The EU funded “Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” project, in cooperation with the Ministry of Hydraulics, the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy and the European Delegation to Algeria, organised a WES National Meeting on the 11th of June 2024 in Algiers, to present an overview of the WES Activities implemented in Algeria and discuss the way forward.
Since June 2020, more than 300 key Algerian stakeholders have gained valuable knowledge and experience by actively participating in 4 National Activities (2 for the environment and 2 for the water sector), 13 Regional and 4 Horizontal WES Activities.
In his opening speech, H.E. Mr. Messaoud Tebbani, General Director of the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy expressed his appreciation of the quality procedure followed regarding the state-of-the-art activities of WES project in Algeria. He underlined the fact that plenty of Algerians key stakeholders would benefit by the recommendations and lessons learned to design and implement national strategies and plans.
The results of WES Water and Environment National Activities in the country have been indeed significant.
Under the Water Activities, WES supported: Training; Consultation Workshops; Meetings; Field investigation; Information Bulletins, in two key sub-themes: Non-Revenue Water Management and Water Demand Management.
WES Water Activity “Conduct a diagnosis for the performance of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and develop a plan for NRW improvements focusing on minimum cost of interventions with fast investment paybacks”
The current network situation and the available data were assessed in the pilot zone of Ali Lighia served by ‘Algérienne des Eaux’ (ADE). In this pilot zone, the NRW reference rates, the physical losses were evaluated using the water balance procedure. The benefits of the NRW management were obvious, therefore, the local partners wish to extend the activities to other areas of the ADE.
WES Water Activity “Potential of Water use efficiency and water saving in domestic water”
The WES team of water experts, in close cooperation with the Drinking Water Supply Directorate of the Ministry of Water Resources and the ADE Unit of Bejaia, and other stakeholders, has developed effective intervention strategies aimed at reducing domestic water consumption. The ultimate target was to develop a methodology for investigating the efficiency of water use in a residential context and to assess the behavior of water users in a chosen residential area to guide the future development of water demand reduction and management strategies.
WES prepared the roadmap for scaling up the activity results, and the opportunities for implementing water efficiency measures/programs and their benefits.
The production of the WES video “Help us save a drop” on demand management and water use, as well as the elaboration of a communication action plan, proved to be effective communication tools to ensure optimal dissemination of the results of this activity.
Under the Environment Activities, WES supported: Workshops; Trainings; Surveys and Assessments; Reports and Information Bulletins.
WES Environment Activity “Support for the monitoring and management of marine litter in Algeria”
The activity contributed to Algeria’s implementation of UNEP/MAP’s Regional Plan for Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean and Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast (IMAP). It involved trainings on marine litter monitoring and mitigation, coupled with field surveys and the production of valuable marine litter data, leading to the identification of fit-for-purpose measures to combat marine litter.
WES Environment Activity “Support for university training on green entrepreneurship and circular economy in Algeria”
The WES project, in collaboration with the National Conservatory of Environmental Training (CNFE) of the Algerian Ministry of the Environment and Renewable Energy, and the Department of Technology of the University of Boumerdès, coordinated a pilot training course for 30 environmental master’s students from the Faculty of Technology, during which, 10 student start-up projects on green entrepreneurship were presented and received a promise of support from the Boumerdès University Incubator. In addition, the Algerian Circular Economy Network (CALEC) was created which includes key stakeholders and academics and is moderated by the University of Boumerdès.
Professor Michael Scoullos, WES Team Leader, expressed the deep satisfaction of the WES Project with the close cooperation with the Algerian Authorities and the EU Delegation to Algeria, resulting in tailored assistance to the country to advance its water and environment agendas.
Prof. Scoullos thanked both Mr. Kamel Djelouah WES Water Focal Point, Ministry of Hydraulics, and Ms Hayet Achour, acting WES Environment Focal Point, General Director of the National Conservatory of Environmental Training for their valuable contribution in the successful implementation of the WES activities.
More than 50 representatives of Ministries, Institutions and Agencies involved in water and environment issues, as well as representatives of Local Authorities, the private sector, NGOs, experts, associations, and media participated in this National Meeting and contributed to the discussion on priorities and the way forward.
