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The EU-funded Water and Environment Support (WES) project, aimed at improving water resource management and environmental protection across 8 countries of the Mediterranean, has successfully concluded its 5.5-year journey. The closing conference, held in Athens on 8 October 2024, marked the culmination of this impactful regional project, which has served not only as a capacity building and technical assistance support mechanism, but also as a catalyst for collaboration and knowledge exchange among countries in the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU.
Launched in 2019 and led by LDK Consultants S.A., the WES project was designed to tackle some of the Mediterranean region’s most pressing environmental challenges, including water scarcity, pollution prevention, and water use efficiency. Over the course of its implementation, the project successfully delivered more than 100 demand-driven activities, ranging from training sessions and study visits to peer-to-peer exchanges and consultation meetings. These efforts engaged more than 2,200 stakeholders from eight Partner Countries (PCs) in North Africa and the Middle East, fostering long-term capacity building and knowledge sharing. Key achievements included the development of action plans, policy documents, technical guidelines, and roadmaps addressing critical issues. See the booklet and video summarizing the WES project’s achievements and impact.
Due it its success, WES has been extended for another three years, enriched with elements addressing biodiversity restoration and climate action, hence its expanded title “WES-BCA: Water and Environment Support – Biodiversity and Climate Action in the Neighbourhood South region”. The goal of WES-BCA is to enhance the capacity of various stakeholders in the MENA countries involved in pollution prevention and reduction, protection of biodiversity and water resources management, in order to support them in formulating and/or implementing the corresponding policies. It also aims to raise awareness, increase knowledge and improve public understanding, stimulating thus behavioural changes needed for appropriate climate action and environmental protection.
In fact, MIO-ECSDE will be leading this latter awareness raising and outreach component of WES-BCA, addressing key sectors and the wider public, with emphasis on women and youth. It will support the adoption of appropriate attitudes towards improved climate action and the region’s shift to a more sustainable consumption and production model.
In the words of its Team Leader, Prof. Michael Scoullos, “WES-BCA will upscale WES achievements and aim for deepening countries’ understanding and strengthening skills in integrated approaches such as the water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus in the Mediterranean Source to Sea continuum, as jointly promoted by the EU, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Barcelona Convention at regional level”. Limiting plastic pollution and marine litter, also from riverine sources, will continue to be a priority aim.
The Consortium members of WES-BCA are: LDK CONSULTANTS S.A. (Leader), the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), the Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+), CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE), and MedWaves, the Regional Activity Centre of UNEP/MAP for Sustainable Consumption and Production.
Read in French here