course will provide the participants with required expertise and knowledge to operate the RO desalination plants. See EMWIS news section for further details.

68. A 4-day intensive course on: "MSF distillation - Fundamentals and Practice" is organised by the MEDRC in collaboration with Oman National Electric Co in Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) the days 16-19 of April 2006. This course is aimed at those new to distillation and to those who wish to improve their knowledge and understanding of the operation, maintenance and potentials of this important desalination process. The course will be of particular interest to many of those engineers brought up in the power industry, and who now find that their responsibilities include cogeneration systems consisting of boilers, generators and distiller units. See EMWIS news section for further details.

69. Intensive Courses in Desalination: Thermal processes and economics, management and economics, will be held in L'Aquila, Italy on July 26-27 of the next year. For further information see EMWIS news section.

70. A course titled: "International Training of Trainers on Wetland Management", focusing on the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes and curriculum development (ICWM-TOT) is to be held in Wageningen (The Netherlands) between 8 and 26 May 2006. The ICWM-TOT has been designed for (future) trainers in wetland management. The course programme is suitable for wetland managers and land use planners, policy makers, consultants, researchers and NGO staff who have affinity with training. See EMWIS news section for further details.

71. The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education organises a Short Course on Water Quality Assessment will be held in Delft (The Netherlands) between 13 February & 3 March 2006. The objective of this three week course is to acquaint participants with the principles, techniques and management issues related to water quality description, monitoring and assessment. See The website of UNESCO for further information.

72. The UNESCO-IHE organises an Online Short Course on Flood Modelling for Management, from 2006-05-17 to 2006-05-26, This course is a postgraduate study ideally suited for flood managers, water managers, flood modellers, engineers and scientists dealing with floods. This course will address questions such as: How are floods generated and how do they develop in time? What are better ways of designing flood protection schemes using models? What models can be used for forecasting floods? How should model results be used to inform decision-makers? See The website of UNESCO for further information.

73. The European Association of Environmental and Resources Economists (EAERE), the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) and the Venice International University (VIU) announced their annual European Summer School in Resource and Environmental Economics for postgraduate students. The 2006 Summer School will take place from the 25th of June to the 1st of July 2006, at the VIU campus on the Island of San Servolo, in Venice. The theme of this Summer School is Computable General Equilibrium Modelling in Environmental and Resource Economics. Deadline for application: February 1st, 2006. See EMWIS news section for further details.

74. On-line environmental/sustainability training: Staffordshire University's web-based distance learning Masters programmes in Water and Environmental Management, Sustainability and Environmental Management, Pollution Management and Sustainable Development are now recruiting to start in February 2006. All of the information about these courses can be found at the website of Staffordshire University.

75. The International Agricultural Training Centre (IATC) at Galillee College in Israel, invite you to attend the scheduled March 2 – 20, 2006 “International Agricultural programmes”, in addition to visiting the Agro-Mashov Agricultural Exhibition on the 1st of March 2006 during exhibition day. The training programmes include according to your choice the following themes: Crop Production Management, Irrigation and Water Management in Arid Zones, Agricultural Business Management, and Marketing and Export of Agricultural Products. Additional information regarding the programme, the application procedure and our special tuition scholarship schemes may be obtained via the College web site or by contacting the IATC Assistant Director Mr. Noam Nevo, or visiting EMWIS news section.

76. EduServ is the education service of European Spatial Data Research (EuroSDR). Its fourth module EduServ4 will take place will take place from March to June 2006 and consists of the following four 2-Week Distance eLearning courses: 1. Quality of Geospatial Data and the Related Statistical Concepts, 2. Co-ordinate systems and transformations for spatial position, 3. Positional Accuracy Improvement in GI databases, 4. Methods for checking and improving of DTMs. See the website of EduServ for further information.

77. ESA - FFG Summer School on 'Monitoring of Natural Hazards from Space' will be organised in Alpbach/Tyrol (Austria) on July 25 - August 3, 2006. Deadline registration: 31st March, 2006. Registration fee: €330. See the website of ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) for further information.

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EVENTS
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2006-01-24/25 - Seminar on the Status of National IWRM Planning in North African Countries, Rabat, Morocco.
For more information, click here.

2006-01-24/27 - The International Symposium on Groundwater Sustainability (ISGWAS), Alicante, Spain.
For more information, click here.

2006-01-25/28 - ICA International Conference on Cartography & GIS, Borovets, Bulgaria.
For more information, click here.

2006-01-30/31 - International Workshop on Hydro-Economic Modelling and tools for implementation of the European Water Framework Directive, Valencia, Spain.
For more information, click here.

2006-01-31/01-02 - 7th congress of Local water management, Rennes, France.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-01/03 - AQUAREC final conference, Barcelona, Spain.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-02 - The inauguration of the National Observatory of the Local Agenda 21 and the territorial practices of Sustainable Development, Paris, France.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-06/17 - Integrated Water Resources Management in the Middle East, Kibbutz Ketura, Israel.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-13/16 - 13rd Congress of African Water Association, Algiers, Algeria.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-14/16 - Mediterranean Forum on the drought, Zaragoza, Spain.
For more information, click here.

2006-02-15 - The launch of the OpenMI, Brussels, Belgium.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-02/20 - International Agricultural Programmes of IATC, Galillee College, Israel.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-07/09 - A 6-day intensive course on: Theory and Practice of Brackish/Seawater Desalination by Reverse Osmosis Technology (Phase One), Hurghada, Egypt.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-16/22 - 4th World Water Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-17/21 - 8th International Conference on "Limnologues d'Expression Française" CILEF 6, Hammamet, Tunisia.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-17/21 - The First International Water and Film Event, Mexico City, Mexico.
For more information, click here.

2006-03-18/21 - A 4-day intensive course on: Fundamentals, Design and Applications of RO Membrane Desalination, Bejaia, Algeria.
For more information, click here.

The EMWIS Flash gives you regular and quality information on the water sector in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The main headlines are: Institutions, Documentation, Training, Research and Development, Data Administration. You will also find updates on: international events, relevant web sites, the Euro-Med Water programme of the European Commission, and much more ....

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