News & Events

ReWater MENA project in partnership with CEDARE, carried out the 3nd virtual National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting in Egypt. The meeting brought diverse stakeholders together to discuss the progress of "Egypt's National 2030 Water Reuse Targets and Strategy", which aims for “More and Safer Water Reuse”.  In addition to discussing the preparation for the 4th national Learning Alliance (NLA) dialogue on the "Validation of the Egypt 2030 Water Reuse Targets".

Achieving water security is an enormous challenge facing countries of the MENA region, among which is Egypt. On the one hand, water demand is increasing due to population growth, urbanization trend and economic development. On the other hand, water availability is decreasing due to climate change leading to droughts and floods, low water quality, and poor water management in the context of fragility, conflict, and violence. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), Egypt requires 114 billion cubic meter (BCM) of water per year to cover the country’s increasing demands from the agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as water for drinking and household use.

On Monday 15 February 2021, a meeting was held at the premises of the Bekaa Water Establishment (Zahleh) to launch the survey that will be conducted with farmers in the framework of the Water Reuse Local Studies conducted by ReWater MENA and its partners in Lebanon.

With Egypt’s National Steering Committee’s (NSC) members working steadily and ceaselessly towards competently implementing the ReWater project, a number of 14 representatives affiliated to diverse entities, elevated collaboration for combating challenges to higher levels.

IWMI’s MENA office organized and hosted a fruitful meeting in Cairo on the 10th of December 2019. The ReWater MENA project’s partners’ remarkable gathering was attended by 10 distinct representatives, comprising 3 of which were delegates of the project’s donor; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

On Tuesday the 3rd of December 2019, ReWater MENA project carried out the second National Learning Alliance in Jordan. The NLA took place at the premises of a Community Based Organization (CBO) in the Northern Jordan Valley, where a group of approximately 25 diverse stakeholders were invited to participate. The invited stakeholders were representatives presenting; farmers from the Northern Jordan Valley, German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Jordan, Royal Scientific Society (RSS), Jordan Valley Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACUWA) and the Ministry of Environment.

Jordan has a range of successful water reuse projects that could inspire other countries. Experts from the ReWater MENA project shared these, as they embark on a plan to expand reuse models in Wadi Assir and the Northern Valley of Jordan.

On Thursday 3rd of October (2019), the ReWater MENA project invited a diverse group of approximately 35 stakeholders to join the project’s first National Learning Alliance (NLA). The NLA took place at the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in Fanar-Lebanon where the group of participants had the opportunity to discuss and share ideas around to the potential of using recycled water in agriculture in Lebanon.

In July 2019, the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), a key partner of the ReWater MENA project in Lebanon, kicked off a two year-field trial in the Bekaa valley. Established at LARI’s Tel Amara station in central Bekaa, on the right bank of the Litani River, this pilot will serve to assess the health and environmental risks associated with irrigating fresh vegetables from different water sources of varying quality.