Engaging civil society in integrated water management in southern and eastern Mediterranean region

The South and East Mediterranean region is one of the poorest areas in regards to water where annual consumption exceeds renewable resources. Several major wetlands that contain a significant portion of these resources have been destroyed during the past century, due to lack of recognition of their importance and value. Thus, many communities living around these wetlands have become impoverished and are often not involved from decision-making and planning processes of this resource.
Therefore Wetlands International, funded by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) has established a project to improve the participation of civil society in dialogue with governments in charge of wetlands and water management. This regional project has just ended and during its closing roundtable meeting in December 2011, the national partners presented the following results that they have achieved.

In Tunisia, the achievements of INAT (National Agronomic Institute of Tunis) were:

• Build a consensus and a tool for spatial decision support on the allocation of water resources taking into account long-term needs of the ecosystems of Ichkeul Lake, through a dialogue between local and national partners.
• Inform and train the various interest groups (including women) in rural areas on the importance of wise water management and allow to set up systems for collecting rainwater in villages devoid of access to water.
• Conduct a preliminary economic evaluation of Ichkeul ecosystem which has mainstreamed the importance of ecosystems in the creation of the decision support tool mentioned earlier.

In Morocco, the MedPO WWF (WWF Mediterranean Programme, Office of Morocco) and ABHS (Sebou River Basin Agency) have developed:

• A protocol for evaluating and monitoring the ecological status of surface waters in the basin of Sebou, becoming the first basin of Morocco to do so, and a guide for technicians of the agency.
• Strengthening the involvement of civil society, especially NGOs and universities in the development of this protocol in dialogue with the ABHS, through the establishment of a civil society platform.
• Assess the potential for replication of this project with other basin agencies in Morocco.

In Jordan, the project set up by the RSCN (Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature) has:

• Assessed the impacts of the Mujib dam on the ecosystems of the Mujib Biosphere Reserve and produce an integrated management plan for the reserve through a consultative process with relevant stakeholders.
• Involved local communities around the river basin in ecological agricultural demonstration activities to sustain water resources and preserve its quality.
• Developed the implementation of awareness programs related to the management of this resource to schools and universities.

Finally, the results of these projects were presented at the Mediterranean Water Forum held in Marrakech on 19-20 December 2011, and have been adopted as a practical way to influence the governance of water in the Mediterranean. These results will be presented at the Agadir Symposium organized by Medwet Initiative on 6-8 February 2012 as a practical demonstration and discussion at the thematic session on the importance of wetland ecosystems in water management. In the future; Wetlands International, through its Mediterranean programme looks forward to continue its cooperation with its regional and national partners to help in a better management for water resources in the Mediterranean.

For more information: www.wetlands.org/medwetwat