EMWIS Flash n°119, September/October 2014

EMWIS Flash - September/October 2014 Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the know-how in the Water Sector For further information: www.emwis.net & check our page at facebook Flash produced by the EMWIS Technical Unit- OIEAU, CEDEX, CHJ Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform Mediterranean Water Information Mechanism / Geo-Catalogue / UfM-Water / AquaForMED / PAWA / NWRM / MED-3R/ R-KNOW / demEAUmed / WEAM4i / SAID / OPIRIS

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In this issue N°119 (www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/eflash/flash119)
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HEADLINE
1- 15th EMWIS Steering Committee meeting, 9th September 2014 in Valencia (Spain)
IN BRIEF
2- The first Steering Group meeting of the Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform
3- The 2nd Mediterranean Water Forum & the preparatory meeting on the Water Strategy for the Western Mediterranean

4- DEMEAUMED 1st Progress Meeting, 18-19 September 2014, Barcelona

5- WEAM4i project General Meeting, 20-22 October 2014, Lisbon

6- OpIRIS project 2nd periodic Meeting, 13-14 October 2014, Volos, Greece
7- SAID 2nd Coordination Meeting & technical visit, 21-22 July 2014, Malaga-Seville, Spain
8- Water Mnagement and Knowledge Sharing UNEP-GEMS/ R-KNOW: Water Management and Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment in the Arab Region
9- PAWA project 2nd Stakeholder Workshop, 02 July 2014, Firenze, Italy
10- MED-3R Progress Meeting, 21-23 October 2014, Byblos, Lebanon

11- The Third Arab Water Week: Innovations & Sustainable Solutions for the Water Sector in the Arab Region
12- Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministers in charge of the Digital Economy launch new digital cooperation initiatives
13- Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez: Launching of first Masters Programmes

14- EIP Water Conference 2014: 5 November in Barcelona
15- Spain: Focus on water research and innovation

16- Portugal: EPSU supports law to protect human and community rights to water
17- Cyprus: A look ahead at the future of agricultural production and water use
18- EU-Egypt water talks: Water scarcity at the centre of the discussions
19- France & Jordan: Cooperation in the water sector
20- Palestine: International donors pledge $5.4 billion to help rebuild Gaza Strip
21- Lebanon: US$474 Million World Bank Support to Address Water Shortage
22- Syria: Providing much needed drinking water in the north
23- Tunisia: Signature of the contract on Institutional support to public policies of water resource management for rural and agricultural development (PAPS-eau)
24- Tunisia: No appeasement in Djerba after the general strike to protest against the solid waste problem

25- Morocco - Denmark: Partnership for Water Management
26- Future Earth: Sustainability for water, food and energy through integrated water information and improved governance
27- Disaster Risk Reduction: On the way to WCDRR
28- Copernicus will improve the UN's agricultural monitoring activities

29- Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe

NOMINATIONS and VACANCIES
PUBLICATIONS  
CALL FOR TENDERS and PROPOSALS
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRAINING
EVENTS
PROJECTS
BRIEF EMWIS SITE MAP
CONTACT US / COMMENTS

