WP participates in Middle East Water Conference
On 21 and 22 December 2008 the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Water took place at the King Talal Conference Center at the Dead Sea in Jordan. The Conference was organized within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean Region (UMR) established on the initiative of President Mubarak and President Sarkozy in July 2008.
Water Partner participated in this conference as advisor to the Netherlands Ambassador to the UMR, Mr. Sjoerd Leenstra.
Th UMR is a new international body with 43 member nations aimed at ending conflicts in the Middle East. The Union will tackle issues such as regional unrest, immigration, pollution control and water management. Comprising 27 EU members, and 16 states from North Africa, the Balkans, Israel and the Arab world, the union's membership will include totally 756 million people.
The Conference in Jordan was attended by water ministers and ambassadors of all Mediterranean bordering states and EU Members States, as well as representatives of civil societies and international financial institutes with active involvements in the Mediterranean. The Netherlands Delegation to this Conference was headed by Mr. Sjoerd Leenstra, Special Ambassador to the Union for the Mediterranean on behalf of the Netherlands.During the Conference, the Netherlands Delegation offered to organize a follow-up seminar, later in 2009 in the Netherlands, around the subjects of “Water Foot Printing” and “Virtual Water Trade”. These are scientific tools to quantify the total volume of water that is used to produce all goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of a particular country. These tools can contribute to rationalizing water related problems and potential solutions at a larger economic scale. This can help in moving away from crisis management approach towards a more strategic approach towards demand management and water saving policies.
For more information, visit: www.medaquaministerial2008.net