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EMWIS Flash N°37, July 2006
| Released | 08/12/2006 |
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EMWIS Flash - July 2006
Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the know-how in the Water Sector
EMWIS is a program of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
For further information: www.emwis.org
Monthly Flash produced by the EMWIS Technical Unit- OIEAU, CEDEX, SOGESID- with the support of the E.C.
It is available in English, French & Arabic.
Visualisation problem? Click here
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In this issue N°37
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HEADLINE
1. New International EMWIS website: http://www.emwis.org
IN BRIEF
2. Great interest on "National water information systems & EMWIS" in Algeria
3. Conference of the water directors of the Euro-mediterranean and southeastern european countries
4. FP6; Scientific Support to policies: results of the last call for proposals FP6-2005-SSP-5A
5. Event to launch FP7 on 7 March 2007, in Brussels, Belgium
6. European parliament adopts report on FP7
7. Evaluation of proposals addressing the Targeted Third Countries call FP6-2006-TTC-TU
8. LIFE05: Third Countries projects kick-off in Brussels
9. Europe: low impact of public participation in water policy
10. INSPIRE in the EU legislative process
11. A tsunami early warning system in the North Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean region
12. Agriculture draining Mediterranean water
13. France launched 'Geoportal' rival to Google Earth
14. French departments declare drought as temperatures soar
15. Algeria: €2 millions for water supply in Tizi Ouzou
16. Morocco to spend $900m for water management projects
17. Ukraine: Danube Canal will have significant adverse transboundary effects on the environment
18. Serbia: Farmers participate in pilot project for reducing Danube pollution
19. Yemen: Netherlands grants €20 million to support water sector
20. Development of GMES in Romania supported by the European Commission
21. EUMETSAT poised to become the operational satellite agency for GMES
22. Survey to identify and prioritise requirements for GMES data quality
23. The Water Supply and Sanitation Platform
24. AQUASTRESS: The first Aquastress Summer School on water stress
25. The African Development Bank Increases Operational Focus on Water and Sanitation
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. EMWIS Technical Unit announces the launch of its new multilingual international web portal (in English, French and Arabic). This new site which has an improved design and navigation scheme, allows a flexible integration of content and heterogeneous applications (using Internet standards such as xml or web services). It is based on the open source content management system developed for and used by the European Environment Agency for most of its websites applications. You will find the usual EMWIS information on legislation, who does what, monthly news flash, etc., plus new sections such as a multilingual water thesaurus and glossary, a database of water projects, an outline of the main Mediterranean initiatives related to water, etc. EMWIS and its partners are progressively loading more material onto the new website to provide essential water information at both international and national levels. See all that at the new website: www.emwis.org .
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IN BRIEF
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2. EMWIS, its Algerian National Focal Point (ABH-CSM) and the Algerian Ministry of Water Resources organised a regional workshop on "National water information systems -NWIS-" in Algiers the 26 and 27 June 2006. This workshop was attended by some 150 participants from Algeria and institutions involved in water information around the Mediterranean. It was a great opportunity for a fruitful exchange of experiences based on some show-case examples and targeted discussions on 3 themes between the country representatives: Organizational and legislative aspects; Access to data; and Enhancement/added value of final information products. The workshop was also an opportunity to sign an agreement to support the water sector between the Algerian Government represented by His Excellency Mr. Abdelmalek SELLAL: Algerian Minister of Water Resources, and the European Commission represented by its Ambassador in Algiers Mr. Luis GUERRATO. This €20 millions programme aims mainly to enhance the institutional water management, its good governance and includes the reinforcement of the Algerian National Water Information System. This event was followed by the 6th Coordination Committee seminar of EMWIS National Focal Points. Presentations and workshop synthesis are available at EMWIS website.
3. The next Conference of the Water Directors of the Euro-Mediterranean and Southeastern European Countries will take place in Athens (Greece), on 6 & 7 November 2006. The Conference is organized by the lead country of the Med EUWI: Greece (Hellenic Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works and Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs), in cooperation with the European Commission, the ‘Euro-Mediterranean Information System on Know-How in the Water Sector’ (EMWIS) and the ‘Regional Monitoring and Support Unit’ (RMSU) of the MEDA-Water Programme of the EC. The Conference will be facilitated by the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean. See EMWIS website for further details.
