For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020This initiative is funded by the European Commission through DG EuropeAid.
For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020Stern preventive measures need to be taken if industrial pollution is to be curbed in the near future. In response to this reality, a Horizon 2020 CB/MEP capacity building training course took place in Beirut on 29-30 September 2011 and another in Ramallah on 2-4 October 2011. At the core of both trainings were the principles of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) based on the application of an integrated environmental approach to the regulation of industrial activities. The courses also introduced the Cleaner Production (CP) concept which is considered to be an efficient tool for implementation of Best Available Techniques (BAT).
ENPI-SEIS has already conducted country visits to the following five partners in the South: Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Palestinian Authority and Israel. These two-day visits brought together existing country networks, which manage environmental information, to identify country-specific elements and needs related to SEIS components (content, infrastructure, institutional cooperation), to obtain feedback on country specific needs and readiness for SEIS implementation in the priority areas identified, to formulate possible pilot actions if the country expresses interest to do so, as well as to contribute to the further priority development and possible identification of common indicators. After the visits, the National Focal Points in each country will prepare together with EEA a country report, including concrete lists of actions to be implemented. This report is a key element for the development of SEIS in the neighbourhood countries since it is designed to engage the country in reflecting on the current state-of-play and future development needs of the three SEIS components.
The Hot Spot Inventory for the West Balkans and Turkey launched under Horizon 2020 in September 2010 to complement the existing inventory for the Southern Mediterranean countries covered by MeHSIP, was completed in June 2011. Together with the countries, the project aimed to identify environmental hot spot investments and appropriate funding sources that will significantly contribute to the de-pollution of the Mediterranean by 2020.
The first half of 2011 has been especially fruitful regarding the groundwork for investment projects. More specifically: Four feasibility studies are currently being prepared or carried out for the investment projects in Lake Burullus/Kafr El Sheikh (Egypt), Al Ekaider (Jordan), Al Ghadir (Lebanon) and Lake Bizerte (Tunisia). MeHSIP-PPIF has completed the pre-feasibility study stage of another two potential investment projects in Egypt (in Alexandria and Marsa Matruh).
