2- Initiated in Marrakech in 2011, then held in Murcia in 2014 and Cairo in 2018, the Mediterranean Water Forum is intended to be a regional event that brings together the main stakeholders of the Mediterranean water community. Given its specificity as an inter-continental crossroads, a water scarce region and a hot spot of the effects of climate change, the Mediterranean region is also a very dynamic platform with a large number of solutions and experiences that can be shared during World Water Forum. This Med Forum aims to present the Mediterranean as a hub of innovative water management solutions which have been locally developed or adapted to address the prevailing challenges of the region including those related to climate change impacts.  It will also outline how the Mediterranean region is developing an integrated implementation  framework through the Union for the Mediterranean’s Water Agenda, while also servicing other important political and technical regional and sub-regional frameworks, which ensures that different water management actions reinforce each other thereby providing a comprehensive solution for evolving needs.  In so doing, the forum will present the value of the Mediterranean region in the development, adaptation and implementation of effective and integrated water resources management (IWRM) solutions. It will also showcase the replication potential of these solutions to address emerging problems at a global scale, including as a contributor to jobs, prosperity, stability and peace. The 4th Mediterranean Water Forum will be held in Malta from December 6 to 8, 2021, linked to the Euro-INBO conference. Further information on EMWIS website

3- The 19th “Europe-INBO” International Conference will be held,  back to back with the MED Water Forum, from Wednesday 8th to Friday 10th of December 2021, this year at the invitation of the Energy and Water Agency (EWA) of Malta. In order to address current uncertainties regarding the evolution of the COVID19 pandemic and related travel restrictions, we are currently planning for an online format. Organizations, administrations and other stakeholders interested in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at basin level are invited to participate in the event and share their experiences throughout the sessions of Europe-INBO (where simultaneous interpretation in English – French-Spanish will be available): Four thematic sessions:
- Session 1. Engaging basin actors in the evaluation and evolution of the Water Directives
- Session 2. Economic tools for basin management: integrating environment and biodiversity in cost-recovery   
- Session 3. Sustainable quantitative management of water resources
- Session 4. Special panel “International & transboundary cooperation for basin management”

Further information on EMWIS website

4- The 5th meeting of the UfM Task Force on Environment took place on 28 May, bringing together country representatives and regional stakeholders of the UfM environment agenda. The virtual meeting was chaired by the UfM European and Jordan Co-Presidency, with the support of the UfM Secretariat. It covered the following topics: Discussing the priorities for action under the 2030 Greener Med Agenda, the new proposed tool for regional integration and collaboration; Exploring the opportunities for partnership and funding related to the 2030 Greener Med Agenda in view of the ongoing programming; Defining the operational modalities of the 2030 Greener Med Agenda; Showcasing and linking regional key actions and related developments on (i) plastic within a green circular economy approach (land and sea) and (ii) nature-based solutions, with a focus on Wetlands and Marine Protected Areas.  On this occasion it was decided to: Elaborate a 2021 baseline assessment for the 2030 Greener Med to show progress up to 2030; the baseline assessment is based on the Greener Med Theory of Change and will include an analysis of 2030 Greener Med contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals through solutions and transformation changes and strategies; Provide a regular update on the associated projects and programmes (including regular monitoring briefs); Run an intermediary evaluation of the UfM 2030 Greener Med Agenda in 2025 and a final evaluation in 2030. Throughout the thematic assessments of the three priority areas, different organizations and programmes provided insights on the status of their work and important new developments with regards to ecosystems and biodiversity (FAO/UN Environment Programme (UNEP), MEDWET, SPA RAC/UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan), as well as with regards to regional actions on plastic prevention and management within a circular approach (land and sea) (WES, SwitchMed, Interreg Med Green Growth Community, Plastic Busters, BLUEMED).  On education for sustainable development, it was highlighted that the 2022 UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Conference will be on ‘circular economy, sustainability and tourism’ and will take place in the Mediterranean. In closing, the co-presidency highlighted how encouraging such a wide range and diversity of initiatives is, and stressed how important it is to create stronger links among stakeholders to address the many challenges of the Mediterranean. Further information on EMWIS website

