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Introduction
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Welcome to our brand-new edition of SEMIDE’s e-Flash!
We are proud to present our latest e-Flash for October-November 2024 with a new look and an upcoming revamped website announcement. In this issue, we highlight the Mediterranean presence at major global events (COP 29, COP 16 and more), share recent news related to the Euro-MED region, and the water and environment sectors, and showcase the key updates of our projects striving for a sustainable future in our region. We have also included the latest announcements for publications, call for tenders and call for papers, and don’t miss out on our agenda of upcoming events.
Enjoy discovering our 169th e-Flash and join us in sharing water knowledge across the Mediterranean!
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Editorial
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The voice of the Mediterranean from COP29 on Climate to COP16 on desertification
The Union for the Mediterranean joined the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP29), in Baku Azerbaijan, held from 13 to 21 November 2024 as well as the COP16 on desertification in Riyadh, held from 2 to 13 December 2024. During both events sessions were organised to discuss strategies around the management and financing of Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus.
Further information on the Mediterranean pavilion at COP29 and on COP16 Mediterranean sessions.
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Successful World General Assembly of the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO)
The INBO World General Assembly 2024 took place in Bordeaux (Fr), from 7 to 10 October 2024. It gathered together 350 participants from 60 countries, with high level panels featuring 9 Ministers and state secretaries as well as 60 water General Directors. Presentations from the different sessions are available on INBO website: International Cooperation, achieving a Good ecological status of water; Transboundary cooperation and water quality management; Agriculture and water quality; Water Scarcity; Reconciling the natural and urban water cycles; Data and Information; Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change adaptation; Climate Change Adaptation & Good Governance.
Progress on the Twin Basin Initiative (TBI) launched at the World Water Forum in Bali earlier this year was also highlighted with the Peer-to-Peer Support Action for Basin Organisation financed by the European Commission DG INTPA. Mediterranean representatives participating at the event expressed an interest to launch a TBI-Med.
Summary of exchanges and video.
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EuroMED News
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Five EU countries to receive over €1 billion in EU aid following natural disasters
On 8 October 2024, the European Parliament approved assistance for over 1 billion euros from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to five countries affected by severe floods in 2023. The concerned countries are Austria, France, Greece, Italy and Slovenia. The distributed support ranges from 5.2 million (Austria) to 428.4 million euros (Slovenia). The EUSF’s assistance scope includes emergency and recovery efforts such as infrastructural repairs, clean-up operations, and cultural heritage safeguarding.
Reminder: MED countries Italy and Greece were hit by extreme rainfall and three different storms (Minerva, Ciarán and Daniel) in Spring, Summer and Autumn 2023 causing severe damage. Italian regions Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, as well as Greek regions Thessaly and Attica were faced with river overflow, landslides, building collapses, and numerous victims. Both countries are to respectively receive 378.8 million and 101.5 million euros from the EUSF.
Sources: European Parliament, 2024 / JRC Data Catalogue, 2023c / JRC Data Catalogue, 2023b / JRC Data Catalogue, 2023a
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Executive Vice-President Šefčovič signs agreement between Greece, European Investment Bank and the Commission on a Decarbonisation Fund for Greek islands
On 21 November 2024, Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, signed with Greece and the European Investment Bank (EIB) an agreement on the implementation of a national Decabornisation Fund for the Greek Islands. The agreement was co-signed by Theodoros Skylakis, Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, and Ioannis Tsakiris, EIB Vice-President. The Fund will be financed through the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) for an estimated amount of 2 billion euros. Such support is meant to decarbonise Greek Island’s energy supply, notably by developing renewable energy systems, island grid interconnections, power and charging infrastructures, as well as dams and reservoirs for hydroelectric production. Greece’s project proposal for the Fund is to be evaluated by the EIB and the full reform to be completed by 2026.
Sources: Ministry of Economy and Finance (Greece), 2024 / European Commission, 2024a / European Commission, 2024b
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Water News
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Morocco and China sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on water resources
On 18 September 2024, Nizar Baraka, Moroccan Minister of Equipment and Water, and Zhu Chengqing, Chinese Vice-Minister of Water Resources, signed an MoU to establish an executive programme for water resources cooperation. The programme’s objectives are experience exchange, human and institutional capacity building, project cooperation and training implementation in the water sector. The scope will cover areas such as water infrastructure, water safety, drinking water and management of extreme water phenomena. A China-Morocco Joint Committee on Water Resources will be created to assess progress, and it will meet once a year for the duration of the programme from 2025 to 2027.