4. In total 103 eligible proposals addressing the areas Policies 1.5, 1.6, 3.4 were evaluated of which 53 passed all thresholds. The total EC budget requested by the applicants of the 103 proposals was €76M, close to 5 times more than the available budget of €16M. Among the 27 proposals selected the following one is addressing water-related aspects: SPI-Water "Science-Policy Interfacing in support of the Water Framework Directive implementation", with a duration of 24 months, and a budget of €1,07M. This project proposes a number of concrete actions aiming to facilitate the communication between research scientists and regulatory instances by developing and implementing a “science-policy interface”, focusing on setting up a mechanism to enhance the use of RTD results in the Water Framework Directive implementation. On the other hand, the proposal CHEF "Cultural Heritage environment and flooding" (STREP, 24 months, €0,77M EC contrib.) investigates how future variations in extreme rainfall, wind-driven rain, floods and urban runoff may affect cultural heritage, with a particular focus on stone, wood and metal. Within the frame of the project policy recommendations and preventive strategies will be established as well as an on-line tool for CH protection planning. See Water & Soil Times Newsletter for further details.
5. On 7 March 2007 representatives of the German EU Presidency and the European Commission will open a major event on European research in Brussels, marking the launch of the Seventh Framework Programme 2007-2013 (the main EU instrument to support research), which will devote close to €50 billion to European and international co-operation in science and technology. The overall aim of the event is to raise the level of political commitment to European research, expand media coverage and increase public awareness. See Cordis Press Service for further details.
6. The European Parliament has adopted by an overwhelming majority the report outlining the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for RTD. This endorses the structure of FP7. The report now gives broad support to the European Commission's proposed work programme, which will have a budget of €50.521 billion. The Parliament also adopted, by a large majority, the report on the proposed European Atomic Energy Community's seventh Framework Programme (EURATOM). The spokesperson for European Research Commissioner, Janez Potocnik, welcomed the vote, saying it went very much in favour of the Commission's original proposal. The document will now be debated by Member States, before a second reading in the Parliament later this year. Consult Cordis for full details.
7. The evaluation of 40 proposals received for this specific call, aiming to reinforce international scientific collaboration, took place in mid-June 2006. Out of them 4 proposals were ineligible, 6 proposals failed the thresholds and 30 proposals passed. The total amount of requested EC financing was €17,7M. Coordinators of proposals have been informed of the evaluation results. The EC will start negotiations with selected projects before the summer break, expecting a formal decision before the end of 2006. See EC website for further details.
8. LIFE-Third Countries beneficiaries whose projects were approved for funding in 2005 were invited to Brussels on 6 and 7 June 2006 for their official kick-off meeting, and to exchange lessons learned so far. Most projects started around the end of 2005 and so beneficiaries already have a few months' experience, providing a basis for interesting discussions about the ongoing development of their projects. In 2005, fifteen LIFE-TCY projects were selected for support from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the West Bank, Jordan, Israel, Morocco, Lebanon, Russia, Tunisia and Turkey. See EC website for further information.
9. A new study has found that the impact of public participation on the decision-making process in European water policy is very small. Carried out under the ADVISOR project (Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance) research programme, the study reviewed water related projects in five European countries: water supply projects in Spain, Portugal and Greece, a flood protection project in the Netherlands, and the designation of a rural area as a nitrate-vulnerable zone in Scotland. See DG Environment news for further information.
10. INSPIRE, the European Commission’s proposal aimed at creating a system for access to and exchange of spatial information needed to monitor the state of quality of air, water, soil and the countryside will be the object of a third reading at the European Parliament. This third reading during the July 2006 Plenary session will deal with access to environmental data, specifically the application of the Aarhus convention to the EU institutions. See Eurogi website for more details.
11. The Second Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS) took place in Nice, France, from 22 until 24 May 2006. Participants reiterated the need to establish a tsunami warning system for the North Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean region. Working groups will issue recommendations that will form the basis of an Action Plan to be presented in Bonn, Germany, in January 2007. Participants also stressed the need to further explore opportunities of funding from the European Commission as well as modalities of cooperation with relevant global and regional organizations. See Unesco website for more details.
12. Thirsty cash crops are replacing traditional agriculture in the Mediterranean, meaning the region must brace itself for harsher, and more frequent, drought. According to conservation charity WWF a combination of climate change and excessive irrigation mean fresh water could become a scarce commodity, with communities and livelihoods set to suffer. The NGO is calling for a major shift in European and national policies that govern the way water is used, saying the area irrigated in the region has doubled in the last 40 years and agriculture has become the biggest single consumer of water in the region. See Edie News Centre website for further details.
13. France has unveiled a new website offering high-resolution aerial imagery of its entire territory, in a bid to mirror the planetary success of the US pioneer in the field, Google Earth. President Jacques Chirac chaired the official launch of the Geoportal last June 23rd -- found on the website: www.geoportail.fr -- a free service which allows users to zoom in to within 50 centimetres (20 inches) of the ground, a first in Europe. Unlike the US service Google Earth, which offers views of the entire planet but high resolution only for certain areas, the Geoportal covers the whole of France's territory, on the mainland and overseas. See Spacemart website for further information.