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HEADLINE
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1- The 15th EMWIS Steering Committee meeting took place in the premises of Jucar River Basin Authority (Hydrographic Confederation of Jucar) in Valencia (Spain) on 9 September 2014. It was organised back to back with other events: the expert meeting on the preparation of a Western Mediterranean Water Strategy as part of the Western Mediterranean Dialogue (5+5); the Steering Committee of the Mediterranean Water Forum and the Mediterranean Preparatory Process for the next World Water Forum that will take place next March in Corea; and the Steering Group meeting of the project “Towards a Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform” that received the Union for the Mediterranean label last April. The Presidency of EMWIS Steering Committee was transferred from Italy, Mr. Walter MAZZITTI to Spain, Mrs. Maria Ángeles Ureña - President of the Jucar River Basin Authority. The General Director of Water at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) Mrs. Liana ARDILES LOPEZ opened the meeting with welcome messages and in the hope that EMWIS will continue providing fruitful results and supporting Mediterranean countries in building their national water information systems. All participants agreed to grant the position of honorary President to Walter Mazzitti for its cumulated 10 years at the Presidency of EMWIS Steering Committee and its strong support and innovative ideas for the Mediterranean water community. The new president highlighted EMWIS priorities for the coming years. She concluded the meeting by pointing out that, 18 years after the ministerial conference in Marseille that launched EMWIS, water directors and the National Focal Points are keeping their support to EMWIS and expressing their will to continue working under the framework of EMWIS while contributing to its projects and activities, in particular those related to the reinforcement of national water information systems, and the Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform. She called on the direct involvement of the Southern countries to ensure ownership, a renewed commitment and a direct involvement in regional activities in the framework of the EMWIS Technical Unit. Further information on EMWIS website.
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IN BRIEF (Full news)
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2- The first Steering Group meeting of the Mediterranean Water Knowledge Platform took place in Valencia (Spain) on 10 September, back to back with the EMWIS Steering Committee meeting. The project promoters, International Office for Water and Institut Mediterranéen de l'Eau, together with their technical support partners (EMWIS and MENBO) presented the sub-projects on reinforcing National Water Information Systems and developing white papers to support IWRM implementation and the related fund raising plan. The South Med pilot countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan) explained their current status of implementation and financing focusing on the national governance and inter-institutional coordination. Regional organizations such as the European Environment agency, Blue Plan, MedPol, the Arab League reaffirmed their commitment in the project. A first draft methodological approach for technical and economical assessment of water information system was also introduced.  The meeting was also attended by EU countries (Spain, France, Italy, Malta) and by other South Mediterranean countries that expressed their willingness to take part in the regional activities or even for some of them in starting additional pilot implementation (e.g. Palestine). The project was also presented during the last ENPI-SEIS Steering Committee meeting in Copenhagen on 16-17 September where future priorities for implementing a Shared Environment Information System (SEIS) in the European Neighborhood were discussed. Further information on EMWIS website.

3- Based on the success of the participatory approach of the 1st Mediterranean Water Forum (Marrakech 2011), the 2nd Mediterranean Water Forum (Murcia - Spain, 25-28/11/2014) is willing to be a new step for the dialogue between all the stakeholders concerned by water and environmental issues in coherence with all initiatives and programmes currently running and to be implemented in the Mediterranean region. The topics of this Forum are closely linked with the ones of the Mediterranean Regional Process for the 7th World Water Forum (Daegu, South Korea – April 2015).  Several thematic sessions will be organized, in including one  focusing on the Mediterranean Knowledge Platform, and an exhibition area will bringing together all water stakeholders (ministries, local authorities, professionals, ...) to introduce their knowhow and experiences. The day of the 25th November 2014 will be dedicated to Side-Events, such as the regional workshop on water demand management, hydro-meteorological Day, new water technologies in Spain or the brokerage event Murcia water. The website dedicated to this 2nd Mediterranean Water Forum is now open for registration till next November 10th. On the other hand, As announced last September in Valencia, the next preparatory meeting on the Water Strategy for the Western Mediterranean will be held on the 28th November, in Murcia, in the margins of the II Mediterranean Water Forum. The aim of the meeting in Murcia will be to discuss the Annex of the Strategy with the Action Lines. Further information on EMWIS website.

6- The overall objective of OpIRIS (Online Professional Irrigation Scheduling Expert System) project is to build a knowledge-based system for online precise irrigation scheduling (OpIRIS) using advanced results from previous EU research projects on water and fertilizers productivity in fruit trees orchards and hydroponic productions in greenhouses. The 2nd periodic meeting OpIRIS has taken place on October 13-14th, 2014 in Volos (Greece). It was the occasion to discuss the progress of the project activities, and the OpIRIS system tests to be carried out by the partners before the end of the year. The participants had also the occasion to visit a greenhouse in the region of Volos to check the irrigation system used and its results. Further information on OpIRIS website.