Source: Kingdom of Morocco, 2024
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Jordan sign an agreement to address water scarcity in the Near East and North Africa region
On 29 September 2024, Raed Abu Al-Saud, Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation, and Nabil Assaf, FAO Representative in Jordan, signed an agreement launching the Water Scarcity Initiative (WSI) in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.
The WSI is a partnership platform for cooperation on water and food issues in the NENA region, which faces growing water scarcity and worsening water quality, making it the most water-insecure region worldwide. The partnership was initiated in 2013 and launched in 2023, with a total funding of 31.5 million dollars. It is aiming at supporting strategic planning for water and food security and water management, developing non-conventional water use, enhancing climate change resilience and providing tools for monitoring and decision-making.
Jordan will take part in 15 of the 17 WSI activities. The country’s goals focus on integrated water management, water governance, access to technologies for irrigation and agriculture, and experience exchange through regional cooperation. The WSI will also support Jordan’s efforts to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6, 13 and 17.
Sources: FAO, 2024 / Jordan UN, 2024 / FAO NENA, 2023 / FAO, 2015
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SEMIDE at the Technical Territorial Conference “Water, Urban Planning and Development” in Aix-en-Provence, France
The conference was held on 1 October 2024 and was organised by Cerema Méditerranée and Agence de l’Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse. The programme focused on good practices for water management in urban development and planning, highlighting local strategies, innovative tools and ongoing projects.
SEMIDE attended as leader of the French demonstration site of CARDIMED project (Horizon Europe-funded). This event provided the opportunity to share knowledge about the Nature-based Solutions currently developed at the demonstration site and to promote the CARDIMED’s objectives.
Sources: Cerema, 2024
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The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) makes strides towards securing Euro-Mediterranean water security with key finance and investment event
On 14 and 15 October 2024, the UfM, the European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (ADB) organised the 5th Annual Conference on Water Finance and Investment. The conference’s scope is to provide a platform for policymakers and stakeholders to collaborate on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) strategies.
This year, the main focus was put on achieving water security by working on the financial sustainability of the water sector and promoting multisectoral international cooperation. The conference also highlighted the challenges faced in the region, such as access to drinking water, demographic growth, urbanisation and climate change, which need to be overcome to ensure access to clean water and sanitation to all (SDG 6).
Conclusions and recommendations stemming from the conference are to be published in a policy brief.
Source: UfM, 2024
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Luso-Spanish Summit results on water management and Albufeira Convention bilateral agreement on minimum water flow
The 35th Luso-Spanish Summit was held on 23 October 2024, in the presence of Luís Montenegro, Portuguese Prime Minister, and Pedro Sanchez, President of the Spanish Government. The Summit was titled “Water: a common good” and the resulting joint declaration highlighted the progress achieved through the application of past treaties and agreements signed by both countries.
The two countries addressed several topics pertaining to environmental issues. In particular, Spain and Portugal advocated for coherence in legislation, planning and finance in order to achieve sustainable water management. They also announced a Spanish-Portuguese Action Plan to fight desertification, the harmonisation of drought and water scarcity indicators in both countries, as well as a joint strategy to protect rural areas from drought and emerging diseases. The latter will be implemented within the bilateral MoU for cooperation on agriculture and rural development. The overall objective of these measures is to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030. The joint declaration also discusses the countries’ commitment for food security, marine ecosystem protection, decarbonisation of the maritime sector and improving air quality in coastal areas.
Furthermore, both chiefs of state signed a bilateral agreement at the 4th Albufeira Convention Conference of the Parties (COP) on 21 October 2024. The document sets minimum daily flows for Tagus River and minimum monthly flows for Guadiana River. It also recognises the catchment status of Pomarão and Bocachança, thereby making their exploitation bound to the principles of the Albufeira Convention.
For context, the Albufeira Convention is a political instrument of cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the waters of the Spanish-Portuguese hydrographic basins.
