The Water Forum for the EMA Region: "Environmental Protection and Water Management: Sustainable Cooperation and Know-How-Transfer in the EMA Region"

Key areas of the Water Forum
1. Socio-cultural foundations of water rights; Regional disputes on water distribution
2. Integrated water resources management
3. Water pollution
4. Innovative water management
5. Water treatment
6. Waste water disposal

A special focus will be directed to the attending countries Morocco, Syria and Jordan:

Morocco
The past pluvial winter should not mislead the countries’ water scarcity. To date, in addition to the main water consumer, the agricultural sector, booming tourism further increases water exhaustion. Furthermore, forest clearance endangers sustainable water recovery, and polluted water reservoirs threaten people’s health, especially the rural population.

Current tenders and investments:
Morocco will invest approximately € 1.5 billion in improving the drinking water supply and water preparation within the next years. In addition, twenty new dams are planned to be constructed until 2020.

Syria
The repercussions of water exploitation and the subsequent scarcity are evident in Syria as well. Especially inefficient water preparation and pollution of resources by waste water put the supply of potable water and agricultural production in danger. Hence, experts call for an integrated water resource management and the development of further investment ventures.

Current tenders and investments:
In order to improve water preparation and infrastructure, Syria builds on foreign cooperation and investment. Projects, such as the modernization of water pipelines in Aleppo, funded by German KfW bank for development in amount of € 50 million, offer good business opportunities for the German economy.

Jordan
As the desert makes up 80% of the country, capacities for agriculture are limited. Nevertheless, enormous amounts of water are consumed for irrigation, and thus exploiting the already scarce ground water resources. In addition, infrastructure needs to be strengthened and waste water disposal to be enhanced. The rationing of water resulting from scarcity is susceptible to affect health, notably due to contaminated pipe lines or to use of water distributed by private businesses without any control
mechanism.

Current tenders and investments:
Besides projects in water supply and waste water disposal, Jordan will continue its venture of connecting the Red and Dead Seas by means of a canal. Once built, this canal ought to transport  water over a distance of 350 kilometers.

Morocco, Syria and Jordan all encounter similar challenges which need to be addressed, in order to commonly find sustainable solutions. German know-how can advantageously be involved in a great range of projects.

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About EMA
The Euro-Mediterranean Association for Cooperation and Development e.V. (EMA) is committed to the economic, political, and socio-cultural cooperation between Germany and countries of the  Mediterranean region and the Middle East, in order to promote peace and understanding. By bringing together entrepreneurs or organizations representing civil society, EMA aspires to intensify communication and cultural understanding between business partners of the region. In this spirit EMA is also organizing the Water Forum.