SINEAU: the National water information system to be launched in Tunisia

The implementation phase of the National water information system in Tunisia -SINEAU- is now starting, with a national seminar organised to be held in Tunis on 18 March 2010 with the support of EMWIS and the European Commission. With a budget of more than 3 MEuros, SINEAU is a major tool of the 2nd Investment Plan for the Tunisian water sector (PISEAU II), especially for monitoring and assessment of the various activity foreseen as well as for the environmental impact of this plan. SINEAU implementation budget comes from a grant from the African Water Facility and a coordinated loan from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency. SINEAU follows the approach of a Shared Information System, integrating several sectoral sub-systems and responding to the needs of various institutions. An agreement between 5 ministries is under signature to allow data sharing by various services. The data harmonisation is also a key part of this system, the preparatory activities carried out by EMWIS on the UN water accounting and EU WISE (Water Information System for Europe) standards will also ensure that SINEAU will be able to communicate, when appropriate, with International systems such as a Mediterranean Water Knowledge Hub.