Mediterranean NewsFlow

April 2021

📰 FEATURE: NEW SIDA STRATEGY FOR MENA

Interview with Sida’s Rasmus Rodhe on Sweden’s new Strategy for MENA 2021-2025

How are water and climate resilience objectives serviced by the new Sida strategy for MENA? What are the key ingredients that would make the Strategy successful? In an interview with GWP-Med, Rasmus Rodhe, Acting MENA Regional Director and Regional Programme Manager – Democracy, presents Sweden's new Strategy for MENA, highlighting among other themes, the importance of accountability, enabling bottom-up reform, and redoubling efforts on gender equality.

Read the Interview

📰 NEWS

New Study launched on the role on Women in Water Diplomacy in MENA

On 15 March 2021, during a virtual event attended by almost 200 participants, a publication pinpointing challenges facing women in water diplomacy and identifying capacity building needs in five MENA countries, was formally launched. The event's keynote speech was delivered by HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan.

The Comparative Study is the output of a collaboration between GWP-Med and the Geneva Water Hub, aiming to strengthen the role of women in water diplomacy in the region. Its preparation was financially supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

World Water Day 2021 was dedicated to 'Valuing Water', raising awareness on the importance of taking into account the real value of water in decision making.

Aiming to assess the range of services that Lake Ohrid provides, benefiting 170,000 residents and many more visitors, the Global Environment Facility 'Drin Project' completed the Ecosystem Services Valuation for this biodiversity hotspot shared between Albania and North Macedonia. The resulting study was one of the key inputs informing the development of the transboundary Lake Ohrid Watershed Management Plan, that has now been approved by the responsible authorities of the littoral countries.

🎤 VOICES OF THE GWP-MED TEAM ON THE GROUND

"To mobilise youth, we need tangible success stories." Interview with Dr. Sondos Njoumi, GWP-Med Programme Officer in Tunis

What is the key to engaging MENA youth in the fight against climate change and water challenges? How can we foster new business and employment opportunities that will also help address pressing environmental and social challenges?

Dr. Sondos Njoumi, GWP-Med Programme Officer based in Tunis, shares her perspectives on the impact of programme initiatives and the key to activating the energies of youth in the MENA region.

Interactive Online Session on 20 April: "International Water Law and Climate Change"

GWP and Wuhan International Water Law Academy are co-organising an interactive online series called the "Transboundary freshwater security governance train". The series of online engagements sessions is conducted in an approach of a ‘train’ stopping at various locations in the world, with focus on topics related to transboundary freshwater security. At each of the stops, a different topic from the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security is explored.

👩‍🔧 JOB OPENING: PROGRAMME OFFICER FOR TECHNICAL WATER SOLUTIONS

GWP-Med is seeking to recruit a Programme Officer, based in Athens, to

implement and further develop the GWP-Med Technical Water Solutions agenda in a Non-Conventional Water Resources and Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus content, as well as the interlinked Water-Employment-Migration agenda, with emphasis in South Europe e.g. Greece, Malta, Cyprus, etc.

Interview with Sida’s Rasmus Rodhe on Sweden’s new Strategy for MENA 2021-2025

New Study launched on the role on Women in Water Diplomacy in MENA

Valuing one of Europe's oldest lakes

"To mobilise youth, we need tangible success stories." Interview with Dr. Sondos Njoumi, GWP-Med Programme Officer in Tunis

🌐 FROM THE GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

Interactive Online Session on 20 April: "International Water Law and Climate Change"

👩‍🔧 JOB OPENING: PROGRAMME OFFICER FOR TECHNICAL WATER SOLUTIONS