EMWIS Flash n°159- November- December 2021
Released | 24/01/2022 |
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EMWIS Flash November - December 2021 |
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Happy new year! We wish you all the best for 2022!
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In this issue N°159 (http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/eflash/flash159)
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HEADLINE
1- Successful European and Mediterranean water gathering in Malta, 6-10 December 2021
3- FAO: Land, water use critical to global food security… going forward
4- Mediterranean Worlds Forum on February 7 and 8, 2022
5- Climate change and security in the Mediterranean: Exploring the nexus, unpacking international policy responses
6- Turning Energy and Water Crisis into opportunities
7- Peer-to-Peer (P2P) exchange process in MENA countries launched by the EU funded WES Project
8- Fiware4Water the smart solution platform organises Workshops in 2022
9- Nexus Blog // Encouraging WEFE Nexus capacities in the Mediterranean - Review of a 3-day webinar
10- EdiCitNet : “Making Cities Edible”: The 1st Edible Cities Network Annual Conference Will Take Place in February 2022
11- Sustain-COAST project organized a training session for industries on "Sustainable Water Resources Management", 25 November 2021 in Tunis
12- SAFERS: Participation at the 19th ISCRAM in May 2022
13- HYDROUSA: Support the consortium to collect feedback on water challenges and management (survey)
14- SUPROMED presented at the inovagri virtual meeting 2021 on 8-10 December 2021
15- MEDWAYCAP kick off Meeting , 16th and 17th of December 2021 in Thessaloniki
16- Circular City: Special Issue "Water and Circular Cities" is published
17- Western Balkan countries play a valuable role in partnering with EEA to tackle environmental and climate challenges
18- Malta set to lose 16% of groundwater volume to climate change
19- Tunisia: EBRD supports modernisation of irrigation infrastructure in southern Tunisia
20- Algeria: 17 tanks to improve water supply in Aïn Témouchent
21- Morocco: 79 million euros in funding for water exploitation in the Oum Er-Rbia basin
22- Egypt: Serious discussions with Cairo to implement sea water desalination projects, operate Suez Canal locomotives with natural gas: South Korean Ambassador
23- Syria: 10 million euros to help vulnerable people in Syria affected by the drought
CALL FOR TENDERS AND PROPOSALS
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HEADLINE
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1-
The 4th Med Water Forum (MWF4)
and the Euro-INBO 2021 conference have been concluded successfully in
Malta during the week 6-10 December 2021 in a mix format: in person and
remotely. The MWF4 brought together some 120 representatives from 13
Mediterranean countries that exchange experiences around 4 sessions and
3 side events to prepare the Mediterranean messages to the next World
Water Forum to be held in Dakar, 21-26 March 2022. Circular economy and
nature based solutions proposed by HYDROUSA project have been
highlighted in a side event related to solution for small islands as
well as a Mediterranean innovative solution of interest for the next
WWF. The 19th International Conference of the Europe-INBO focused in
the following issues: Engaging basin actors in the evaluation and
evolution of the Water Directives ; Economic tools for basin
management: integrating environment and biodiversity in cost-recovery;
Sustainable quantitative management of water resources; International
& transboundary cooperation for basin management; Digital
technology at the service of basin management and the preservation of
aquatic biodiversity. Full presentations and videos are available from INBO website.