Sources: Ministerio de los Asuntos Exteriores, 2024 / Comisión para la Aplicación y Desarrollo del Convenio de Albufeira, 2024
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SEMIDE at the 4p1000 Initiative’s Mediterranean Regional Conference in Rabat, Morocco
The conference was held on 21 and 23 October 2024 and was organised 4 pour 1000, the international initiative supporting the role of soils for food security and the climate. The programme focused on the challenges and opportunities for soil carbon sequestration, soil health and agroecology in the Mediterranean, aiming to propose regional 4p1000 roadmap making way for policy implementation.
SEMIDE attended the Plenary Session titled "Holistic approaches to water management", presenting Nature-based Solutions for water and wastewater treatment and management, and highlighting the related activities of CARDIMED and HYDROUSA projects.
Source: 4p1000, 2024a / 4p1000, 2024b
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Project News
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CRONUS - Low carbon Syngas biomethanation
A new research paper prepared by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and with the support of the project CRONUS is now available in the Chemical Engineering Journal. The paper is entitled “Biofilm mass transfer and thermodynamic constraints shape biofilm in trickle bed reactor syngas biomethanation” and was released in November 2024. In this article, the authors investigated the syngas biomethanation process carried out in trickle bed reactors at its boundary conditions to explore the limits of the process, focusing on syngas composition and mass-transfer conditions potentially limiting process performance. The process was found to be robust when exposed to CO excess, but highly sensitive to H2 excess, which caused severe inhibition even under small amounts of excess H2. This implies that biomethane purity comparable to natural gas can be achieved by addition of renewable H2, but this requires precise control to avoid process failure.
This article was conducted in the frame of Functional prototype 3 “Syngas Biomethanation” of CRONUS implemented in Copenhagen by DTU.
Further information: CRONUS website and Chemical Engineering Journal publication.
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FutureLakes - Integrating Innovations for the Protection and Restoration of European Lakes
The kick-off meeting of the project FutureLakes took place from 28 to 31 October 2024 in Volos (Greece) and was hosted by the Democritus University of Thrace. FutureLakes (2024-2027) is a new project contributing to the European Union’s "Mission Restore our Ocean & Waters” and is one of the 4 projects funded under the call, HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-04.
The project aims to transform lake restoration by demonstrating innovative nature-based and circular economy solutions to reduce pollution, restore biodiversity and stimulate the blue economy around lakes. The project aims at demonstrating the integration of these technical solutions into lake basin management in six large European lakes (Lake Karla (Greece), Kartuzy Lakes (Poland), Loch Leven (UK), Markermeer (Ijssel, Netherlands), Vansjø (Norway) and Vesijärvi (Finland), while creating and testing a blueprint for lake protection and restoration. This blueprint will include guidance on how to attract green financing for implementing restoration measures and innovations in policy that support the restoration process. The project is coordinated by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). SEMIDE is in charge of policy, financing, business models and exploitation roadmap.
Further information: FutureLakes webpage
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CARDIMED: Nature-based Solutions for climate adaption in the Mediterranean
The CARDIMED project continues to move forward, both internationally and in France. The demonstration site on the Saint Jérôme campus in Marseille is almost complete, with 4,560 m2 already unsealed and 70 trees planted last April. A final 1,000 m2 unsealing phase should take place this winter, and the last plantings should be carried out in autumn 2025 for a better plant survival rate, thus finalizing the work on the first demonstrator site. The second demonstration site on the Saint Charles campus is in the preliminary analysis phase and should be ready for unsealing and revegetation work in the summer of 2025.
A first on-site steering committee meeting was held in March 2024, bringing together 40 different partners to present the project, the work carried out, and the in situ scientific monitoring. These partners correspond to the project's local and regional stakeholders (local authorities, financing bodies, municipalities, small and medium enterprises, non-governmental organisations, etc.).
A workshop on the digital applications developed as part of the project was held online in October 2024, enabling some twenty local partners to express their needs and opinions regarding the actual use of the applications.
SEMIDE also participated at the annual general meeting, held in Catania from 25 to 27 September 2024. This major meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the progress of work at the various demonstration sites, the development of the 4 digital applications, and to take stock of transferability and replication initiatives. The meeting brought together 51 partners, represented by 130 people. Most of the work on the demonstration sites in the partner countries is scheduled to begin in summer 2025.
