International conference on Water Governance in Sana’a [Archives:2006/963/Local News]
By: Amel Alariqi
SANA'A, 11 July ) An International conference on Water Governance in the Middle East and North Africa, MENA Region, will take place in Sana'a from 16th to 20th July 2006, and will be hosted by the Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment. The conference will be supported by the Yemeni German Cooperation, water sector program, GTZ.
According to a press release issued on Sunday, one hundred and twenty participants will attend the conference, titled 'Water Governance in MENA Region: The Current Situation'. The participants will include high level representatives of ministries and national authorities, senior government advisors, senior researchers, national and international development experts and representatives of private sector and non-governmental organizations.
The press release mentioned that the critical review of the water management situation in the MENA region will analyze trends and future outlooks, reviewing experiences and identifying key issues with water sector governance. Appropriate governance policies and strategies will be identified, focusing on the needs and future direction of capacity building strategies for improved governance. The strengthening of regional cooperation and networking will also be discussed at the conference.
This conference is a part of a four year program on capacity building in the water sector for the MENA region. This program has been formulated by InWEnt, Capacity Building International, acting on behalf of the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The program, with its regional partner, the Arab Water Council, is focusing on eight countries: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.
The four year program consists of a number of training events and seminars in addition to three international conferences; the first conference is that which will be held in Sana'a on Sunday 16th July. The second will take place in Cairo in 2007, under the title 'Water Governance in MENA Region: Critical Issues and the way forward'. The third conference will be held in 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain, under the name 'Water future to 2025 for the MENA Region', according to the press release.
The press release also mentioned that “the outputs of the program will include the improvement of institutional performance, the awareness of policy-makers of the priority issues involved, and a functional network on water issues within the MENA Region”.
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