Developing plans to adapt to climate change in the Rmel river basin
Climate change and other pressures are affecting the environment and water resources in the Rmel river basin. Plans are needed on how to adapt the management of the river basin and its water resources to changing future conditions.
Scientists from the National Research Institute for Rural Engineering Water and Forestry (INRGREF)are involved in the BeWater project and have organised several workshops to discuss water management in the context of global change for the Rmel River Basin. In a first workshop the participants identified challenges related to water management and discussed options to deal with these challenges. In a second workshop and a consultation, no less than 19 options were refined and evaluated. Preferred options were Consolidation of existing water and soil conservation techniques, use of water irrigation technologies and awareness campaign and learning on natural resources management.
On Thursday April 7th 2016 , a fourth workshop will be organised in Tunis in close cooperation with experts from Ecologic Institute. The workshop will focus on the development of a Rmel River Basin Adaptation Plan. The workshop will consist of interactive sessions to identify how options identified in the previous workshops can be combined and whether there are potential synergies and conflicts between them. Furthermore, the workshop will explore how the options can be eventually implemented in practice.Participants of the workshop will include amongst others representatives of various sectors, such as: agriculture , irrigation ,water and soil conservation, tourism, development, education ,civil society (NGOs and associations) ,industry , environment ,etc.
“In previous workshops, we discussed with stakeholders what options we have to adapt and prepare the Rmel river basin to various pressures and challenges, including climate change. Now we will look at these options altogether and how they could be actually implemented” says Dr. Sihem Jebari, who is a researcher at INRGREF and is coordinating the Rmel case study in the BeWater project.
Similar workshops are carried out in three other river basins in the Mediterranean area, located in Cyprus, Slovenia and Spain. The four river basins cover different environmental and socio-economic settings within the Mediterranean area.
The BeWater Project receives funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration. The project aims to develop River Basin Adaptation plans in the Mediterranean through citizen participation. For more information, please contact Sihem Jebari.