14. A heat wave sweeping across France since June following a prolonged period of low rainfall has led the government to declare a drought in 15 of the country's 96 mainland departments, the environment ministry has said. The high temperatures add to problems caused by low groundwater levels following a dry winter - rainfall was below average between October 2005 and March 2006. The environment ministry declared a "water crisis" in the central department of Seine-et-Marne, limiting water use to the strictly essential, imposing bans on watering lawns, and car washing, except at professional stations that use a system of water recycling. See Edie news for full information. See also documents related to the French National monitoring committee of drought effects on water resources.
15. More than two billion dinars (€22 million) will be freed within the framework of the complementary Algerian finance law 2006 which will be finalized in the Council of Ministers during this month. The investments will be devoted to the rehabilitation of sanitation and forage networks in Tizi Ouzou, declared Abdelmalek Sellal, Minister for the water Resources, which wish booster rocket the project whose completion is envisaged from here till 2008 and having to feed Tizi Ouzou, Algiers and Boumerdes. The minister has for this purpose called the companies involved in the projects, in particular Canadian company SNC Lavalin, to increase the rate of work, by privileging the rate of 60 hours per week. Two projects of transfer of water starting from the dam Taksebt are currently going on; they represent a volume of 57 million m3 which will make it possible to supply 600 000 inhabitants. See Allafrica news for full information. (Only in French)
16. Morocco plans to spend close to $900m per year on funding 122 projects as part of its 2005-2014 plan to develop the nation's water and forest sector, according to water and forests high commissioner Abdeladim El Hafi. The projects are part of a government programme to combat desertification to alleviate pressures on agricultural output from a growing population and to achieve sustainable development of natural resources. The commissioner noted that the degradation of natural resources costs around 3 billion dirhams and damages the ecosystem. Other programmes involved protection of forests, management of draining basins and protected areas, and fighting forest fires. See Magharebia website for full information.
17. The UNECE Inquiry Commission has concluded that the building of the Bystroe Canal in the Danube delta is likely to have significant transboundary impacts. Ukraine is developing the canal without having previously notified Romania, as it is required to do under the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, also known as the Espoo Convention. Both Romania and Ukraine are Parties to the Convention. See UNECE website for further details.
18. Farmers in rural Vojvodina, Serbia, are being successfully trained by the United Nations to reduce pollution in demonstration projects aimed at helping farmers in seven Danube River Basin countries. Bad farming practices are a main source of nutrient and toxic pollution seeping into local water bodies that lead to the Danube and Black Sea. The Vojvodina farms are representative of farming practices in Serbia and six other Danube countries participating in the project. See UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project website for full information.
19. Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation signed last July 5th an assistance agreement for the water and environment sector with the Dutch government. The Netherlands has agreed to grant €20 million for the coming four years. Yemen will also discuss further support to the water sector with the German and British governments and other donors. See IRC website for full details.
20. Romania’s role in Global Monitoring for Environment and Security was under discussions between the Directorate General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) of the European Commission and Romanian Research authorities. DG JRC and Romanian authorities reviewed progresses under the Sixth Framework Programme and discussed possible topics for future co-operation under the Seventh Framework Programme. DG JRC and the Romanian National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management signed a Collaboration Agreement on early flood alerts for future major floods. See JRC website for full details.
21. Since its foundation 20 years ago, EUMETSAT has become one of the world’s pre-eminent meteorological and environmental satellite organisations. In addition to numerous missions likely to substantially contribute to Earth observation such as the future launch of MetOp-A, Europe’s first polar-orbiting meteorological satellite service, planned programme such as Jason-2 Ocean Surface Topography mission, Meteosat third generation and the post-EPS programmes, EUMETSAT is poised to become the operational satellite agency of choice for European Earth Observation programmes such as GMES. See Eumetsat website for full details.
22. On behalf of ESA (European Space Agency), the National Physical Laboratory and the UK national standards laboratory are conducting a study to identify priority requirements associated with access to GMES Space component data. This survey is aimed at collecting views from the Earth observation community covering improvement to data product quality. ESA is encouraging all stakeholders within the Earth Observation community to contribute to the survey.
See ESA website for more information, and the survey (verification code: nplqc).
