Water Governance & Mainstreaming: The objective is to support institutional strengthening by ensuring that national water strategies and plans properly address issues of sustainable water resources management based on internationally accepted principles of IWRM, and to mainstream water considerations in other relevant sectoral policies and strategies as well as in national development plans.

Capacity Building: The objective is to contribute to the empowerment of water related institutions and to strengthen competent national and regional training institutions and professional networks that will also continue SWIM activities beyond the duration of the Programme.

Application of Water Management Plans: The objective is to strengthen intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral dialogue as well as exchange of experience in liaison with other on-going initiatives (e.g Horizon 2020 and MED EUWI) and projects.

Identification of good practices and success stories in the region and beyond: The objective is to identify and promote good practices and success stories on water management.

Development of a Communication and Awareness Raising Strategy: The objective is to develop a regional strategy for communication and awareness raising to be applied regionally and nationally. The strategy will target key players inside and outside the water sector, stakeholders, civil society, the media and the general public in the Partner countries.

Support the EC with the overall coordination of the SWIM Programme, particularly by assisting Demonstration projects and strengthening the interactions and communication between these and the activities implemented under the Support Mechanism.

Consortium
SWIM-Support Mechanism is implemented by a Consortium that was awarded the four year contract to manage the project and assists Partners Countries during its implementation.

The Consortium is formed by a combination of nine international and regional companies and institutions.

-    LDK Consultants Engineers & Planners SA: Leader of the Consortium
-    Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA)
-    Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED)
-    DHV B.V.
-    Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean (GWP-Med)
-    Greek Ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Department of International Relations & EU Affairs
-    Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water, General Directorate of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources
-    Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Bureau de l’Inventaire et des Recherches Hydrauliques / Direction Générale des Ressources en Eau
-    Umweltbundesamt GmbH - Environment Agency, Austria

The Consortium has established a regional office for the project in Cairo, Egypt and a backstopping office in LDK Headquarters in Athens, Greece. Four key experts form the Technical Team, namely a Team Leader, a Water Expert, an Environmental Expert and a Communications and Public Consultation Expert. The Technical Team is responsible for carrying out and overseeing all aspects of the project and ensure the quality of its deliverables. A large pool of non-key experts is complementing the main body of services.

Board Committee
Formed by SWIM-SM Consortium Members and the Team Leader it is the governance body responsible and accountable for the delivery of the project, for meeting the Partner Countries (PCs) needs and providing guidance and overview during the project delivery.

Steering Committee
Formed by representatives of the EC, the Consortium and the PCs, it’s role is to monitor, evaluate and provide overall guidance for the project.

National Focal Points
The Ministry of Water/Irrigation in the PCs is the official counterpart of the Project. A National Focal Point is officially nominated by the Ministry to be the counterpart of SWIM-SM Technical Team.
For the list of National Focal Points click here

Environment Liaison Officer
It is nominated by the Ministry of the Environment and ensures synergy with the water activities financed under Horizon 2020 and other regional activities (GEF, MAP etc.). For optimum coordination, it has been suggested that the Horizon 2020 Focal Point takes up the role of SWIM Liaison Officer.
For the list of Environment Liaison Officers click here

The project’s Inception Phase ran from the end of December 2010 to August 2011.

It involved a range of assessments, fact-finding missions, synergy building, awareness raising and prioritising activities in the Partner Countries (PCs) and the Mediterranean.

The technical work concretised the project’s context and led to the identification of four Thematic Pillars around which the envisaged activities will be structured and implemented. At the same time, the management and operational structure of the project was established.

The four Thematic Pillars and 1st Year Work Plan of SWIM-SM

Four Thematic Pillars have emerged as regional priorities for the water sector upon which SWIM-SM can build and establish the ground for regional cooperation by structuring and implementing its activities accordingly.

The context and objectives of these four Thematic Pillars are as follows:

A. Non Conventional Water Resources
The objective is to assist the SWIM Partners Countries with (a) enhancing the policy, institutional and legal framework for the management of non-conventional water resources, within the IWRM context, and (b) strengthening the institutional capacity and public participation for the planning and management of these resources. The main non-conventional water resources are: re-use of treated wastewater, including its use in the recharge of groundwater aquifers and, as a last resort, desalination, using renewable energy where technically and economically feasible, and minimising environmental impacts.
The components of this Pillar are five-fold: (a) Strategy formulation for the use of non conventional resources, (b) Improving the legal framework in order to anchor the use of non-conventional water resources in the national water and environmental laws and regulations; (c) Developing the institutional framework for managing non-conventional water resources with stakeholders' participation, (d) Enhancing the environmental and social safeguards for the use of non-conventional water resources, and mitigating their adverse environmental and social effects and (e) Building capacity and awareness to increase knowledge on technologies and promote social acceptance.

