Project acronym:

GEWAMED

Project full title:

Mainstreaming Gender Dimension into Water Resources Development and Management in the Mediterranean Region

Duration:

5 years (2005 – 2009)

Objectives of the Project:

The overall objective of GEWAMED is to contribute to the mainstreaming of gender dimensions in the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Mediterranean Region, by promoting a dialogue among the countries of the Region and establishing regional and national information networks and coordination structures to promote the adoption of gender sensitive policies and build a common knowledge base.

The above objective is being achieved through the following strategic objectives:

  1. Building a national and regional shared knowledge base on gender issues, policies, actions and measures to support gender mainstreaming in all processes related to IWRM;
  2. Enhance the cooperation and dialogue among Mediterranean countries but also within each country promoting the exchange of information and its dissemination among national governmental agencies, NGO’s research institutions, international organizations, private sector and communication media involved in gender-related issues and the water sector;
  3. Contribute to the adoption of national policies and other related instruments (strategies, approaches, guidelines, incentives and legislation) by involving decision-makers and politicians in the processes of mainstreaming gender dimensions in IWRM.

Expected Project Results:

The strategic objectives are being achieved through the activities that are being undertaken under seven work packages. The project’s results are closely linked to the intended objectives, as follows:

Related to Strategic Objective 1: Building a national and regional shared knowledge base

Output 1:

Establishment of a national web site in at least 6 countries of the South-East Mediterranean Region (SEMR). This region covers 9 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. In principle, the following countries are priority: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey.

Output 2:

Development of a structured national information system on gender issues related to water resources development and management in each of the MP countries participating in the Project and made available to all potential users of the web site. This includes the development of gender sensitive indicators.

Output 3:

Development of a regional information system dedicated to gender issues in the domain of IWRM where information of a regional interest will be stored and disseminated.

Related to Strategic Objective 2: Enhance the cooperation and dialogue at regional and national level

Output 4:

Improved cooperation among partners and external organizations interested in this subject through the participation in regional workshops and national seminars.

Output 5:

Improved coordination and dissemination of information at national level by establishing a National Central Focal Point in the SEMR countries.

Output 6:

Greater awareness of the society in general and in the agricultural sector in particular of the importance of gender issues in the water sector.

Output 7:

Dissemination of the results of the project to larger audiences.

Related to Strategic Objective 3: Contribute to the adoption of gender national policies and other related instruments

Output 8:

Contributing to the adoption of SEMR countries of policies and/or other instruments (strategies, approaches, guidelines, incentives, legislation)
promoting a gender mainstreaming in the planning, development and management of water resources.

Participants List:

For the establishment of the proposed Consortium of partners, several criteria were used, based on the recommendations made at the INGEDI Workshop (Integration of Gender Dimension) and other previous meetings for assessing the interest, relevance and capacity for implementing the work programme. The following national institutions from North and South East Mediterranean countries, international organizations and NGOs were selected as partners to GEWAMED project. 18 partners were selected and these are:

  1. Mediterranean Agronomic Institute - Bari (CIHEAM – MAIB) Italy;
  2. Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée pour le Développement (CREAD) Algeria;
  3. National Water Research Center – Strategic Research Unit (NWRC – MWRI/SRU) Egypt;
  4. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan (UJ-FA) Jordan;
  5. Association Marocaine de Solidarité et de Développement (AMSED) Morocco;
  6. Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) Palestine;
  7. The Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR) Tunisia;
  8. Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) Egypt;
  9. Cukurova University – Faculty of Agriculture (CUKUR) Turkey;
  10. Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Cyprus;
  11. Mediterranean Office for Environment, Cultural and Sustainable Development (MIOECSD) Greece;
  12. Osservatorio Nazionale per l’Imprenditoria ed il Lavoro Famminile in Agricoltura (ONILFA) Italy;
  13. General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (GCSAR) Syria;
  14. International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage. Italian Committee (ITALICTD) Italy;
  15. Instituto Andaluz de la Mujer – Junta de Andalucia (IAM – JA) Spain;
  16. African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) Morocco;
  17. René Moawad Foundation (RMF) Lebanon;
  18. Programme Solidarité Eau (pS-Eau) France.

The project involves other institutions and interested parties of the region to amplify objectives and impact but they are not formal part of the Consortium (such as FAO). FAO attends all GEWAMED’s Workshops and moderates some sessions.

Implementation Plan: Activities

Activities have been grouped into seven Work Packages as follows:

Work Package 1: Building of a National Knowledge Base for Coordination, Communication and Dissemination

Work Package 2: Building of a Regional Knowledge Base for Coordination, Communication and Dissemination (via Internet)

Work Package 3: Maintenance Gender Dimensions in Water Management for Food Security and Food Safety

Work Package 4: Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions in Water Management for Rural Development

Work Package 5: Political and Institutional Gender Dimensions in Water Resources Management

Work Package 6: Inter-regional Conference on Integration of Gender Dimensions in Water Management

Work Package 7: Management and Coordination.

Implemented Activities under the Seven Work Packages:

First Year (2006)

  1. Project Kick-off Meeting was held in Bari (Italy), 20-21 February 2006. During the meeting the structure of the regional and national communication networks via Internet was discussed. The proceedings of the kick-off Meeting were published and disseminated;
  2. Creation of the National Websites in the concerned countries. Characteristics of the data base to be used were defined;
  3. A proposal for a set of gender sensitive indicators to be used in the project were prepared;
  4. The conceptual framework to improve private and public awareness and education at different society levels was initiated but it will be completed only in the third year;
  5. The system for monitoring project activities was implemented;
  6. Preparation of annual report.