7- Abengoa water organized a progress meeting (SC) last July 21-22nd in Malaga & Seville (Spain) to discuss the process of the project. The meeting was attended by the consortium partners (ABEINSA, Abengoa Water, LW,Softcrits, Simbiente, Addition, Ubiwhere, UMA, IHP GMBH, UT SEMMIDE, CMAyOT) as well as the state of art of each project activities: specification of Decision Support System, Deployment and evaluation of demonstrator,Integration of applications as well as dissemination and exploitation of results. Discussions focused especially on the technical aspect related to the deployment of the demonstrator, and the installation of the sensors to collect the needed data. The first day of the meeting took place at the Abengoa R&D Center located in Seville. In the second day, the participants visited the demonstration site Guadalhorce bassin (Guadalhorce-Guadalteba dam), where installations of technology will be placed. During the site visit, the technical staff gave some explanations on the different collected data and its frequency.  Further information on EMWIS website.

8- A Workshop on Water Mangement and Knowledge Sharing will take place in Amman (Jordan) next November 26-27th, 2014. This event is jointly organised by UNEP-GEMS, Water and Eye on Water Security and R-KNOW project. The workshop will have a special focus on Water Management and Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment in the Arab Region taking into account the 2011 Arab Water Strategy. But it will also raise awareness about the Regional Knowledge Network on Water (R-KNOW), its four themes, its web portal while creating synergies and opportunities for networking and joint actions that could be supported by Eye on Water Security special initiative.  Further information on EMWIS website

9- The second stakeholder workshop of the project "PAWA - Pilot Arno Water Accounts" tool place last July 2nd, 2014 in Firenze (Italy). The project is testing the application of the System of Environmental- Economic Accounting for Water developed by the United Nations and destined to become the standard reference for European assessments on the quantitative management of water resources. A guidance document is under development by a working group of the Common Implementation Strategy of the WFD. The workshop covered in particular the management and organization of data on withdrawals and refunds of water and includes a session of "training exercise" to illustrate and test data management system standard proposed on the basis of data collected by local operators ( Publiacqua, New Waters, Waters SpA) and from the provinces located in the study areas of the basin (for agricultural and industrial uses). The experimental application of the standards of the SEEA-Water System will allow the Arno basin authority to include water balance issues in the next Management Plan and, specifically, optimise the measures to be taken in accordance with the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and the Blueprint to safeguard Europe's waters. The PAWA project is implemented by ISPRA (leader), Arno River Basin Authority and EMWIS. Further information on EMWIS website

10- Byblos Municipality organizes the committee meeting of MED-3R project next October 21-23th, 2014 in Byblos (Lebanon). « MED-3R Euro-Mediterranean Strategic Platform for a suitable waste management » is a strategic project of the ENPI CBC MED Programme included in the topic « Waste treatment and recycling ».This 90 % funded project by the European Union of a budget of 4,787,062 € brings together 15 direct partners and 7 associated. This meeting will be the occasion to present the planning of activities and its progress by each partner, the methodologies for developing Waste Management Plans, and the follow-up of the pilot actions. Technical visits are expected to Byblos & Blat pilot areas. Further information on EMWIS website

11-  Under the umbrella of the League of Arab States (LAS) and in partnership with the Arab Ministerial Water Council (AMWC) and the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) is organizing the Second Arab Water Week. The Arab Water Week (AWW) is a distingushed regional meeting in the Arab region which tackles water management issues through establishing innovative partnerships and platforms of collaborative work on water issue in the region. The importance of this meeting lies in providing a platform for greater coordination among the existing network of key partners active in the water sector in the region. The Arab Water Week (AWW) does not only provide an opportunity to enhance communication flows, synergies and the sharing of successful experiences, but as well, it will facilitate creating new partnerships that complement and maximize the impact of on-going work in this sector for the benefit all countries in the region. The next AWW will take place next January 11-15th, 2015 in the Dead Sea (Jordan). Further information on EMWIS website

