News and events

The ReWater MENA project launched its first national learning alliance (NLA) in Egypt on May 20, 2019. The NLA was organized by a project partner – the Center for Environment and Development of the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) – in cooperation with the project as well as the International Center for Agricultural Research (ICARDA). CEDARE and ICARDA are leading the implementation of project activities in Egypt. Lisode, the project partner responsible for stakeholder engagement, facilitated brainstorming and discussions during the launch event.

As population grows and farming expands, the demand for water is steadily rising. Massive human displacement along with other pressures, such as climate change, further aggravates water stress in our region. To meet this challenge, we need innovative water management solutions, including more safe water reuse practices, an approach which is implemented by the International WATER Management Institute (IWMI) through its project, ReWater MENA.

On March 27, 2019, IWMI’s ReWater MENA Project team, accompanied by colleagues from the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), made field visits in the Jordan Valley to assess potential for the development of water reuse models. The visit began in the middle Jordan Valley (Al Aghwar Al Wosta) in Dir Ghalla, where mostly treated wastewater from the Al Samra treatment plant is used. The main objective was to identify agricultural areas that have been irrigated with treated wastewater for 20 years, 10 years and 5 years. The project will study the long-term effect of using treated wastewater in these areas, compared to another area that has the same climate and agronomic conditions but is irrigated with freshwater.

On March 26, 2019, the ReWater MENA project held Jordan’s first National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting at the Royal Scientific Society (RSS). The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministries of Water and Irrigation, Agriculture, Environment and Health as well as the Water Authority of Jordan, Jordan Valley Authority, International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

During a session held on April 1, 2019, at Land and Water Days, which took place in Cairo from March 31 to April 4, 2019, Javier Mateo Sagasta, leader of the ReWater MENA project (J.Mateo-Sagasta@cgiar.org), called for expressions of interest in contributing to a three-volume regional sourcebook.

On March 14, 2019, the ReWater Mena project held Egypt’s first National Steering Committee meeting, which brought together representatives from the uptake partners (Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Housing); project partners leading implementation of project activities in Egypt at the local and national levels – the International Centre for Agriculture in the Dry areas (ICARDA) and Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE); and representatives from the Arab Water Council (AWC) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), which leads the project.

The ReWater Mena project convened its partners in Cairo on February 12-14, 2019, for training in stakeholder engagement, facilitated by a consultancy firm. Partners took part in a simulation game dealing with project case studies to examine issues around strategic planning and management as well as different approaches to stakeholder engagement.

The IWMI Rewater MENA project team recently visited a number of stakeholders in Lebanon to explain the project’s objectives, outputs and potential benefits. During this visit, the team visited two wastewater treatment facilities in the Bekaa region of Lebanon.

Throughout November 2018, ReWater MENA held a series of meetings with its donor and partners to discuss the project’s progress and plan next steps for implementation.