the 5th Mediterranean Water Forum kicks off in Tunis on February 5. The international meeting, organised by Tunisia’s Société nationale d’exploitation et de distribution des eaux (SONEDE) in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) Secretariat and coordinated by the Institut méditerranéen de l’eau (IME), the forum’s initiator, will last until February 7.
It will bring together state representatives, decision-making bodies, local and regional authorities, parliamentarians, donors, business and professional representatives, regional networks and civil society. In Africa, the other countries involved are Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Libya.
The theme is ‘Together for shared water sobriety,’ and the aim is to ‘consolidate cooperation and the exchange of know-how and experience in the field of water in the Mediterranean, while addressing the region’s current challenges, notably climate change,’ said the IME. Indeed, the Mediterranean region, at the crossroads of three continents – Africa, Asia and
Europe – is particularly affected by climate change, with above-average temperature rises.
According to the Institut Méditerranéen de l’Eau, the proposed themes are in line with the priorities of the 10th World Water Forum, to be held from May 18 to 24 in Bali, Indonesia, under the theme ‘Water for Shared Prosperity.’
The forum is organised in Tunis at the invitation of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries and the Ministry of the Environment.
Participants will discuss, over three days, issues related to the availability of conventional water resources (continental surface water and groundwater) being reduced by climate change, to access to conventional water resources which is an urgent need in most Mediterranean countries.
Desalination and water reuse are of key importance in the water policies and development plans of most Mediterranean States, particularly in the south-west.
These issues will also be on the agenda for discussion.
The event will be attended by President
of the Institut Méditerranéen de l’Eau Alain Meyssonnier, UfM Secretary General Almotaz Abadi, Secretary General of the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance Céline Moyroud, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Tunisia, Minister of the Environment Leila Chikhaoui Mahdaoui and Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Abdelmonaam Belaati.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse