The relationship of water with the environment is complex. Yet a simple truth exists: water is a precondition for life and the sustainability of the planet. 

When waters are abundant, the environment thrives. A healthy source of water creates security for nature and livelihoods. On the other hand, water scarcity diminishes abundance, resulting in dependent and vulnerable ecosystems and communities. In the Mediterranean region, the growing water shortage along with the negative consequences of climate change have surfaced pressing challenges. The region is home to 60% of the world’s “poor” with regard to water (those with less than 1,000 m3 per inhabitant per year). That’s 20 million people, especially in the region’s southern and eastern countries, who lack access to drinking water​. Water scarcity and related stress are expected to get worse …. unless there is change. 

This level of crisis demands change. A sustainable future is possible by embracing innovative, integrated approaches to natural resource management and prevention of pollution. Now is the time to rewrite a new narrative on consumption and production. In a world touched indelibly with the consequences of climate change, these new stories can become both the testament of what is possible as well as the promise of what a sustainable future can be.   

The waters flowing through the Mediterranean region, crossing diverse ecosystems, cultures and communities, can either carry pollution and wastes or bear innovative and integrated approaches. The Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region project focuses squarely on the management of scarce water resources as the way to prevent and protect natural resources. Through technical support solutions, the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI South) funded project contributes to the implementation of an integrated approach to pollution reduction and prevention, in line with the Union for the Mediterranean agendas and the Barcelona Convention.  

How we achieve our goals 

WES is a programme devoted to supporting and enabling a transition to sustainable consumption and production. The WES approach is holistic and multifaceted, aiming to create and sustain understanding, cooperation and peace throughout the region. To accomplish this goal, WES: 

• promotes integrated and efficient management of water;
• combats plastic pollution and marine litter; and
• fosters dialogue on key environmental and sustainable development issues.

The project aims to strengthen the efficient use of water in urban and rural areas, deliver appropriate treatment of waste water to allow for use/re-use, as well as cost-recovery and affordability of water services. WES works with a wide range of stakeholders, such as: national, regional and local authorities; private sector; civil society; academia; media; and parliamentarians. The MedWaves partnership will focus on the following:  

 1: Curbing Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter 

The programme will provide tailored and targeted support to promote and scale-up best practice measures and implement follow-up actions. This galvanises ongoing efforts to implement the Barcelona Convention Regional Plan for Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean and operationalises key elements of the Plastics Strategy towards a paradigm shift to sustainable consumption and production.  Additionally, the programme will align with the EU Plastics Strategy in order to: 

• Support marine litter monitoring and assessment on beaches, the sea surface and seafloor.
• Develop measures, such as fees/taxes/levies, to reduce the production/consumption of plastics, with a special emphasis on single-use plastics (SUPs) (i.e. cutlery, plates, straws, cotton bud sticks, food containers, etc.) and fishing gear.
• Establish derelict fishing gear schemes and measures to reinforce the application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle and impose an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime for fishing gear to ensure that manufacturers, not fishermen, bear the cost of collecting nets lost in the sea.
• Improve port reception facilities in line with the guidelines currently elaborated by UN Environment/MAP and for provision of reception facilities in ports and delivery of ship-generated waste, and the application of reasonable charges for the use of port reception facilities or when applicable, the no-special-fee system.
• Raise awareness of the use of alternatives to SUPs.

2: Promotion of Circular Economy  

WES will support policy makers, local authorities, industry and the business community towards a rapid but sound shift to SCP, while providing for a multi-stakeholder dialogue to identify challenges and legal and economic solutions/instruments (like EPR) that boost Circular Economy and SCP. WES will continue in terms of promoting mechanisms, tools and conditions for shifting to sustainable material resources management with somewhat of an emphasis on plastics. 

3: Prevention and Reduction of Pollution reaching the Mediterranean from Specific Industrial Sectors 

WES will focus on the Olive Oil and Cement sectors (without ruling out others such as Iron and Steel Mills, Chemicals, Textiles, Energy production). Increasing living standards and rapid urbanisation and expansion of “infrastructures” (roads, airports, etc.) have brought a construction “fever” in most of the countries of the region. This has resulted in a considerable increase of Construction & Demolition waste (C&D). 

In many cases, uncontrolled wastes are deposited in coastal areas and river banks. In response, WES will inform stakeholders about state of the art technology, organisation and practices of handling C&D, and the recovery of high quality materials. This will eventually involve the informal sector, including treatment and disposal technologies taking into account  energy demands and saving potentials. 

The overall aim is to maximise the sustainability of C&D management, demonstrating that  design/processes/operations will lead to reduced environmental impact. The production of guidelines will illustrate best practices in the environmental performance of site activities. 

4: Support in Mainstreaming and Implementing Integrated Environmental Management in Selected Coastal Systems (areas) 

The majority of the Mediterranean countries-parties to the Barcelona Convention have committed to prepare Integrated Coastal Zone Management plans. Most of the WES Partner Countries are in the process of searching for appropriate modalities, synergies and expertise to prepare these plans. 

Similarly, the Barcelona Convention parties have agreed to implement the Ecosystem Based Approach (EBA) in their plans, which implies that a series of criteria and objectives need to be observed in preparing strategic frameworks, policies, and management plans, with active  stakeholder participation. Expertise on these issues is still quite limited. 

Sharing of experience by WES will greatly facilitate authorities to address challenges and difficulties related to the implementation of such an approach. 

The Foundation of WES 

WES is grounded among an effective consortium of partners responsible for delivering and implementing the programme. The partnerships are created among long-standing synergies and mutual complementarity. Each consortium partner contributes an area of expertise and experience, from in-depth knowledge in pollution reduction to assessment of water resources and awareness raising. 

The consortium is led by LDK Consultants Global EEIG, together with MedWaves the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for SCP, Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+), CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Gopa Infra GmbH, Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE), Ramboll Danmark A/S and Royal HaskoningDHV. 

WES targets problems related to pollution prevention and water use efficiency, building on the experiences of previous successful EU funded regional projects such as: Horizon 2020 CB/MEP; SWIM SM; SWIM-Horizon 2020 SM.  Key to the success in delivering to these targets is empowered communities. Therefore, WES programming strives to increase the capacity of stakeholders in the region in order to create the conditions for knowledge exchange and ownership in the Partner Countries (PCs). 

The official WES PCs are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. In order to promote coherence and regional cooperation, many actions can be extended to neighbouring countries in the Southern Neighbourhood region. 

MedWaves’s role:  

MedWaves is a consortium member. As a Mediterranean hub for development and innovation through sustainable consumption and production (SCP), the centre’s focus is on plastic pollution prevention and support for green sustainable businesses. 

In the Environment component of WES, MedWaves actively supports prevention of pollution reaching the Mediterranean Sea and minimises marine litter and plastics through supporting sustainable consumption and production. Activities under this component are very closely aligned with the Horizon 2020 Initiative’s priorities, national policies and needs of the Partner Countries as well as with the regional priorities of the Union for the Mediterranean, UNEP/MAP and other regional initiatives.