5- The European Commission, the PRIMA programme and the Union for the Mediterranean jointly organise the conference on water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus scientific advances in the Mediterranean region in Cyprus from 27 to 29 September 2021. It will address the role of science as a driver of innovation and its interface with the policy making process. The Conference will analyse the role of science as a driver of innovation for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean region,  and its interfacing with the policy and decision-making processes. It will recommend practical measures on how to integrate new paths in research and planning across the WEFE Nexus, through a collaborative response throughout the Mediterranean region. Posters abstracts are accepted till end of August. Further information on the conference website

6- On 23 June 2021,the programming committee approved the final version of the INTERREG Europe cooperation programme 2021-2027. The final version includes updates from the public consultation. More than 550 respondents contributed. You can have a look at the summary of the comments and how they were treated with respect to the final programme draft. You can find all the comments from the public consultation, their analysis and results here. The individual documents are also available in the folder with all 2021-2027 programming documents. On the basis of this final version, representatives of our 29 Partner States will launch a signature process of their partnership agreements with Interreg Europe. The programming process will end with the submission of the cooperation programme to the European Commission for final approval. The new programme is expected to come into effect in early 2022. On 24 and 25 November 2021, the new programme will be presented  at 'Europe, let's cooperate!' online event. Further information on EMWIS website

7- Attacks on water and sanitation facilities and workers in conflicts around the world continue to put the lives of millions of children at risk and deny children and families access to critical water and sanitation services, UNICEF warned on May 24. In the 9 countries highlighted in Water Under Fire Volume 3: Attacks on water and sanitation services in armed conflict and the impacts on children – including countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe – almost 48 million people, including children, are estimated to need safe water and sanitation services. Protecting water and sanitation services is critical to the survival of millions of children. In fragile countries, children under the age of five are 20 times more likely to die due to diarrheal diseases than to violence, and children in extremely fragile contexts are often more than eight times worse off across the water, sanitation, and hygiene indicators than children born into stable and protected environments. The report examines the immense impact on children and families when water and sanitation infrastructure is attacked, damaged or destroyed, controlled or otherwise restricted in countries besieged by armed conflict. It highlights that children’s access to water has been threatened in nearly every conflict-related emergency where UNICEF is responding.  Further information on EMWIS website

8- Editions of the “Mediterranean Climate Change Adaptation Awards” are organised by the French Agency for ecological transition (ADEME), with the support of its Mediterranean partners the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and Plan Bleu. The competition rewards exemplary and concrete actions to adapt to climate change in the Mediterranean. The award ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Medadapt Awards will be held  on 27 July, from 11am to 12pm (Europe/Paris). Further information on EMWIS website

9- While #mycircularcity photo contest is opened for voting, the COST Action Circular City has launched a call to submit videos to highlight best circular practices from all participating countries in the Action. The CA17133 "Circular City" seeks to build an interdisciplinary platform for connecting city planners, architects, system designers, circular economists, engineers and researchers from social and natural sciences who develop systems allowing cities to cope with different challenges. The project The videos will be used to promote and contribute to the worldwide movement of the Circular Cities Week in October 2021. The deadline for sending the videos is on 31st August 2021. You may read the instructions of video submission on Circular City website

10- In collaboration with the Adour-Garonne, Loire-Brittany and Rhone-Mediterranean-Corsica Water Agencies, as well as with the Occitania Region, the International Office for Water (OiEau) is setting up a series of regional animations to promote good practices for urban storm water management, adapted to climate change.  Initially, OiEau proposes a series of three webinars which present alternative developments allowing to answer these problems, while representing means to : Renaturalise the city and bring back biodiversity, Reduce the effects of global warming by creating urban cool islands, Improve human health by enhancing the living environment. Further information on EMWIS website

12- HYDROUSA consortium has developed a policy brief on how it supports the implementation of the European Green Deal and the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. HYDROUSA project (1) supports the just and inclusive transition through smart water management, (2) promotes climate neutral systems within the water value chain, (3) supports the farm to fork principle with the onsite treatment of water and valorization of resources, (4) contributes to decarbonizing the water systems and (5) promotes the concept of producing and consuming locally. To read the policy brief, you may download it from HYDROUSA website.

