The International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean was held in Rome,Italie from the 26th tot he 27th November 2012.
The Roundtable was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN), and the Mediterranean Component of the EU Water Initiative (MED EUWI), with the support of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea.
The objectives of the Roundtable were:
- Debate the current state, the progress achieved and the prevailing challenges for cooperation on transboundary waters in the Southern Mediterranean;
- Exchange experiences, lessons learnt and showcase good practices of transboundary cooperation from different basins/aquifers, both from the north and the south of the Mediterranean;
- Increase awareness on and understanding of the UNECE Water Convention and its work, including the technical and strategic guidance documents developed under its framework and the practical experiences of its application;
- Identify options at the technical and policy levels for the way forward, including identify specific cases of cooperation on shared waters that present a certain level of maturity and could be promoted by the riparians as priority project to be supported.
The International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean was held prior to the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties.
Presentations-Session 1:
An overview: Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean, Anthi Brouma
Inventory of shared water resources in Western Asia, Andreas Renck
Status, challenges and responses: North Africa, Khatim Kherraz
Session 2:
Managing Shared Waters: The Role and Status of the UNWC, Flavia Rocha Loures
The UNECE Water Convention: obligations and practical application, Francesca Bernandini
Fostering Cooperation on Transboundary Aquifer Resources, Alice Aureli
Developing a Regional Convention on Shared Water in the Arab Region, Mohamed Al Hamdi
Session 3:
Cooperation Process for the management of the Drin Basin, Dejan Panovski
A framework for joint monitoring and assessment in the North Western Sahara Aquifer, Hervé Trebossen
Session 4:
Cooperation in the Transboundary Water Management in Jordan Basin, Moh’d Al Atrash
Cooperative Water Management in the Sava River Basin, Samo Groselj
Creating Knowledge and Instruments for the
Management of Transboundary Karst Aquifers, Neno Kukuric
Session 5:
Italy Engaging the stakeholders and building their capacities, Nejib Benessaiah
Capacity Building Within the Palestinian Water Authority, Najwan Rukab
NGO involvement in transboundary water resources management, Thomais Vlachogianni
Sea Strengthening of Institutions For Transboundary Water Management In Africa, François Brikké
Capacity building on water diplomacy and negotiation skills in the Arab region, Chahra Ksia
Session 6:
Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: Mobilising Financial Resources, Chris Severin
Photos of the International Roundtable are available here