Tunisia to bolster information systems on water resources in the Mediterranean
TUNISIAONLINENEWS- A topic of utmost importance to the region, the problem of water resources around both shores of the Mediterranean and especially on its southern shore, is summoning the attention of specialists and decision makers.
In line with this concern, a seminar was held on Thursday at the Tunis Planetarium on the theme “The national information system on water in the Mediterranean: the case of Tunisia’s national information system on water”.
Tunisian experts and representatives of the World Bank (WB), the French Development Agency (FDA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Commission and the German Cooperation Agency in Tunis, took part in the event.
During the opening ceremony, Mr. Abdessalem Mansour, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, stressed that the national information system on water in Tunisia is among the leading PISEAU projects.
This program which is funded by the WB, AfDB and FDA, will last 4 years (2009-2013) and is responsible for the management of groundwater resources.
The national information system on water, which was created following a study on the sector, represents an important strategy and an appropriate platform for exchanging expertise in the water sector either locally or in partnership with Mediterranean countries, he said.
“It is also a common reference on the water suitable for national and international standards”, he added.
Since 1999, Tunisia has adhered the Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector (EMWIS) through the use of new information and communication technologies.
Communication and exchange with the system are assigned to the Office of Evaluation and Hydraulic Research .
In this context, the minister reviewed Tunisia’s efforts to mobilize and ensure better management of water resources, reiterating the importance given to President Ben Ali to this issue, through the establishment of a coherent legislative framework and ambitious projects included among the items of the 2009-2014 presidential program.
Tunisia’s aim is to achieve a rate of mobilization of water resources amounting to 95% by end 2011 and ensure the country’s needs in waters over the short, medium and long terms.
For his part, Mr. Walter Mazzitti, EMWIS’s CEO, hailed the efforts made by the Tunisian government to ensure an active membership in this system and its will to develop cooperation with other Mediterranean countries.
Mr. Mazziti, added that Tunisia is one of the first countries to join the system and the targeted goal remains the preservation of water resources, the development and improvement of water quality, as well as the strengthening of Euro -Mediterranean expertise on water.
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