23. The Water Supply and Sanitation Platforms identified 6 pilot themes as a way to implement the Strategic Research Agenda and to tackle the 4 major challenges for global sustainable water management for Europe highlighted in the Vision document. The pilot themes are all articulated around the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework and have significant potential for applications to the third world contributing therefore to the worldwide Millennium Development Goals. A pilot is an organisational structure that covers the total of generic RTD, enabling RTD and implementation cases; the structure is set up to carry out precisely targeted and prioritized research that is defined by and tested in a number of real-life – or close to real-life – applications. The ultimate objective of a pilot is to make new and innovative contributions developed within the framework of IWRM aiming to solve major European water problems and to stimulate the formation of multi-facetted, multi-sectoral and highly competitive consortia. See WSSTP website for full information.
24. The first Aquastress Summer School on water stress has been implemented in Cagliari (Sardinia Region, Italy). From 15 to 18 May in a the Elementary School 'Randaccio', session 1 with the participation of 44 children of 2nd year and session 2 with 39 children of 4th year. From 17 to 20 May session 3 at the Middle School 'Alfieri' with 55 students of the first year. Teachers and students were enthusiast. The course was organised in relation to the students age, with different activities as frontal lessons, discussion, round tables, practical activities, games and a guided visit to Mulargia dam in the test site area. All the students received a participation attest at the end of each session. See Aquastress website for full details.
25. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has reaffirmed the importance it attaches to the infrastructure development on the African continent, with particular emphasis on the Water and Sanitation Sector. Within the framework of the reforms engaged by the President Donald Kaberuka, a Water and Sanitation Department has been established last July 10th in Tunis to consolidate and enhance the AfDB’s leading role in water sector activities in the region. The Department will centralize the AfDB’s water sector activities for better coordination and facilitate the definition and implementation of sustainable solutions across the water value chain, from strategy, policy-making and institutional reforms to project implementation and monitoring. It will spearhead the Bank’s contributions to national efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets in the Water sector and the related areas nutrition, education, health, gender empowerment and environment. Consult the African Development Bank Website or Magharebia website to get more information.
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NOMINATIONS & VACANCIES
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26 - A Post-Doc Position is offered at CUDAM (a Research Centre at the University of Trento, Italy). The position is funded by IRASMOS, a European Project started in September 2005, dealing with rapid mass movements and debris flows. The work to be charged to the PostDoc researcher mainly deals with numerical modelling exploiting Finite-Volume methods. Lasting of the contract is two years, to be spent essentially in Trento. Applicants must have a doctorate in scientific fields (engineering, physics or mathematics). For more details and information about the examination procedure, send an e-mail, including a short Curriculum Vitae (qualifications for the position, a complete vita, career goals and a list of references), to both Luigi Fraccarollo and Giorgio Rosatti.
27 - Vacancy notice: coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme will be in charge of the management of the activities of the United Nations system-wide Programme, particularly the production of the WWDR. The Coordinator will manage the development of overall strategies and work plans for WWAP, including the coordination of all activities of UN partner organizations and external partners, through appropriate and effective channels, leading to the timely production of the periodic WWDRs. Applications should reach UNESCO before 1 August 2006. See the vacancy notice or UNESCO website for further details.
28. SSCC: Secretariat moving to UNICEF, new director being sought: The Geneva-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) will be hosted by UNICEF in October 2006. The planned transition of WSSCC host from the World Health Organization (WHO) to UNICEF was originally scheduled to take place by end March 2006. An Expert Group is currently reviewing the Council’s institutional options, advocacy role and options to conduct field implementation activities. The Council’s Executive Director, Gourisankar Ghosh, retired as of January 2006, but remains attached to the WSSCC as Special Adviser to the Chair, until the end of August 2006. Pending the recruitment of the new Executive Director, Dr Maria Neira, WHO's Director of Public Health and Environment, will act as the Officer-in-Charge of the Council Secretariat. See Wash website for further details.
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PUBLICATIONS
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29. "The Right to Water in National Legislations, © AFD 2006" is a new report by Henri Smets, which aims to show the legal ramifications of acknowledging the right to water in domestic law through an examination of States’ practices in this field. The "Académie de l’eau/ Water Academy" hopes that this study will contribute to a better understanding of the scope of the right to water. See Water Academy website for further information.
30. A new publication of the ex-president of EMWIS: Dr. Juan Canovas Cuenca on his experience as president of the "Confedereacion Hidrografica del Segura, Spain", titled: "El vuelo del pajaro encarnado". See Libreriagea for further information. (in Spanish)
31. A new edition of "Dessalement de l'eau de mer et des eaux saumâtres" by Alain Maurel, has been published by Lavoisier.
32. A comprehensive training manual was prepared for the INPIM’s 2nd Capacity Building Program. The manual consists of 15 modules, prepared by internationally renowned resource persons, covering various aspects of irrigation management, including policy, planning and legal aspects, intuitional and management aspects, communication and organizational aspects, technical and financial aspects, gender, poverty and environmental aspects at various levels from micro/ watercourse to the macro/ watershed levels. The hard-copy of the manual can be obtained from INPIM’s global office in Islamabad at a price of only US$ 40 (Contact INPIM).