Further information: CARDIMED website
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NIAGARA: Securing drinking water
The NIAGARA project is yielding its first results in the development of biosensors for emerging pollutants. In addition, the selection of immobilizing enzymes continues to be apace.
In the first year of the project implementation, SEMIDE produced the project’s stakeholder mapping and analysis. This defined stakeholder groups and categories in relation to the development of the project's 4 products, as well as the methodology for analysing and prioritising them.
The project's 11 international partners met in Prague on November 21 for the project's annual general meeting. Two days of particularly instructive exchanges enabled the partners to take stock of their progress and reflect together on how to move forward together. It was also an opportunity for SEMIDE to set up a workshop to identify the levels of interest and influence of the 22 stakeholder categories defined for the project and rate them in four groups. This work of stakeholder prioritization has been done for each product of the project to really highlight the differences between them. The results of this workshop will enable SEMIDE to define a stakeholder engagement strategy for the project for early 2025 and start drafting a policy brief on risk assessment of emerging pollutants.
Further information: NIAGARA website
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OurMED: regional upscaling and collaborative initiatives for sustainable water management
This year the OurMED project has reached its halfway stage, highlighted by the second annual meeting of the consortium in Ifrane, Morocco, in May 2024. This event provided a comprehensive overview of project progress and included a field visit to the Sebou River Basin demo site as well as working group sessions. To promote the project’s first year activities, OurMED’s first newsletter was published in July 2024.
In October 2024, the first regional Living Lab called “SustainMED” took place in Istanbul, Turkey. OurMED partners and sister projects were brought together to discuss perspectives on water management in the Mediterranean and exchange knowledge and solutions in facing challenges in the region.
The 3-Co-De-s Webinar co-organised with NatMED and SALAM-MED was held in the same month. It outlined the impact of co-design, co-demonstration and co-decision on project work, with contributions from 6 PRIMA projects and over 30 attendees. Stemming from this successful event, two initiatives are being launched: SUSTAIN-MED, a working group providing an exchange platform for lessons learnt and good practices in water management projects in the Mediterranean, and NextGen4MED, a young scientists network aiming to foster collaboration and promote young researchers’ work through publications and events.
OurMED contributed to several papers, including the collaborative research publication titled “Multi-decadal groundwater observations reveal surprisingly stable levels in southwestern Europe”. This scientific article was relayed in several press outlets from multiple countries reaching a significant audience.
Further information: OurMED website
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AGREEMed: local stakeholder cooperation towards optimised aquifer management in agriculture
In May 2024, AGREEMed’s activity was punctuated by event participation in Tunis, Tunisia. Project partners showcased findings and innovations on alternatives for sustainable aquifer management at the 4th Water Expo: TUNISIA 4.0. The project’s main achievements were also presented at the Journées Nationales de Valorisation de la Recherche 2024.
The 3rd AGREEMed workshop on Collective Intelligence was held in October 2024 at the Water Research and Technology Centre (CERTE), in Soliman, Tunisia. This event focused on collaboration with farmers from the project’s Hammamet demonstration site on decision-making, Nature-based Solutions, non-conventional water use in irrigation and governance.
Further promotion of demo site activity was achieved through participation to the 5th ATLAS Georesources International Congress (AGIC5), in Hammamet, Tunisia, where solutions to water scarcity issues were highlighted.
Material-wise, a comprehensive factsheet was developed for the Souss-Massa Basin detailing solutions, methodology as well as expected and/or latest results. Two more factsheets for Hammamet and Jordan Valley demo sites are in the works.
Further information: AGREEMed website
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Environment News
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Upper-tropospheric cut-off low (DANA) causes severe floods and damage in Valencia region, Spain
The resulting extreme precipitation led to severe floods in the Valencia region. In several areas, over 300 litres of water per square meter fell down in one night with an all-time high of 670 litres per square meter in the municipality of Turís. The Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) has registered numbers showing that DANA brought a year’s worth of precipitation in less than four hours. In the following days, heavy rainfalls have also hit the regions of Cataluña, Andalucía and Extremadura.