12- Digital Economy Ministers, the UfM Secretariat, telecoms regulators, development banks and EU institutions pledged closer cooperation to reap the benefits of the digital economy for Euro-Mediterranean citizens, consumers and businesses. Gathered in Brussels for the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial meeting, participants agreed to forge closer ties on the use of open data and e-government, and to step-up dialogue betweennational telecoms regulators around the Mediterranean. They also agreed to improve connectivity between scientific and research communities and to work on a long-term eHealth cooperation strategy.  As such, the UfM provides a stable and pro-active political framework for cooperation. Development banks can facilitate financial support and incentives in key areas. Ministers also underlined the need to reach out more to include civil society, bloggers, young entrepreneurs, digital champions and ICT innovators both in the EU and in southern Mediterranean countries. The EU is committed to helping its Southern and Eastern neighbours in their paths to peace, democracy and socio-economic development. Around €8.3 billion in EU funding is foreseen until 2020 for bilateral and regional programmes targeting southern Mediterranean countries. Further information on EMWIS website

13- On 22 September, the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez has launched the first two Master Programmes on Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education of Morocco. The University also launched the “INSA-Euro-Méditerranée’’ Engineering School, co-developed in partnership with INSA Group -France and a consortium of Universities from Morocco, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Further information on EMWIS website

14- The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - has taken a central role on the European water innovation landscape, providing a platform for all actors in the field of water and innovation. After the success of the first EIP Water conference in November 2013 in Brussels, the EIP Water Conference 2014 will take place on 5 November in Barcelona, the European Innovation Capital 2014. The aim of the second Annual Conference of the European Innovation Partnership on Water is to connect innovation demand and supply by: "Showcasing impact" e.g. via  presentations and exhibition of successful experiences; "Identifying demand for innovation"; and Examining and addressing the gaps and barriers in innovation demand and supply. Participants of the EIP Water Conference 2014 will be water managers/launching costumers (innovation demanders) from the private and public sector (cities, regions and EU Member States), water-using sectors and innovation providers. Participants from other sectors related to innovation development, uptake and financing are also encouraged to attend. The conference is free of charge for participants. However, the costs of travel and accommodation shall be borne by each participant and cannot be reimbursed by the organisers. WEAM4i and demEAUmed projects in which EMWIS is involved will participate at this event. Further information on EMWIS website

15- There is not a specific programme for water RDI, but water issues are funded through the State Plan for Research, Development and Innovation. Other Programmes related to Innovation, applied research or International activities devote additional funds to water issues. The National Plan has always represented the major opportunity for RTD funding at the national level, although in the last 20 years the research funding capacity of the regional governments has increased. The Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) is the main governmental funding body for research and innovation, as it owns and manages the “State Plan for Research, Development and Innovation” to promote high-quality scientific research, training and career development in science and technology, supports centres of excellence, research infrastructures, technology transfer, innovation and science dissemination. With a total budget for RDI activities of 430 M€ in 2013, the mission of the Directorate General for Scientific and Technological Research of MINECO is to coordinate and finance high-quality research in the full spectrum of scientific and technological disciplines and support researchers’ training and research carriers, as well as research infrastructures. This Directorate General also promotes the internationalization of Spanish research through a number of bilateral and multilateral programmes. Directorate General for Innovation and the public Innovation Agency CDTI are responsible for the promotion of technology development and innovation in the private sector, public-private partnerships, technology transfer, and large national infrastructures. MINECO supports basic, strategic and applied research on water science and technology through annual competitive bottom-up calls. These calls will be coordinated with the co-funded EC calls and with other joint calls of the Water JPI. Regional governments within Spain have a significant capacity to fund research and innovation. In the last years a number of regional research funding programmes have evolved to provide basal funding to outstanding research groups or institutes. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) is responsible for water policy, plans and programmes devoted to water resources evaluation and planning, water quality, sustainable irrigation management, floods, and related issues in the context of the Water Framework Directive. MAGRAMA’s capacity to fund research and innovation has been traditionally smaller than that of MINECO. Further information on EMWIS website

16- On 9 October the Portuguese national parliament will vote for a law that should protect the human right and community rights to water and prevent privatisation of water supply companies in Portugal. The law is a proposal of the coalition “Agua de Todos” that has collected over 40.000 signatures in Portugal last year to do this proposal. Portuguese trade unions – EPSU (European Federation of Public Service Unions) affiliates – have supported this initiative and are part of the Agua de Todos coalition. EPSU has supported the unions and people in Portugal in their campaign and hopes the parliament will vote in favour of the proposed law. Further information on EMWIS website.