33. A new report by Mr. Pedro Arrojo: "Abolishing the NHP’s Water Diversions: a Turning Point for Water Management in Spain" has been published by IEMed.
34. "Environment and Development in the Mediterranean: a New Analysis of the Plan Blue" by Mr. Guillaume Benoit has been published by IEMed.
35. WASAMED project has published its 6th WASAMED Newsletter.
36. The MICRORISK project (FP5 project) has recently produced its final report. The report is going to be published as a book in the format of a guidance document rather that a scientific report (scientific results from the MICRORISK project are published in peer-reviewed literature). The final report describes how Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) can be used in water safety plan. It highlights what QMRA is and how it can provide important information to guide the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)-based risk management process. See the MICRORISK project website for further details.
37. “Water Management In Arid and Semi-Arid Regions” by Phoebe Koundouri, Katia Karousakis, Dionysis Assimacopoulos, Paul Jeffrey, Manfred A. Lange. The aim of the book is to define appropriate strategies and guidelines for water management necessary for the formulation and implementation of integrated sustainable management of water resources. The book considers results of the EC funded FP5 project ARID and presents various case studies concerning the examination of competing water use patterns, comparison of the governance structures and the evolution of response to scarcity as well as structural and non-structural instruments to address water deficiency. The book is published by: Edward Elgar Publishing.
38. “Sustainable Management of Water Resources. An Integrated Approach” by Carlo Giupponi, Anthony J. Jakeman, Derek Karssenberg and Matt P. Hare. The book is resulting from contribution of the FP5 project MULINO and provides introduction to water resource management covering topics such as: the ecology of surface waters, international regulations and economics, stakeholder participation in management, tools and methods for decision making, integrated modelling, decision making and water policies and stakeholder participation and social issues. The book is published by: Edward Elgar Publishing.
39. CORDIS focus is published by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities as part of the FP6 Framework Programme. It presents information on European Union research and innovation and related programmes and policies. The CORDIS focus RTD Results Supplement is based on research results and technology offers published both on the CORDIS Technology Marketplace. CORDIS focus is available online.
40. A recent publication provides an overview of the projects addressing issues linked to water and soil research that resulted from activities launched from 2003 to 2006 by the priorities "Global Change and Ecosystems" and "Policy-Oriented Research". The overall European Commission's budget dedicated to the presented 58 research projects is 188 M EURO. The listed projects are presented and sorted by area according to the following sub-division: Hydrology and Climate processes, Ecological impact of global change, soil functioning and water quality, Integrated management strategies and mitigation technologies and Scenarios of water demand and availability. The information provided is based on the data available in June 2006, some projects still being subject to final negotiation. The publication is available online.
41. "Environmental statistics in the Mediterranean countries - Compendium 2005", is the second environmental statistics compendium produced by UNEP/MAP Blue Plan, the implementing agency for the MEDSTAT-Environment project (MED-Env), in collaboration with the EC EuropeAid Cooperation Office and Eurostat. It has been compiled on the basis of data coming from the national statistics offices (NSOs) of twelve Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Syria Cyprus, Malta and Turkey). It reveals the work carried out during the three years of the second phase of the MEDSTAT Environment project aimed at reinforcing and consolidating the institutional capacities of Mediterranean countries to produce national statistics that are recent, relevant, reliable and comparable from one country to the next because they have been harmonised according to international and European standards, while conserving the essential local specificities. In the first phase the project concentrated on the topics of water, waste and land use, while this second phase concentrated its activities on air pollutant emissions, biodiversity and the calculation of environmental indicators for sustainable development. The publication is available in English and French through Eurostat website.
42. The "IWRM Science Communication for Impact" workshop held in Brussels on June, 20-22nd 2006, under the framework of the EU Water Initiative, has published participants contributions. See EC website to consult it.
43. The United Nation Report on progress towards the MDGs was released on 3 July 2006. The report presents the latest assessment on how far we have come, and how far we have to go in reaching the goals, in each of the world’s regions. With less than a decade left to meet the MDG targets, the United Nations said that there were "staggering" obstacles to succeeding and conditions in many poor countries were actually worsening. See Development Gateway website for further details.
44. "Protecting Groundwater for Health, Managing the Quality of Drinking-Water Sources" is a new book published by IWA. It presents tools for developing strategies to protect groundwater for health by managing the quality of drinking-water sources. See IWA publishing website for full information.