13- In the faremwork of the EU-PRIMA funded project SUPROMED (Sustainable Agricultural Production in Water Limited Environment),  the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences  of the Lebanese University, organized a thematic training on Saturday 12 June 2021 on 'Decision Support System for Irrigation' at Domain Tanayel in close collaboration with Arc-en-Ciel (Lebanese based non-profit NGO). Welcome statements by Prof. Nadine Nassif, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Lebanese University, and Prof. Abdel Halim Mouneimne, Head of Environment Department, emphasized the importance of the topic and the collaboration with EU. Thorough description of the decision support system was provided by Prof. Fadi Karam, Project Manager, and Eng. Carole Hachem. The theoretical session was followed by a practical field demonstration of Sentek Probe being tested for first time in Lebanon. Further information on SUPROMED website

14- Sustain-COAST project has published recently a new public deliverable presenting the main activities on  "cost efficiency and cost-benefits of selected preventive scenarios". Efforts were spent to identify the costs & benefits of the use of water resources and to mitigate groundwater depletion and degradation in each case study of the four Sustain-COAST demonstration sites. The choice of the appropriate mitigation technique in each case study mainly depends on the site conditions. This task is presented as a pilot for each demonstration site and will be updated in part b (D3.3b), considering local data and the final suggestions by all stakeholders in each case study. To this end, the full cost-benefit methodology is presented, and the optimal options for managed use of groundwater and surface water is presented for each case study. The mapping of those options is a dynamical process will be adjusted over the course of the project, where key stakeholders can be added at a different stage to enrich the multi-stakeholder participatory process. The provided information will give insights into assessing the sustainability of the current and future groundwater management strategies. This analysis will identify the impact of the adequate mitigation option considering sustainable water resources availability, management, and pollution risks. You can download the deliverable here.

15- The PROSIM project (ENI-CBC Med) will implement evaporation pan in Jordan as an irrigation scheduling solution allowing farmers to evaluate local evaporation and water to be supplied to crops. Combined with other irrigation technologies implemented by the PROSIM Project, 35 farmers will directly benefit from the implementation of evaporation pan systems and will cover 11.5 ha of vegetables on open field and 20 greenhouses. These implemented technologies will serve as demonstration plots to be used to ensure knowledge transfer to 80 participants among representatives of farmers associations and water usage associations. Further information on EMWIS website

16- EdiCitNet is a network of Edible Cities exploring sustainable methods for urban food production, distribution and use – Edible City Solutions (ECS)  – to foster environmental and social resilience. This year sees the launch of the EdiCitNet Awards, which aim to recognize, inspire and promote innovative ECS initiatives, processes and approaches that have demonstrated societal impact in cities across the world. The EdiCitNet Awards will grant three prizes in the following categories: 1- Most innovative individual action: This award aims to recognize ECS initiatives and “local heroes” who have employed ECS to address a specific societal challenge in their city in a way that inspires others and advances existing ECS practices and knowledge in their city and beyond. 2- Most innovative social engagement process: This award seeks to identify and give visibility to innovative processes for engaging with and empowering citizens and particularly hard-to-reach socially disadvantaged individuals and communities through ECS. 3- Best overall Edible City approach: This award aims to recognize holistic city-wide initiatives or policies for tackling societal challenges through ECS in an integrated and sustainable manner that enables the generation of multiple long-term benefits for the city. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Innovation, Relevance, Inclusivity, Impact and Upscaling & Replication. For more information about the EdiCitNet Awards please click here.

17- In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Investitions-Bank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH) will become a network partner of the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH). On 27 May 2021, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and IB.SH signed an agreement to provide municipalities with free consultancy services in support of infrastructure projects. The municipalities will receive 500,000 euros in funds for this purpose from the EIAH's Call for Proposals to National Promotional Banks and Institutions. IB.SH will provide advisory services to municipalities to help them plan and develop sustainable and financially viable projects, as well as give them support in obtaining financing. Additionally, the support will include information exchange and capacity building for municipal governments. Further information on EMWIS website

18- The loan agreement between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Office national de l’électricité et de l’eau potable (ONEE) was signed on June 23rd, 2021. The 37.5 million euros loan will be used to build new drinking water supply infrastructure in the Kingdom, mainly in rural aeas. This loan is complementary to an initial financing granted to Morocco in 2019, as part of ONEE’s 2019-2023 capital plan for the “water” activity. The Moroccan public body plans to rehabilitate and expand the capacity of drinking water production and distribution facilities in several localities in Morocco. In the kingdom, water availability is less than 1,700 m3 per year per person, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI). This situation places Morocco on the list of states with “high water stress”. This phenomenon is a consequence of drought, caused by climate change. Further information on EMWIS website