17- Sustainable water use and adaptation to climate change are challenging issues for the agricultural sector in Cyprus. This issue was discussed at the final public event of the AGWATER research project. The meeting was co-organised by The Cyprus Institute and the Agricultural Research Institute and was attended by more than 60 participants from different disciplines related to agriculture and water resources. During the last 2.5 years, AGWATER consortium developed new digital datasets, including an agro-ecological characterization, a soil map, and climate datasets for the past and the future. The researchers also analysed the effect of climatic conditions on potato and barley yields from long-term agricultural experiments. Climate change projections indicate that the average annual rainfall for 2020-2050 could be between 1 and 15% lower than in 1980-2010. On the other hand, temperatures are projected to increase by 1.5 degrees. These data are currently used to analyse the effect of different policy and economic scenarios on agricultural production and water use in Cyprus for the period 2020-2050.  Recommendations included a better implementation of European policies and careful selection of crops and crop varieties for the future. The AGWATER Project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research Promotion Foundation.  Further information on EMWIS website

18- The issue of water scarcity has been at the centre of the EU-Egypt Water Talk co-hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to Egypt and the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in Alexandria. In all, 150 experts, academics, senior civil officials and project managers from donor agencies took part, discussing joint integrated investment planning in the water sector, improved practices in water resources management, master planning the irrigation and drainage network for more efficient use of water resources, and the role of water awareness in changing water use habits and water saving. The EU has supported overall institutional reform and sector reform through the two phases of the Water Sector Reform programme, with an overall budget of €200 million as a direct grant. EU-Egypt water talks are funded by the Water Sector Reform Programme-II (WSRP-II). Following the success of WSRP-I, both the Egyptian government and the European Commission agreed to allocate an additional grant of €120 million as phase two of Egypt's WSRP (WSRP-II) to take place between 2011 and 2015, and be disbursed on the basis of a new set of jointly agreed reform benchmarks. The overall objective of the WSRP-II is to support the Egyptian government in its reform programme of the water sector in accordance with the objectives of the National Water Resource Plan 2005-2017 (NWRP 2005-2017), and of the recently adopted Water and Wastewater Sector Development Policy (WWSDP). Further information on EMWIS website

19- Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation signed recently a 22.8 million-euro loan agreement with the French Embassy to finance the water sector in the northern regions of the Kingdom. The funds will go towards improving the water services and helping meet the water needs of Syrian refugees. The funding will also cover the cost of reducing water leakage and securing pumps for a number of wells. Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Dr. Hazem Nasser said that the French support and cooperation, especially in the water sector, has reached over the past few years 135 million euros, noting that France extended funds worth 60 million euros to the Jordan water company – to be used for the building of a new water network in the poor areas of Amman, and installation of modern meters with the objective of replacing 50 percent of existing meters. The French government will also finance the construction of a pipeline between Abu Alanda in south Amman and Khaou in Zarqa, which is the first phase of supplying Zarqa and the northern region with water through the Disi project at the cost of 48 million euros. Caroline Dumas, Ambassador of France in Jordan, pledged support to the water sector in Jordan and exchange of expertise in the use of technology in water treatment plants, agricultural and industrial purposes, reduction of water wastage and management of wells and groundwater basins. Further information on EMWIS website

20- UfM representatives presented the Desalination Facility Project as priority water intervention for Gaza Strip to international community gathered at Cairo International Conference on Palestine “Reconstructing Gaza”. With the aim to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the Governments of Egypt and Norway together with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a pledging conference in Cairo on 12 October. The Conference was opened by H.E. President Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and President Abbas. High-level interventions included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Nabil El-Araby, Foreign Minister of Jordan Nasser Judeh, Foreign Minister of Italy Federica Mogherini, Foreign Minister of France Laurent Fabius, and Quartet Representative Tony Blair. The conference achieved its objective of strengthening the Government of Palestine’s ability to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Gaza Strip by securing 5.4 Billion US Dollar in financial pledges, as well as by presenting an unified call for improved access of materials to Gaza through existing channels negotiated by the United Nations. President Abbas personally met with UfM representatives to discuss the progress on the Desalination Facility project and requested the UfM Secretariat to catalyse it both technically and financially together with other key partners. Further information on EMWIS website