45. "Financing facilities for the water sector" by Cardone, R. and Fonseca, C. (2006) is a thematic Overview Paper (TOP) that explores the challenges of project preparation and financial risk. It argues that current funding flows are inadequate to the Millennium Development Goals. Download document or individual chapters from IRC website.
46. A new Guidelines for drinking-water quality report has been published by WHO. The Guidelines are intended to support the development and implementation of risk management strategies that will ensure the safety of drinking-water supplies through the control of hazardous constituents of water. Download full document or individual chapters from WHO website.
47. "Geomorphological Processes and Human Impacts in River Basins" by Ramon J. Batalla & Celso Garcia, and published by IAHS; ISBN 1-901502-28-7; is a collection of excellent papers selected from the International Conference on River and Catchment Dynamics: Natural Processes and Human Impacts at the Forestry Institute of Catalonia, in Solsona (Spain, May 2004). Click here for more information.
48. "Water desalination for agricultural applications" is a new FAO publication. FAO organized an expert consultation entitled Water desalination for agricultural applications (Rome, 26–27 April 2004) to analyse the state of the art and examine long-term prospects, with a special focus on the economic feasibility of applying desalinated water in agriculture, specifically for irrigation, in comparison with the reuse of treated wastewater. This publication contains a technical summary of the expert consultation as well as the keynote papers that were presented. Click here for on-line reading and/or downloading or visit the AGL On-line Publications Database. Contact: Sasha Koo-Oshima and Julian Martínez Beltrán.
49. "Comprehensive Assessment Research Report 10, 2006: Cities Versus Agriculture: Revisiting Intersectoral Water Transfers, Potential Gains and Conflicts": This report revisits this commonly-accepted wisdom and examines the nature of urban water scarcity, the relative importance of both physical and economic scarcity, and how cities secure funds for the development of their water infrastructure (or fail to do so). An electronic version of the report is available online. Contact: François Molle, IRD, Montpellier (France).
50. The e-conference on "Water Research and the Improvement of WASH services for the Poor" has concluded last July 10th by some conclusions given by Ms. Alessandra Cancedda.
51. The GEWAMED project has just published the Issue n°1 of the GEWAMED Newsletter (Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions Into Water Resources Development and Management in the Mediterranean Region). See EMWIS website for further details.
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CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
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52. The Environment Agency Water Efficiency Awards are the leading event in England and Wales for recognizing the efforts of business and industry to conserve water. Winning a Water Efficiency Award shows your commitment to protecting the environment and preserving natural heritage. If you know of an outstanding example of water efficiency in your organization, take the opportunity of promoting it to a national audience by entering the Environment Agency Water Efficiency Awards 2007. Deadline for submission: 31 August 2006. Organizer: The Environment Agency, United Kingdom. To register your interest in the 2007 Awards email Paula Wood, or see UK Environment Agency website for full details.
53. The European award "Our Waters" under the patronage of EU-Environment Commissioner Stravos Dimas was launched. This interesting award seeks for creative and feasible ideas with benefit for our waters. With regard to an EEC directive (water framework directive) the entire Europe is asked to achieve or to keep the good status of all waters. This award aims to learn from the creativity of others. Every water user can participate. The best ideas will be given an award at the European Parliament in summer/autumn 2007. Further information is available at the website of "our waters".
54. In the Framework of "FP6, Priority 1.1.6.3: Global Change and Ecosystems & EC" and in order to promote twinning between basins Organisations to reinforce practices of Integrated Water Resource Management; new rules have been established, in order to ease the coming of new twining proposals. From now on, requests will be accepted and considered on a continuous way. To propose a twinning project, go on Twinbasin website.
55. Promoting Awareness and Enabling a Policy Framework for Environment and Development Integration in the Mediterranean with Focus on ICZM is a SMAP III project implemented by METAP, PAP/RAC and BP/RAC of UNEP/MAP. The project was created with the objective to ensure the proper allocation of resources and the sustainable implementation of SMAP III through an improved and strengthened collaboration among the EC funded SMAP programme, UNEP/MAP and the World Bank. The project will be implemented during the period 2006 – 2008 in 10 MEDA countries. One of the tasks of this project is to ensure that the strategies and policies developed by SMAP III projects would be considered by the decision-makers for a sustainable use of their coastal assets and resources. For that reason, a call was launched related to the following project objective: “to promote awareness of the value and state of the coasts, and to provide support to the countries in strengthening and modifying the existing national-level enabling environment, including policy and legislation”. This call concerns NGOs from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. The Basic budget available is €4,000 per NGO.A letter of intent, in English or French, together with a brief description of your organisation, should be sent by email till 25th July 2006, at the latest. For more information, contact Ms. Marina Radic on e-mail or telephone number +385 21 340494. See EMWIS website for further information.