Second Year (2007)

  1. The regional workshop on “Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions in Water Management for Food Security and Food Safety” was organized in Larnaca
    (Cyprus), 12-14 March 2007. The preparation for this Workshop required considerable time from all participants. The proceedings were published and
    disseminated;
  2. The establishment of a National Central Focal Point in each of the SEMR countries was initiated. Its completion was expected during the year but in some countries some additional time was required in order to have a more participative implementation;
  3. National and regional Networks continued to function and enrich the base knowledge;
  4. National policy seminars were initiated;
  5. Preparation of annual report.

Third Year (2008)

  1. The Regional Workshop on Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions in Water Management for Rural Development was organized in Tunis (Tunisia), 18-24 May 2008. As with the other events its preparation took considerable time as participants reported on the progress and achievements in their respective
    countries regarding the main topics of the workshop;
  2. Report on the establishment of structured channels for disseminating and exchanging information was prepared in each SEMR country;
  3. Policy national seminars are being organized in each of the SEMR countries;
  4. National policy seminars are being completed;
  5. Proceedings of national policy seminars will be prepared;
  6. Preparation of annual report.

Fourth Year (2009)

  1. Organization and undertaking of an Inter-Regional Conference on Integration of Gender Dimension in Water Management to be held in April 2009 in Amman (Jordan). This will be an activity requiring considerable time for its preparation but also for the project partners, as they will have to report on the achievements obtained;
  2. Preparation, publication and dissemination of the conference proceedings;
  3. A major document integrating and harmonizing the results and outputs derived from project activities will be prepared by Bari Institute with the contribution of all participants. The document will be presented at the Conference;
  4. Completion of several reports regarding the ongoing activities (national and regional networks and others);
  5. Preparation of the final project report.


For more detailed information on GEWAMED project activities, the regional website as well as the national websites which were created in some partner countries, click: www.gewamed.net

  1. International Conference on the Integration of Gender Dimension in Water Management, Amman (Jordan), 21-26 March 2010.

Within the context of GEWAMED Project, an international conference on the integration of gender dimension in water management took place in Amman (Jordan), 21-26 March 2010 in implementation of GEWAMED'S Project objective to promote a dialogue among the countries of the Mediterranean Region inter alia, through the organization of workshops and this conference.
 
 The main purpose of the Conference was to focus on enhancing cooperative discussion, promote the adoption of gender sensitive policies and build a common knowledge base. The Conference also provided an opportunity to disseminate the work and experience of GEWAMED Project and served as a mean to enrich the knowledge base of  the participants, reviewed major gender and water-related issues and  identified future needs for action.
 
 The following sub-themes were discussed during the 4-day duration of  the Conference:
 
 1. Gender and food security in the dry lands of the Mediterranean;
 2. Gender mainstreaming in natural resources management and climate change;
 3. Gender mainstreaming in water policies and institutions;
 4. Four years of GEWAMED Project: Lessons learned and the Way Forward.
 
Participating at the Conference were GEWAMED project partners, individuals representing institutions and civil societies, invited speakers and other institutions/organizations involved in gender and water issues.
 
The full report of the Conference will be made available soon. More information about the Amman Conference could be accessed at GEWAMED
Regional Website: www.GEWAMED@iamb.it

  1. Extension of GEWAMED Project for One Year: 15 February 2010 to 15 February 2011
     
    There is no doubt that the water issue in many countries of the world has been put high on the global political agenda as water scarcity has become a threat to human survival and sustainable development. Many countries are experiencing scarcity of water, air pollution and the increase of other environmental disasters that hinder sustainable development and threaten the lives of mankind. Therefore, GEWAMED project's contribution to the global debates on water scarcity and food security is an additional asset.
     
     The integration of Gender Dimensions in Water Management has also gained momentum and international acceptance. For this reason, the European Commission entrusted the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (Italy) together with 17 other partners the execution of the research project GEWAMED whose ultimate aim is to contribute to the mainstreaming of gender dimension in the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) of the Mediterranean region.
     
     The research was caarried out over four years starting 15 February 2006 but because of certain problems and obstacles, the partners were not able to complete the field research and come out with tangible results on 15 February 2010 as initially scheduled in the project.
     
     Henceforth, in order to enable the partners to complete the research which is expected to contribute to increasing the awareness on gender and water and to the continuation of the international dialogue on these issues, GEWAMED project had been extended for another year to end of 15 February 2011.
     
     In addition to the research activity, a training component has been included in the new phase which will allow for the organization of one or two Training of Trainers (TOT) courses during the extended period. It is expected that the training events will permit a number of people to be well-prepared to follow the main messages of GEWAMED and to have a multiplying effect in its implementation.
     
    Within the framework of the training component, CAFRAD will organize a Training of Trainers (TOT) Seminar for the Francophone partners of GEWAMED, namely, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. 
    About 20 participants from the above countries will be invited to  attend the Seminar. The Seminar will take place in Tangier (Morocco) in the course of 2010. It will be a 3-day Seminar and it will be facilitated by international trainers who are specialists and conversant in gender and water issues.
     
     Preparations for this Seminar are now underway and the Announcement of  the fixed date of this activity as well as other details will be communicated to all those who are concerned in due course.