21- A US$474 million World Bank Group project, called Water Supply Augmentation, will address the chronic and severe water shortages faced by over half of Lebanon’s population residing in the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area who receive an average of only three hours of water per day and resort to illegal wells, expensive tanker trucks and bottled water for their home use. The Islamic Development Bank and Government of Lebanon will provide parallel financing of US$128 million and US$15 million respectively. The project will finance the construction of hydraulic infrastructure, including the Bisri dam near the existing Joun reservoir, and associated storage to ensure water security to the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area. National agencies will benefit from technical assistance in the implementation of international best practices for dam safety, sustainable water resources management and environment/social impact mitigation. The project will be implemented over nine years to allow for startup work ahead of construction, and two years of operation and maintenance. Further information on EMWIS website

22- Over the past four years, the conflict in Syria has left many children and their families without access to clean drinking water. Now, volunteers with the UNICEF’s partner, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are installing water tanks for families affected by the fighting, in the eastern Aleppo governorate. The first of ten planned water tanks, which hold 70,000 liters of water, or enough for 900 people, was installed earlier this month in Al Bab. Volunteers spent seven hours setting up the UNICEF  water tank and standpipe, all of which are now functional. The water system in Al Bab has experienced frequent interruptions related to the ongoing conflict. The new water tank will provide stable access to safe water for all children and their families in the community. Further information on EMWIS website

23- Tunisian Agriculture Minister Mr. Lassad Lachaal, and Ambassador & Head of EU Delegation in Tunis Mrs. Laura Baeza attended last Septembre 24th, 2014 the signing ceremony of five services  contracts that will bring during two years, a high level of expertise for capacity building of public administration in the field of water management. These studies will address the assessment of the national programme on economy of irrigation, the formulation of a new national strategy for water and soil saving, and the organizational development of the national water company (SONEDE). On the other hand, last September, 29th, 2014, the European Union has awarded a grant of one million Euros to the Institution of Research and Higher Education Agricultural "IRESA" to support innovative actions for 30 months. These six projects worth $ 5.8 million, or about 13 million dinars are developed in the framework of the EU support programme for water resources management for rural and agricultural development (PAPS-eau). The overall objective of this program funded by a grant of 57 million euros, is to support the Tunisian Government in better integration of the problems of resource saving and water demand management with an integrated approach. Further information on EMWIS website

24- Djerba Island in Tunisia was paralyzed by a general strike at the airport until October 1st, 2014. A mobilization to protest against the solid waste problem collected at the island. If no solution is found, the Djerbiens threatened to suspend payment of taxes. This is the first time that this peaceful island, at the east of Tunisia, began a general strike. Anger due to wastes that are processed since 2012, but simply buried or burned in street corners. Result: The "bac" boat connecting the island to the coast, and air traffic was suspended."In twenty-five years I have never seen it," is surprised Bouzaffara Monem, an employee of the national carrier Tunisair. "The strike has cost money, but our health and our future are at stake. On what tourism we are talking in such an environment? ". Discussions with the authorities began in April 2012, closing the only landfill on the island, Guellala. "It was badly exploited, standards not being met," says Naceur Bouabid spokesman for the Crisis. "Successive governments only make empty promises," he charged. Proposed solution: to get garbage controlled on the continent, to Bouhamed discharge, but again the people refused. All necessary means "will be immediately mobilized" to clean Djerba if an agreement is reached for the site of a solid waste dump, said in a statement the government. Meanwhile, Djerbiens threaten to stop paying their taxes. Further information on EMWIS website

25- The issues of water management and the challenges of climate change have been at the center of talks in Copenhagen between the Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, responsible on Water, Charafat Afilal, and the Danish Environment Minister, Kirsten Brosbøl. At this meeting, which is part of a work tour that a Moroccan delegation started on Wednesday October 1st from to the Scandinavian kingdom, both sides expressed the desire to promote bilateral cooperation on these crucial topics for socio-economic and sustainable development. The panel on the management of water resources, emphasis was placed on sanitation and wastewater treatment as well as flood prevention systems. Further information on EMWIS website