56. AMCOW competition involves youth to create water messages: African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) are calling upon young people to participate in a competition to formulate messages on water issues. The deadline for submissions should not be later than 31 July 2006 For more information, contact: AMCOW.
57. Co-financing by Fondation Ensemble (Paris, France): proposals invited for small-scale water projects. Organisations are invited to submit three-page proposals (with budget) for small-scale projects related to water (irrigation, sanitation, rainwater collection), the protection of biodiversity and renewable energy sources in developing countries. The average donation per project is about €200,000 over a three-year period, generally with a minimum of €50,000 per year, and up to a maximum co-financing level of 60% of the total budget. The project criteria are: provision of long-term sustainable and replicable access for vulnerable populations to water and sanitation, partnerships with as many players as possible (PPP, etc.), responsive to local needs, and inclusion of a hygiene and environmental education component and gender mainstreaming. Eligible countries are: Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, France, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Peru, Romania, Senegal and Ukraine. See the website of Fondation Ensemble for further information, or contact them by email. Apply before: 20 September 2006.
58. "Partners for Water fund" Tender by Partners for Water programme office (Delft, The Netherlands) is open till 12 September 2006. Partners for Water 2005-2009 is a programme that aims to strengthen the international position of the Dutch water sector by uniting forces (companies, departments, NGOs and knowledge institutes). Besides enhanced policy harmonisation and sector-wide collaboration in the Netherlands, Partners for Water also has a fund to stimulate innovative projects of the Dutch water sector abroad. With this 'seed money' five types of activities can be funded: Feasibility studies – max €150,000, Identification and market studies - max €150,000, Business development processes - max €150,000, Demonstration and pilot projects - max €750,000, and Institutional development - max €250,000. Eligibility: Organisations in the beneficiary countries of the Partners for Water programme (43, mainly developing and Eastern European countries) can only access the programme through and in combination with an organisation registered in the Netherlands. Focus themes: Water for food and environment, Water and climate, Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in the area of water and sanitation, Development of national IWRM plans (Integrated Water Resources Management) and Groundwater resource management. Contact: Programmabureau Partners voor Water, or check the web site for further details.
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CALL FOR PAPERS
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59. On 12th and 13th October 2006, the Cycleau partnership will hold its final international conference in Quimper (Brittany), France. This event will take place alongside the annual Finistere Water Conference and expects to attract over 300 delegates from all over Europe. The aim of the event is to showcase the results of the Cycleau INTERREG project and its methodology for effective catchment management. It also seeks to share the lessons learnt about co-ordinating transnational and cross-border partnerships in light of the future territorial co-operation programme 2007-2013. See EMWIS news section for full details.
60. The International conference on WAter POLLution in natural POrus media at different scales, Assessment of fate, impact and indicators "WAPO2", has published its first announcement. This event will be held in Barcelona (Spain) on the 11st-13rd April 2007. Its main objective pretends to be a forum to scientist, Ph. D students, authorities and managers concerned with the problem of grounwater contamination in porous media. See EMWIS news section for full details.
61. The Water and Governance Research Workshop to be held in Barcelona on November 16th, 2006, announced a Call for papers to be due on September 15th, 2006. The challenge of the workshop is to analyze the key elements of the governance of the water, as these elements must be inserted in the state structures of governance. It is necessary to deepen these elements with rigorousity and presenting multiple points of view. The workshop, within the framework of the Water and Governance Week, is organized by Engineering Without Borders Spain in collaboration with the World Water Assessment Programme, Institut Internacional de la Governabilitat and New Water Culture Foundation. See the workshop website for further information.
62. The International conference: "Water Saving in Mediterranean Agriculture & Future Research Needs" to be held in Bari (Italy) on 14-17th February 2007, announced a call for papers to be due on 31st July 2006. The Conference aims to bring together all relevant local and regional key-actors and scientists in order to discuss and identify the priorities in research to support national and regional strategies on water saving in the Mediterranean region. See CIHEAM-IAMB website for full details.
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TRAINING
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63. The EMWater project organises its 3rd Regional Training Course to be held in Hamburg (Germany) next 10-23 September 2006. This Training offers an advanced course for professionals in wastewater management and treatment from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey. See EMWater website for further information.