B. Economic Valuation of Water Pollution Abatement Interventions
The specific objective of this Pillar is to: (a) update the estimates on the annual costs of water degradation in selected basins or water sheds in the PCs; (b) identify in specific basins in three PCs two priority remedial actions of highly polluted water; (c) build capacity in PCs on environmental valuation and (d) involve stakeholders in the particular basins through consultation to build consensus and dissemination of results at the watershed /basin level.
The components of this Pillar are four-fold: (a) Calculate the Cost of environmental degradation at the basin level, due to water pollution with the aim to place a monetary value on the consequences of the degradation; (b) Cost Benefit or Cost Effectiveness Analyses of Remedial Actions and Preparation of Investment Plans for 1-2 basins in 3 PCs including estimates in monetary terms for the overall social, economic and environmental benefits linked to remedial alternatives. (c) Building the capacity of the decision makers at the subnational/basin level and the Universities to transfer knowledge, especially with regards to the methodologies used for the preparation of investment plans and (d) Validation and dissemination of the Investment Plans at the Watershed/Basin Level to build consensus on the investment plans, seek the Government support to implement and replicate the investment plans.

C. No Regret Actions for the Adaptation of the Water Sector to Climate Change
The overarching objective of this Pillar is to: (a) support selected PCs in their climate change adaptation efforts for developing no regret actions through technical assistance, policy guidance, capacity development and awareness, (b) strengthen the institutional and technical capacity for designing and implementing concrete no regret adaptation actions; and (c) improve governance in water planning, allocation and service delivery, increasing awareness and disseminating climate change information.
The components of this Pillar are four-fold: (a) Compilation of all available information and assessment of the adequacy of the institutional and technical capacities to undertake proposed no-regret actions for CC adaptation at the national level; (b) Development of no-regret actions in the water sector for addressing the water scarcity at the local or basin level; (c) Improving water governance to ensure the public acceptance and compliance with suggested no-regret actions for CC adaptation; and (d) Increasing awareness on the immediate need of the water sector for no regret actions to adapt to CC and improving resilience of communities.

D. Water Governance at the Local Level: Sharing Experiences from Water Users’ Associations
The proposed Pillar aims to (a) Identify concrete actions for improving local water management and reinforcing users’ participation; (b) Assess the adequacy of water legislations for the establishment and effective operation of WUAs and identify opportunities for updating and/or amending water legislation; (c) Provide WUAs with tools that would enable them to be actively involved in decision-making in the water sector on selected areas and at the local level, and (d) create partnerships among policy makers, civil society and local communities in ways that enhance mutual trust and collaboration.
The components of this Pillar are five-fold: (a) Preparation of a regional report on the status of water users’ participation; (b) Organisation of a regional workshop to promote the exchange of experiences among the countries in the region; (c) Legal framework assessment and identification of opportunities for updating and/or amending water legislation; (d) Training activities to assist the establishment of pilot WUAs and (e) Pilot activities to strengthen WAUs in accordance with national regulations.

For more information on the four Thematic Pillars click here

The activities and outcomes of this first period of the project as well as the Work Plan for the first year of implementation are summarised in the SWIM-SM Inception Report: a Brief Version.
 

1. Water Governance & Mainstreaming: The objective is to support institutional strengthening by ensuring that national water strategies and plans properly address issues of sustainable water resources management based on internationally accepted principles of IWRM, and to mainstream water considerations in other relevant sectoral policies and strategies as well as in national development plans.

2. Capacity Building: The objective is to contribute to the empowerment of water related institutions and to strengthen competent national and regional training institutions and professional networks that will also continue SWIM activities beyond the duration of the Programme.

3. Application of Water Management Plans: The objective is to strengthen intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral dialogue as well as exchange of experience in liaison with other on-going initiatives (e.g Horizon 2020 and MED EUWI) and project.

4. Identification of good practices and success stories in the region and beyond: The objective is to identify and promote good practices and success stories on water management.

5. Development of a Communication and Awareness Raising Strategy: The objective is to develop a regional strategy for communication and awareness raising to be applied regionally and nationally. The strategy will target key players inside and outside the water sector, stakeholders, civil society, the media and the general public in the Partner countries.

6.  Support the EC with the overall coordination of the SWIM Programme, particularly by assisting Demonstration projects and strengthening the interactions and communication between these and the activities implemented under the Support Mechanism.