While DANA is a natural occurring phenomenon in the Mediterranean, the intensity and frequency witnessed in the past decade are directly related to the warming of the atmosphere which allows for increasingly important humidity retention and provokes extreme rainfall when the vapour is released. Such extreme events are becoming more and more common thus requiring strong adaptation plans and safety measures.
As of 29 October 2024, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) has been activated to provide mapping of flood extent, monitoring and damage classification.
The updated situational reporting is available here.
Sources: AEMET, 2024a / AEMET, 2024b / À Punt, 2024
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Nominations/Vacancies
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Tunisian government reorganisation following Prime Minister destitution
On 25 August 2024, Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed nominated the new government two months before his re-election in October 2024.
Relevant nominations for agriculture and water:
Mr Ezzeddine Ben Cheikh, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries
Mr Hamadi Habib, Secretary of State for Water
Mr Habib Abid, Minister of Environment
Source: République Tunisienne, 2024
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European Parliament and Council validate newly nominated European Commission
On 1 December, the new commissioners took office for the 2024-2029 mandate, following the political guidelines for the same period.
Focus on leadership for the Mediterranean, water, environment, climate and agriculture:
Ms Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for the Mediterranean: working towards a new pact for the Mediterranean and supporting a strategic approach to the Southern Neighbourhood.
Ms Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy: leading the Water Resilience Strategy and pursuing EU Green Deal and Climate Adaptation Plan objectives.
Mr Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth: ensuring climate risk preparedness and developing legal, diplomatic and strategic framework for 2030 and 2050.
Mr Christophe Hansen, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food: developing a Vision for Agriculture and Food for a collective effort towards a competitive, resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.
Source: European Commission, 2024c
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Internship Opportunity: Analysis and Development of a Nature-Based Circular Blue Economy for the Protection and Restoration of European Lakes
SEMIDE is offering an internship opportunity (6 months in Sophia Antipolis, France) to contribute to innovative European projects FutureLakes and CARDIMED, focusing on economic models for lake restoration and Nature Based Solutions. The internship can lead to a doctoral studies. Deadline to apply 7 February, 2025.
Further information: SEMIDE Website
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Publications
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Europe's State of Water 2024
Produced by the European Environment Agency, the publication has been available since October 2024. The report emphasises that the main pressures on water stem from agricultural water use and pollution. In addition, climate change and its impact on water resources and ecosystems as well as Europe’s lack of preparedness put water security at risk.
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Living Planet Report 2024
The publication by WWF, published in October 2024, highlights trends in global biodiversity and the pressures impacting ecosystems. The report provides numbers on habitat and degradation and current status on climate objectives.
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The Urgency of Adaptation
The "White Paper: The Urgency of Adaptation", published by the FARM Foundation on 7 October 2024 as part of the AACC-Med project, addresses the adaptation of Mediterranean agriculture to climate change. It provides educational tools and insights based on scientific research and field experience.
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Guide for Including Nature in Nationally Determined Contributions
The Second Edition of the Nature4Climate, published in November 2024, offers 15 recommendations to assist national policymakers and technical experts in integrating nature-based solutions into the 2025 NDCs.
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Water reuse: a strategic response to water stress
The French Development Agency published in November 2024 a note on the current status of wastewater reuse in MENA countries and challenges for a broader use of the unconventional resources that today, remains under exploited. The note is available in Arabic, English and French.
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PNACC3 Public Consultation
This document published by the French Prime Minister and the Ministry of Ecological Transition outlines France's third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan and invites public input on strategies to address climate challenges. The consultation is now closed and all responses are available below.
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Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021/2027) |
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February 11, 2025, 5:00 PM CET |
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Biodiversa+, the European Biodiversity Partnership under Horizon Europe |
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April 11, 2025, 3:00 PM CEST |
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Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
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Interreg Italy-France Maritime Programme (EU funding) |
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Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination |
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Centre d'information et de documentation jeunesse(CDIJ) and Eurodesk France |
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French and Belgian (national or residents) young students aged between 15 and 25.
Instructions: 2 comic pages providing a vision of a Europe committed to preserving water. |
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16 January, 2025, 14:00-15:30 CET |
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PEPR OneWater-Eau Bien Commun |
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Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France (on site) |
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CIRAD and the National Technical University of Athens |
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Montpellier, France (on site) |
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BONEX and SureNexus projects, funded by PRIMA |
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Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco (on site) |
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