26- Future Earth has awarded 8 new Fast Track Initiatives and Cluster Activities a total of US$850,400, fully supported by the US National Science Foundation. The new initiatives build on areas of research strength in the existing Global Environmental Change (GEC) projects and programmes, and are intended to kick-start integrated activities and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration. The 8 new initiatives are: Exploring nitrogen in Future Earth; Scientific support for IPBES knowledge generation; What is urban? Global urbanization as viewed from multiple scientific domains; Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene; Global biodiversity monitoring, prediction and reporting; Extreme events and environments from climate to society; Linking earth system and socio-economic models to predict and manage changes in land use and biodiversity; Sustainability for water, food and energy through integrated water information and improved governance. Seed funding has also been awarded to two groups of complementary proposals, one on polar issues, one on climate research and services for Africa. Further information on EMWIS website

27- The upcoming Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan, in March 2015 is expected to result in a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (Hyogo Framework for Action 2 - HFA-2). To prepare this event, UN-SPIDER and several partners have approached selected government agencies requesting their support to ensure that specific texts on the use of Earth Observation and Space-based information find their way into the HFA-2 resolution, as it has already been done in the pre-zero draft. On the other hand, A delegation led by ICSU as the organising partner of the UN Science and Technology Major Group took part in the first meeting of the preparatory committee for the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The two-day meeting in Geneva this week is intended to prepare for the March 2015 conference in Sendai, Japan, where governments are due to approve a new global framework to reduce disaster risk to replace the current Hyogo Framework. The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 sought to build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. The Science and Technology delegation brought together a broad coalition of organizations including the Inter Academy Partnership (IAP), the Global Young Academy, the UKCDS, Public Health England and the Science and Technical Advisory Group of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) as well as experts from Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The Science and Technology Major Group focused its interventions on a statement agreed in March 2014on establishing an international science advisory mechanism for disaster risk reduction to strengthen resilience for the post-2015 agenda. In a joint statement, the UN said it “supports the proposed creation of an international science advisory mechanism to strengthen the evidence base for the implementation and monitoring of the new framework. Further information on EMWIS website

28- The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has been using Earth Observation technologies in its activities for more than a quarter of a century. The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) monitors the supply and demand of food in every country in the world on a continuous basis, and provides timely warnings of imminent food shortages, drought occurrences, hunger and famine at sub-national, national and/or sub-regional levels. The system collects and archives information from many different sources. It makes use of remote sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify regions experiencing unfavourable crop growing conditions and food supply shortfalls, as well as identifying areas and/or populations that may be prone to food insecurity. The Copernicus constellation of Sentinel satellites, the first of which was launched into orbit on the 3rd of April 2014, is expected to contribute to the improvement of the FAO-GIEWS Earth Observation-based monitoring system by: greatly enhancing agricultural monitoring through timely access to essential data and information (throughout the agricultural season); improving crop masks and the development of crop specific masks (maize, rice, pastures, etc.) which are expected to improve the correlation between vegetation indices and yield; enhancing the ability to improve production forecasts that are essential for early warning purposes through establishing a robust time-series; and improving the accuracy of estimates relating to food production by allowing for better delimitation between irrigated and rain-fed crop areas. Further information on EMWIS website

29- The European Commission adopted the Communication "Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe" and annex to establish a common and coherent EU framework to promote the circular economy. Turning Europe into a more circular economy means: boosting recycling and preventing the loss of valuable materials; creating jobs and economic growth; showing how new business models, eco-design and industrial symbiosis can move us towards zero-waste; reducing greenhouse emissions and environmental impacts. As part of the circular economy package, the Commission also adopted a legislative proposal to review recycling and other waste-related targets in the EU and annex. Achieving the new waste targets would create 180 000 new jobs, while making Europe more competitive and reducing demand for costly scarce resources. Circular economy, saving resources and creating jobs are the main themes of Green Week 2014, the biggest annual conference on European environment policy. Further information on EMWIS website