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IN
BRIEF (Full news)
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2- UfM member states have jointly developed the UfM Water
Agenda as a regional policy response to the high priority of water
issues in the Mediterranean. In 2017 the UfM Ministerial Meeting on
Water mandated the development of a regional Water Agenda and a
companion Financial Strategy. The UfM Water Agenda is structured around
four pillars: ensuring universal access to safe drinking water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH); increasing the climate-resilience of
Mediterranean economies; supporting balanced development across the
water-energy-food-environment nexus; and contributing to address social
concerns, with a focus on employment and migration. The UfM Financial
Strategy for Water lays out a menu of options to increase the financial
sustainability of the Mediterranean water sector – including making the
best use of existing financial resources, and mobilising additional
financial resources. Each member state is responsible for adapting and
implementing the regional agenda at the national level. Conclusions
of EU-UfM water investment policy forum 25 October 2021. Further
information on EMWIS
website
3- Even more daunting survival-related challenges than
presently obtain are likely to lie ahead for countries that are now
battling with food security if the alarming picture of a continual loss
of scarce resources, painted in a recently released Report by the
United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) persists. The
Report, made public in December, highlights what it says is the
continual deterioration of the earth’s soil, land and water resources
and the impact that this will have on feeding a global population that
is likely to get close to 10 billion by year 2050. “The pressures on
soil, land and water ecosystems are now intense, and many are stressed
to a critical point,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu wrote in the
foreword to the Synthesis Report, titled “The State of the World’s Land
and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture – Systems at Breaking
Point”. The FAO Director-General said that against this backdrop, “it
is clear that our future food security will depend on safeguarding our
land, soil and water resources,” in the period ahead. Further
information on EMWIS
website
4-The Mediterranean Worlds Forum will be held on February 7 and 8, 2022 in Marseille under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron & Ambassador Karim Amellal, Interministerial Delegate for the Mediterranean. The Forum of Mediterranean Worlds will engage entreprises, universities and research centers, territories and diasporas, with a strong focus on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean. As a place of exchange and solutions, the forum will engage in federating and positive themes, in the wake of the "Marseille Commitments" adopted at the Summit of the two shores in 2019, such as the environment, education, inclusion, culture, employment, economy and innovation. Further information on EMWIS website
5- The New-Med Research Network and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), in cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, organised a high-level international conference in Barcelona. Convened to discuss the multidimensional security implications of the climate emergency on state and societal resilience in the Mediterranean, invited speakers include OSCE Secretary-General, Helga Schmid; UfM Secretary-General, Nasser Kamel, and Deputy Secretary-General, Grammenos Mastrojeni; the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Igli Hasani; lead authors and scientists from the Network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change; former directors of the UN-ESCWA Sustainable Development Policies Division and of Greenpeace MENA; and senior researchers and academics with a proven track record of research on the Mediterranean.The conference fits into a larger work programme of research, outreach and dissemination activities on the OSCE’s 2nd dimension of environmental & economic security carried out by New-Med over the past year. Further information on EMWIS website
6-
Last December, the Next Society project (TNS) and FEMISE released a
policy brief on Turning Energy and Water Crisis into opportunities: The
creative inventions of Start-ups in South Med countries. This policy
brief is coming with short video interview of the author and
entrepreneurs. The paper is assessing the status of the water and
energy sectors in the South Med region and to highlight the
opportunities in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation, through the
example of three start-ups from Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco that
benefited from THE NEXT SOCIETY project (funded by the European
Commission). Further information on EMWIS
website
7-
The Water and Environment Support (WES) is a regional project designed
to contribute to the implementation of an integrated approach to
pollution reduction and prevention, in line with the Union for the
Mediterranean agendas and the Barcelona Convention. On December 13,
2021, the EU funded WES Project launched a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) exchange
process, focusing on Water Demand Management (WDM) which will be
combined with a Regional Training (online) on the same subject in 2022.
The proposed scope of the P2P Exchange on WDM and its various
approaches/measures in the domestic, touristic, and industrial water
demands were discussed with the peers water experts. The P2P exchange
will span over almost a year, till 12 November 2022 and will be mostly
facilitated by virtual meetings and regular communication among the
designated peers from relevant institutions in the PC. Further
information on EMWIS
website
8- Fiware4Water organises a cycle of monthly on-line workshops
from January 2022 to April to present the key results of the project
(ending in May 2022) on the uses of digital water solutions. The
workshops will cover the technological, socio-political and citizen
engagement as well as European policies dimensions. The workshops are
structured in a way debates will take place after presentations made by
the project’ experts and testimonies from our Demo Cases and Demo
Networks. FIWARE is a smart solution platform, funded by the EC
(2011-16) as a major flagship PPP, to support SMEs and developers in
creating the next generation of internet services, as the main
ecosystem for Smart City initiatives for cross-domain data
exchange/cooperation and for the NGI initiative. So far little progress
has been made on developing specific water-related applications using
FIWARE, due to fragmentation of the water sector, restrained by
licensed platforms and lagging behind other sectors (e.g.
