Description/achievement of initiative
The establishment of a Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform is a prerequisite to the development of sustainable policies for integrated water resources management and climate change adaptation. It aims to provide a common basis for the development of national water information systems in four pilot countries, and to deliver an assessment of water resources management and use (i.e., drafting of a white paper) by collecting and exploiting data of these systems. It will allow for an evaluation of best practices, joint management of transboundary resources, and follow-up on regional or sub-regional projects and policies in the Mediterranean region, on a voluntary basis.
Implementation methodologies
The implementation of this platform is based on the following: * Creation of National Water Information Systems (NWIS) through a regional approach – regional guidelines, tools, training on data management, and definition of needs for international data reporting. The first steps of implementation will include data sharing among many data producers in each of the four pilot southern Mediterranean countries, and setting up initial operational governance agreements and IT tools of the NWIS.* Drafting of a Mediterranean White Paper on water, after providing technical assistance, with the aim to compile data and present a regional picture of water resources and uses (maps & graphs) in the partner countries.
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
The Platform includes a regional capacity building component to support national developments and to ensure the interoperability of the systems and content (i.e. possibility or argregate/compare data/indicators provided by National Systems. The first set of training defined are related to: institutional cooperation for data management, Satelite based earth observation for sustanaible water management, water data master planning, indicators and essential water variables.
Coordination mechanisms/governance structure
The platform’s management structure is composed of:* National Coordination Units, chaired by the Ministries in charge of Water and involving ministries and their supervised agencies in charge of the environment, agriculture, health, industry, households and statistical institutes* Mediterranean Committee: National Coordination Units chairs, regional networks promoters, Union for the Mediterranean, European Environment Agency, UNEP-MAP, Arab League
Partner(s)
* International Office for Water
* Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau
* Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System (EMWIS)
* Mediterranean Network of Basin Organisations
* United Nations Environmental Programme Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP)
* Arab League Center for Water
* Ministry of Water and Irrigation (Jordan)
* Ministry of Energy and Water (Lebanon)
* Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment (Morocco)
* Ministry of Agriculture and water resources (Tunisia)