This activity aims to improve compliance with water and aquatic environment regulations in the two countries by:
• Strengthening the coordination among water relevant sectors for defining the water activities classification, the permitting system and the related administrative sanctions.
• Proposing amendments to the penal sanction classification and definitions to fit a large number and most common violations experienced in each of the two countries.
• Developing an action oriented plan for creating and/or enhancing a corps of specialized engineers having sufficient inspectorate capacity force at relevant administrative level.
• Designing a national capacity building training program including study tours for prosecutors and magistrates to enable them prosecute water and aquatic environment violations in courts of law.

It is a further step in the series of activities carried out by SWIM-SM towards improving compliance and enhancing national enforcement capacities and including:

• Regional Guidelines on measures for improving compliance with water legislations and assessing the available enforcement capacity and mechanisms currently practiced in the South Mediterranean Region with focus on Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco
• A Capacity development program for water & environment prosecutors and Investigators, including a 3-day Workshop followed by a 12-days study tour in 3 European countries (June 2013)
• An assessment of current legislative capacity and legal procedures for the prosecution of violators of water legislation and guidelines with focus on Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Effective water governance and rule of law in particular, were identified as some of the main constraints to sustainable and integrated Water Resources Management during the regional dialogue organized by SWIM-SM in 2012. Rule of law was found to be often hampered by insufficient policies, inadequate legislative and regulatory frameworks, ill prepared judiciary systems, limited technical and institutional capacities and lack of appropriate modalities and operating systems to ensure compliance through enforcement.
Hence the importance for supporting South Mediterranean countries in their efforts to improve relevant National policies, legislations and practices through the above mentioned interventions and this activity with focus on Lebanon and Palestine.