International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean

26 - 27 November 2012

Rome Italy

The International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean provided a platform for the exchange of information and experience, which allowed representatives of countries in the Southern Mediterranean to work together and with other countries in the Mediterranean to:

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 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 International Roundtable on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Southern Mediterranean was held prior to the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties.

Documents

Document	ENG	FRE
Information Notice	PDF	PDF
Agenda	PDF	PDF
Report	PDF	PDF
List of participants	PDF

Presentations

Presentation	ENG
Session 1 - Setting the scene: Transboundary water resources management around the Mediterranean
An overview: Transboundary water resources management in the Mediterranean Ms. Anthi Brouma, GWP-Mediterranean	PDF
Inventory of shared water resources in Western Asia: findings on status, challenges and cooperation Mr. Andreas Renck, ESCWA/BGR cooperation	PDF
Status, challenges and responses: North Africa Mr. Khatim Kherraz, Sahara and Sahel Observatory	PDF
Status, challenges and responses: South Eastern Europe Ms. Francesca Bernardini, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)	PDF
Session 2 - Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: global and regional legal instruments
The UN Watercourses Convention: background, content and relevance Ms. Flavia Loures, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)	PDF
The UNECE Water Convention: from regional to global? Ms. Francesca Bernardini, UNECE	PDF
Fostering cooperation on transboundary aquifer resources Ms. Alice Aureli, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)	PDF
Developing a regional convention on shared water in the Arab region Mr. Mohamed Al-Hamdi, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)	PDF
Session 3 - Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: Legal and institutional aspects
Establishing legal and institutional instruments: making use of a shared vision for the management of transboundary water resources Mr. Dejan Panovski, Drin Core Group	PDF
The necessity of developping a global transboundary groundwater framework: Examples from the Southern Mediterranean Mr. Mohamed Elrawady, Center for Environement and Development in the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)	PDF
A framework for joint monitoring and assessment in the North Western Sahara Aquifer Mr. Hervé Trebossen, OSS	PDF
Session 4 - Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: Jointly managing water resources
Jointly managing water resources: examples from Jordan Mr. Mohammad Alatrash, Jordan	PDF
Cooperative water management in the Sava River Basin Mr. Samo Groselj, Sava River Basin Commission	PDF
Creating the knowledge and instruments for the management of Karstic Aquifers Mr. Neno Kukuric, Dinaric Karstic Transboundary Aquifer System (DIKTAS) project	PDF
Making use of ecosystem concept in transboundary water negociations: The Iraqi Marshlands case within the Tigris Euphrates system Mr. Fouad Abousamra, united Nations Environment Program - Regional Office for Western Asia (UNEP ROWA)	PDF
Session 5 - Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: Engaging the stakeholders and building their capacities
The dialogue approach in transboundary cooperation concerning ecosystem conservation Mr. Nejih Benessaiah, MedWet	PDF
Capacity building with the Palestinian Water Authority Ms. Najwan Rukab, Palestine	PDF
NGO involvement in transboundary water resources management Ms. Thomie Vlachogianni, Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE)	PDF
Strengthening institutions for transboundary waters in Africa, ANBO/GWP Pan-African project with EU support Mr. Francois Brikke, GWP	PDF
Capacity building on water diplomacy and negociation skilles in the Arab region Ms. Chahra Ksia, Center of Water Studies and Arab Water Security, League of Arab States	PDF
Session 6 - Creating the enabling environment for cooperation: Mobilising financial resources
GEF International Waters programme area Mr. Chris Severin, Global Environment Facility (GEF)	PDF