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MIDDLE EAST
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The News N° 24
Palestine
Palestinian Water Authority (PWA)
Training of Palestinian staffs
on the design and operation
of wastewater treatment plants
Alongside the technical and financial partners
(USAID, GTZ, AFD, JICA, etc.) supporting the
modernization and improvement of drinking
water supply and sanitation infrastructure in
the Palestinian Territories, many French stake-
holders of Decentralized Cooperation are
implementing technical assistance projects
with the Palestinian local Authorities.
Among these,
the Adour-Garonne Water
Agency is heavily involved with the
Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) in
projects in the sanitation sector.
The sanitation sector is one
of the priorities of the Palestinian
Water Authority
Just over 30% of households in the West Bank
are connected to sewers. Wastewaters are not
or little treated, their discharge into the natural
environment contributes to contaminate
groundwater. The reuse of treated wastewater
is not yet developed but is wanted by the
Palestinian Authority.
In the West Bank, the only large wastewater
treatment unit operating satisfactorily in 2012
was that of Al-Bireh, near Ramallah.
In this context, the Adour-Garonne
Water Agency asked to the International
Office for Water to organize two training
courses in October and November 2013
on the sizing and operating conditions
of wastewater treatment plants for exe-
cutives of the PWA and Palestinian local
Authorities.
It is planned that after these two courses, a
study visit to France of Palestinian engineers
will be organized by the Adour-Garonne
Water Agency.
Building on the success of these training pro-
grams, the Agency intends to extend such
actions in 2014.
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Jordan
”This is water”,
Conference on Water
and Agriculture
As a continuation of the 6
th
World Water
Forum, and under the International Year of
Water Cooperation,
the Royal Scientific
Society of Jordan (RSS) and the French
Institute of Jordan organized in
Amman, from 4 to 6 June 2013, a day
of roundtables on Water and Agricul-
ture,
inaugurated by Her Royal Highness
Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President
of the RSS and Ms. Caroline Dumas, French
Ambassador in Jordan.
IOWater was invited to present the
French system of water resources allo-
cation between sectors and the parti-
cipation of users and the public in this
process.
In the context of the Arab Spring, of the gro-
wing imbalance between water needs and
available resources in Jordan and, at a time
when the Jordanian authorities are actively
thinking about involving the users in water
management, this presentation, followed
by a discussion with the water authorities
and representatives of
the Highland
Water Forum,
was particularly fruitful.
The Highland Water Forum is a pilot project
of the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irri-
gation for the implementation of the dia-
logue principle in the local management of
scarce and shared groundwater resources,
supported by GIZ, in close cooperation with
the French Embassy.
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FRom one conTinenT To anoTHeR
PALESTINIAN WATERAUTHORITY
Training course carried out
in October 2013
Exchange between the Ministry
and farmers’ representatives
Construction of the Al-Tireh plant in Ramallah (25,000 pop-eq)