64. New opportunity of training on Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management (ITWRM) for the MENA Region, first phase in Jordan November 5-16, 2006. This training, conducted together by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Ramboll Natura, aims to provide a meeting place for professionals involved in water issues in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, with the aim of building both personal and institutional links. The programme is targeted to decision makers, planners, specialists or managers from organisations involved in transboundary water resources management. The course covers a wide range of management and institutional aspects of ITWRM. Among others it deals with regional and global experience from transboundary water resources and data management and it embraces also the legal frameworks aspects and the new techniques for enhancing the broad benefits of shared waters. The travel arrangements to Jordan are up to the training participants, SIDA will cover the participation fee consisting in all training cost as well as accommodation costs and the travel costs to Sweden for the second part of the training process foreseen on February 19 – 23, 2007. The training language will be English. The last application date is July 21, 2006. To get more information about the course check the training brochure trough SIWI website. You can also download the application form online.
65. Intensive Courses in Desalination: Thermal processes and economics, management and economics, will be held in L'Aquila, Italy on July 26-27 of 2006. For further information see EMWIS news section.
66. A Training on: Water, the solidarity of people and territories is organised by Green Cross and Rennes Summer University on 28-30 September 2006 in Britanny (France). The main objective is to mobilize the decision-makers and the citizens to participate in the international cooperation efforts to provide clean water and sanitation to the people of developing countries by allocating 1% of the resources from their water and sanitation services. Contact Catherine Balbeurcousin (GCI) or see EMWIS news section for full details.
67. New IWRM and Transboundary Course Offerings from SIWI: In late 2006 and early 2007, SIWI is offering three new capacity building courses which focus on national and transboundary water management issues. The courses, conducted together with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and Ramboll Natura AB, provide on-the-ground training geared to decision makers, planners, specialists and managers at different types of levels and organisations. The courses include: Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management for the MENA Region (Application Deadline: July 21, 2006); and “Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management for the MENA Region” takes place in Jordan, November 5-16, 2006, and in Sweden, February 19-23, 2007. For more information about each of these courses, including application forms, visit SIWI website.
68. Demand from the water sector for skilled science and engineering graduates with water and wastewater treatment knowledge and experience is very strong. Cranfield University (UK) offers Studentships in water and wastewater treatment for persons interested in a career as a process scientist, engineer or technology manager in the water sector then consider applying for a place on one of the Masters courses of Cranfield University: MTech Advanced Professional Masters in Water Processes, MSc Water and Wastewater Engineering, and MSc Water and Wastewater Technology. See the website of Cranfield University for more information.
69. The College of Graduate Studies at the Arabian Gulf University offers a new Post-Graduate Diploma and Master Degrees in: “Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing”. The Post-Graduate Diploma and Master degrees are designed in response to the needs of the growing development in the GCC countries and also due to the request for specialists and experts in the fields of new technologies of GIS and RS and their various operational applications, in order to serve governmental departments, commercial and industrial organizations, universities and educational institutions. See the Brochure and the letter of the course. For further information, contact Prof. Mohamed Ait Belaid.
70. The Master's in Integrated Water Resources Management offered by the Department of Bioresource Engineering of McGill University gives students the unique opportunity to study the biophysical, legal, institutional, and socioeconomic aspects of water use and management, in an integrated context. See McGill University website for full information.
71. A virtual course on Remote Sensing, funded by the EU Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) is available on line at Planetek website. The course has been implemented by the University of Venice (IUAV) - Geographical Information System Department and Planetek Italia, an Italian company operating in the field of information sciences applied to land management.
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EVENTS
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2006-07-10/28 - International Short Course in Decentralized Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), Delft, The Netherlands.
For more information, click here.
2006-07-26/27 - Intensive Courses in Desalination, L'Aquila, Italy.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-02/04 - International Junior Researches & Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures, Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-04/08 - The 7th International Conference on Hydroinformatics2006, Nice, France.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-06/08 - River Flow 2006, Lisbon, Portugal.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-07/08 - The European workshop: Drinking water quality in distribution systems, Nancy, France.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-11/16 - HydroEco2006, International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology: The Groundwater/Ecology Connection, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czech Republic.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-11/16 - XXX° Hydraulics Engineering Italian Conference, Rome, Italy.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-11/22 - Legal Framework of Water Resource Management, Rome, Italy.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-12 - Water disinfection, treatment and purification (Water quality securing) Markets Worldwide 2006-2015, London, UK.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-12/14 - ISUD 5: Fifth International Symposium on Ultrasonic Doppler Methods for Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Engineering, Zürich, Switzerland.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-18/21 - Vth congress of Climate, Society and Environment, Zaragoza, Spain.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-20/22 - Water in Mountains: International Congress on Integrated Management of High Watersheds (Megève 4), Megève, France.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-21/22 - EUROPE-INBO 2006 – International Conference on the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive, Megève, France.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-25/29 - The 2nd International Symposium on the Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing, RAQRS'II, Valencia, Spain.
For more information, click here.
2006-09-26/28 - 3rd International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management, Bochum, Germany.
For more information, click here.
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