telecommunications) regarding interoperability, standardisation,
cross-domain cooperation and data exchange. Fiware4Water intends to
link the water sector to FIWARE by demonstrating its capabilities and
the potential of its interoperable and standardised interfaces for both
water sector end-users (cities, water utilities, water authorities,
citizens and consumers), and solution providers (private utilities,
SMEs, developers). Further information in Fiware4Water
website
9- GIZ, in collaboration with PRIMA, held a 3-day online
workshop with the aim of strengthening capacities for WEFE Nexus
solutions in the Mediterranean region. This training was a call to
researchers in the Mediterranean in the sectors of natural resources,
such as water, energy, or agriculture. This workshop provided an
opportunity to learn about the WEFE Nexus, and the value in integrating
it into project designs and policymaking. Over 300 participants joined
for the full training. The
3-day training “The water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus: from
research to practice”, hosted by PRIMA and the Nexus Regional Dialogues
programme, co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, kicked off on
December 6, 2021 with welcoming words by Octavi Quintana, Director of
PRIMA and Maria Ana Rodriguez, Team Leader Nexus GIZ. The day started
off with an incredible 457 participants logged into Zoom.“Changing
climate conditions are a reality that everyone must deal with the
consequences of, but vulnerable regions are taking a large amount of
this burden”, emphasized Rodriguez. The importance of this workshop was
made clear after she highlighted the challenges that the Mediterranean
region faces due to the effects of a changing climate and the
inter-connection of water, energy, and food security. Over the period
of 3 days, 6 sessions were held by a range of renown Nexus experts who
gave unique inputs on researching the WEFE Nexus, and using this
research to implement Nexus policies in the region. Further information
on EMWIS
website
10- In the framework of EdiCitNet project “Making Cities Edible” conference will be held live online over two days, 16th & 17th February 2022, it will bring together leading researchers, policymakers and city administrators, civil society actors, green city activists and entrepreneurs to discuss the potentials, challenges and development of sustainable urban food innovation in cities around the world. With a mixture of keynote addresses and roundtable discussions and an open networking session, the event will explore the latest findings about the power of urban food innovation to tackle social, ecological and economic challenges within cities, including insights from the EdiCitNet Project’s partner cities – as well as explore the social, technical, ethical, ecological, governance and financial challenges around scaling up sustainable solutions and anchoring them in current and future urban planning. Beyond highlighting successes, potentials and next steps for further action, the event also aims to generate guidelines on how to successfully integrate edible NBS in city planning, offering ideas to decision-makers in policy and business and addressing the societal and environmental problems facing our communities and our cities today. Click here to find out more and to register!
11- On November 25th, The Water Researches and Technologies
Center (CERTE) organized in the framework of Workpackage 2
task2.3 a training session for agrifood and tannery industries
from the Tunisian demosite. The event took place in Hotel
Belvédère Fourati, Tunis, TUNISIA. The training session on "Sustainable
Water Resources Management" was an opportunity to focus on the
importance of the implementation of innovative governance approaches
for coastal water resources and to enhance the capacity of selected
local stakeholders in managing sustainably the local water resources,
by explaining examples of treated wastewater reuse in the context of
circular economy. Further information on Sustain-COAST
website
12- The 19th International Conference on Information Systems
for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM) is a forum where
researchers and practitioners from all around the world meet every year
to share experiences and raise challenges in all the aspects related to
the design, development, and use of information systems to improve the
management of crisis and disaster situations. The 19th ISCRAM is
co-organized by the National School of Engineers of Tarbes and ISCRAM
Organisation and it will be held in Tarbes, France on 22-25 May 2022.
SAFERS consortium will take part at this event, and the consortium is
currently preparing a dedicated session to be co-organised with other
EU-funded projects working on earth observation and forest fire
management. Further information on the event can be found on SAFERS
website. You may also read the recently published newsletter#2
which summarises the main updates of the project.
13- The Horizon 2020 EU-funded research and innovation project
‘HYDROUSA’ aims to provide innovative solutions for islands and water
scarce regions in terms of water/wastewater treatment and management
through closing the water loops and boosting agricultural and energy
profiles. Since its kick-off in July 2018, the project has developed several novel and
nature-based solutions which have been demonstrated in the 3 Greek
islands: Lesvos, Mykonos, and Tinos. In order to collect feedback about
HYDROUSA solutions and to better understand the needs of different
stakeholders in terms of water and wastewater management and the
related challenges, you may support the consortium by dedicating 10
minutes to respond to this survey [link].
Further information about the project is found on HYDROUSA website.
14- INOVAGRI contributes in a systematic and active way to the
development of irrigated agriculture and the rational use of water
through the execution of basic or applied research, technological
development and innovation, as a way of fighting water scarcity,
negative environmental impact and social inequality and poverty.
