The study on the enhancement of the institutional and legal setting of the NWSAS consultation mechanism is conducted in the framework of WACDEP (the Water, Climate and Development Programme is a project of the African Ministers' Council on Water, AMCOW, and is implemented in North Africa by GWP-Med) and the SIDA funded project "Making water cooperation happen in the Mediterranean"
The study aims to assist the NWSAS countries on the evaluation of the current institutional and legal framework of the consultation mechanism, the development of possible options for strengthening the mechanism and the elaboration of a detailed scheme for the selected option.
The first report providing a detailed analysis of the current institutional and legal framework was discussed and validated during the regional workshop in March 2017.
During the May 2018 Steering Committee meeting, the countries identified the needs for strengthening the Consultation Mechanism, that include among others widening of its missions, enabling its autonomy, securing its financial security, ensuring synergy between water and other sectors through the activation of the national committees, etc.
Based on the expressed needs, five options were presented to the countries each one detailing the future missions of the consultation mechanism, the type of legal arrangement, the issues that cooperation will address, a sketch of the organization chart, the responsibilities, the representation and the mandate of the mechanism bodies, the decision-making processes, etc.
Out of the 5 suggested options, the countries selected one mixed option that will be developed further though a feasibility study that will be engaged as a next step by GWP-Med.