SUPROMED was presented during the INOVAGRI meeting held virtually from
8 to 10 December. UCLM ( project coordinator) presented SUPROMED
during the roundtable on "irrigation improvement at
different scales". Further information on SUPROMED
website
15- The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH)
hosted, as coordinator, the launching event of a significant European
project involving partner organizations from Italy, Egypt, Malta,
Tunisia, Palestine and Jordan, and many relevant stakeholders at
national level. “The Mediterranean pathway for innovation
capitalisation towards an urban-rural integrated development of
non-conventional water resources” - MEDWAYCAP, was presented, thus
activities and objectives debated during the Kick-off meeting that took
place on 16th and 17th of December 2021 in Thessaloniki. MEDWAYCAP
project is fully aligned with European Green Deal and other EU policies
on water management, climate change and circular economy and, endorsed
by the Union for Mediterranean (UfM), will strongly contribute to the
UfM Water Agenda. Thanks to the cooperation between high level
institutional and technical bodies at Mediterranean level, the project
aims to facilitate the general access and promotion of best practices
for continuous improvement of treated wastewater reuse as a
non-conventional water resource (NCWR) at domestic and agricultural
level. With a budget of 1.11 mil. Euro, funded 90% by the European
Programme ENI CBC Med (Cross-Border Cooperation ENI "Mediterranean Sea
Basin”), MEDWAYCAP contributes to the wider open debate on local water
shortage mitigation and Mediterranean environmental challenges by means
of multisectoral and transnational alliances. Further information on EMWIS
website
16- A Special Issue on "Water and Circular Cities" was
published in the peer-reviewed, open access journal “Water” on 9
November 2021. The papers prepared by the COST Action for this special
issue are essential as the framework for addressing urban circularity
challenges with nature-based solutions is presented. For the six papers
related to the framework, 82 persons from 28 COST countries
contributed. You may read all the contributions on the “Water” journal
website from here [link]
17- The European Environment Agency cooperates with a large
number of countries, including those in the Western Balkans. How does
this cooperation further the EU’s work on the environment and how does
it benefit Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North
Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo? We sat down with Luc Bas, head of
Coordination, Networks and Strategy Programme, to discuss how the EEA
is working with these countries to improve the environment. Why are
Western Balkan countries so important for the EEA? What is the added
value of cooperating?
These countries are EU accession or pre-accession countries. In order
to become a full EU member, a number of policies need to be put in
place and the environmental field is one of the largest policy areas
with a substantial package of legislation. Moreover, the Western
Balkans are our neighbors and we all know the environment doesn’t stop
at the border, so close cooperation on environmental issues is also in
the EU’s interest. Lastly, as cooperating countries in the
European Environmental Information and Observation Network (Eionet),
the Western Balkans have access to a large pool of experts, helping
them with the environmental challenges they face. In return,
experts from these countries contribute to the network with their
know-how. The full article is available here.
Further information on EMWIS
website
18- Sixteen per cent of Malta's groundwater volume is set to be lost in the next 80 years as a result of climate change, a study has found. The study was carried out by scientists from the Universities of Calabria and Malta. In Malta, it was led by Prof. Aaron Micallef. Three-dimensional geological and groundwater models were developed for the Maltese islands. Groundwater supplies almost half of the potable water in Malta, one of the poorest countries globally in terms of water resources, the study points out. Three predicted effects were considered on the impact on groundwater volume and saltwater intrusion simulated for 80 years: Reduction in precipitation; Increase in water demand; and Sea-level rise. Of these, water demand plays the most important role in reducing groundwater volume. Sea-level rise, on the other hand, only plays a marginal role. The study was funded by the European Commission, the University of Malta and the Helmholtz European Partnering Initiative. Further information on EMWIS website
19- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is improving access to irrigation water for more than 6,800 farmers and their families, with a 49 million euros loan to the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries in Tunisia. The funds will help to restore and rehabilitate the ageing water infrastructure serving 37 oases in the country’s southern governorates of Gabès, Gafsa, Kebili and Tozeur. The oases are the primary source of employment and income in the region, with irrigated agriculture providing jobs to 35 per cent of the working population. In addition, thanks to the support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the project will include a programme focusing on enhancing economic opportunities for women and young people in the oases. Since the start of its operations in Tunisia in 2012, the EBRD has invested more than 1.3 billion euros across 55 projects in the country, in both the private and public sectors. Further information on EMWIS website
20- While Algeria is facing a drastic decrease in its water
resources due to drought, the urgency is now to rationalize the
available reserves. In the wilaya of Ain Témouchent, located in
northwest Algeria, local authorities are investing in the construction
of facilities for the storage of fresh water. According to Sebaâ Ahmed,
head of the department of drinking water supply at the Directorate of
Water Resources and Water Security of the wilaya of Ain Témouchent, 11
water tanks with a total capacity of 6750 m3 have recently been
commissioned in several municipalities, including Boumediene (1000 m3),
El-Amria (500 m3), Ain Témouchent (1000 m3). This council and capital
of the eponymous wilaya has also benefited from a pumping station. The
town of Aoubellil also has a reservoir of 250 m3. It is the same for
the beach of Sidi Djelloul which has a storage capacity of 500 m3.
Further information on EMWIS
website
22-There are serious discussions between Cairo and Seoul to implement seawater desalination projects in addition to initial discussions for the use of green hydrogen in many industries,” according to South Korean Ambassador to Egypt Hong Jin-Wook. Discussions also revolve around the operation of the Suez Canal locomotives with natural gas instead of the current use of petrochemicals. Hong said that his country cares about the environment and climate friendly industries, and it is likely to cooperate with Egypt in the field of manufacturing electric cars and exporting them abroad. He added that Egypt is in talks with China and the US in this regard as well. Hong’s remarks came during a press conference to announce the details of the South Korean President Moon Jae-In’s visit to Egypt, which is scheduled to be on 20 January as part of his three-country Middle Eastern tour that will begin with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “According to Egypt’s 2030 Vision, the government aims to increase the use of renewable energy, which is the same as South Korea’s plans,” Hong said, stressing that this matter will help strengthen future cooperation between the two countries. He said that there are many Korean investments that export their products through Egypt to different countries, and this indicates the strength of the cooperative relations between the two sides. Further information on EMWIS website
23- The EU mobilised an additional 10 million euros to help people in Syria. This funding brings total EU humanitarian support to Syria in 2021 to 141 million euros. The funding announced in December will help people access water and rehabilitate critical water infrastructure. It will also improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions in government and non-government controlled areas. It will rapidly provide food and nutrition and help expand essential medical services. The funding will also help vulnerable people throughout the winter with heating fuel, blankets, winter clothes and repairs of tents. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “The drought in Syria is posing a daunting challenge to the Syrian people who are already in a grave situation due to the ongoing crisis. This is a clear example of how climate change affects the most vulnerable. We must ensure that those who need protection and aid receive it now. The European Union is committed to support people in Syria with humanitarian assistance wherever it is needed and for as long as it is needed, in accordance with humanitarian principles and International Humanitarian Law. However, more sustainable solutions must be explored.”Further information on EMWIS website
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NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
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24- FAO is hiring an Associate Professional Officer (Innovation
and Digital Agriculture). Candidates need an advanced university degree
in agriculture, agricultural innovation, innovation management,
technology for development, or a related field. Duty station: Rome,
Italy. Apply by: 14 February 2022. Further information on EMWIS
website
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PUBLICATIONS
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26- Compendium of projects on "water & climate change" prepared by Life Eau & Climat: Many researchers are working on issues related to climate change, but the transmission of the results of their work to water managers is not always effective. The C4 action of the LIFE Water&Climate project is interested in the popularization of research results, in order to reinforce the exchanges between managers and researchers. Discover the compendium here
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CALL FOR TENDERS AND
PROPOSALS
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28- Joint Transnational Call 2022 Pre-Announcement: This Joint Transnational Call will be launched in the framework of the future European partnership Water4All and will support research and innovation projects aimed at delivering knowledge, models, approaches, tools and methodologies to better understand hydrological processes at different scale, in order to respond more efficiently to emerging water issues related to extreme events. Topics: Resilience, adaptation and mitigation to hydroclimatic extreme events-Tools for water management in the context of hydroclimatic extreme events- Improved water governance in the context of hydroclimatic extreme events and international contexts
Provisional timeline:
January 2022: Call opening
March 2022: Submission Deadline of pre-proposals
May 2022: Selection of pre-proposals
July 2022: Submission Deadline of full proposals
September 2022: Selection of proposals
January 2023: Projects Kick-off/ start
Further information on EMWIS website
29- The Annual Work Plan of PRIMA "Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area" 2022 was officially launched on 18 January. The work plan includes the activities and actions organised managed by PRIMA IS Section 1 , activities selected following transnational call organized by PRIMA-IS and funded by PS Section 2 and activities and actions organised, managed and funded by the PS Section 3. Calls of proposals 2022 are now open. Further information on EMWIS website
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CALL FOR PAPERS
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30- 2nd International Symposium on
Sustainability and Geoinformatics in Vulnerable Ecosystems (2nd
AGROECOINFO):University of Thessaly, 3D S.A., Greece, SUPROMED PRIMA
Project, and HUBIS PRIMA Project are organizing the 2nd International
Symposium on Sustainability and Geoinformatics in Vulnerable Ecosystems
(2nd AGROECOINFO), June 16-18, 2022 | Volos | Greece. Call for
abstract is open till February 16, 2022. Further information on SUPROMED
website
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Events
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Further information on EMWIS website
[2022/03/21 - 2022/03/26] THE 9 th WORLD WATER FORUM IN DAKAR: Postponed for MARCH 2022
Further information on EMWIS website
[2022/02/07 - 2022/02/08] The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region will organize a series of events dedicated to the Mediterranean Investors Club and will bring together Mediterranean territories committed to tackling the climate crisis
Further information on EMWIS website
Further information on EMWIS website
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