Regional Cooperation in the Water Sector in the Maghreb - CREM

Approval Date
January 2014


Project Duration 

  • Phase 1: 5 years (January 2014 - December 2018)
  • Phase 2: 18 months (January 2019 - June 2020)
     


Financial and Technical Partners
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources - BGR


Country of operations
Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia


Main Beneficiaries

  • Agence Nationale des Ressources Hydrauliques (ANRH) & Agence de Gestion Intégrée des Ressources en Eau (AGIRE) in Algeria
  • Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment of Morocco (MEMEE)
  • Ministry of Agriculture (Office of Planning and hydraulic Balances in Tunisia) (BPEH).


Objectives
The project is a contribution to the reflections underway in the countries of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) for the implementation of a regional strategy for natural resources management. It is based on the conclusions of the AMU meeting (Rabat, January 2006) which recommend in particular to:

  • Implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the national and regional levels
  • Increase knowledge sharing
  • Strengthen regional information exchange systems on IWRM

The strengthening of this regional cooperation will be carried out through the exchange of good practices within the framework of sustainable management of water resources, but also of improving the management of groundwater. The project is based on two modules CREM-GIZ and CREM-BGR:

  • A module that is coordinated by GIZ (CREM - GIZ) with the objectives:
  1. In its phase 1 (January 2014 - December 2018): The exchange of good practices for sustainable management of water resources between partner institutions in the three countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia);
  2. In phase 2 (January 2019 - June 2020): Improving the conditions for increased use of integrated approaches to the management of climate-sensitive water resources, by political decision-makers and specialized authorities from the three partner countries
  • A module that is coordinated by the BGR (CREM - BGR) with the objectives.
  1. In phase 1 (January 2014 - December 2018): The three partner countries have updated data and improved methods for sustainable groundwater management.
  2. In phase 2 (January 2019 - June 2020): Building the capacities of the specialized institutions in the Maghreb in charge of sustainable management of water resources 


Project Status
In progress


Components
1. GIZ Module:

  • Phase 1
  1. Assess the progress of the implementation of IWRM in the Maghreb
  2. Develop exchange mechanisms and an information system shared by the three countries
  3. Prepare in-depth studies
  4. Build the capacities of partner institutions (national and international seminars).
  • Phase 2
  1. Identify a network of experts in sustainable management of water resources and Adaptation to climate change
  2. Preparation of recommendations by the Experts identified at the end of the works of the international seminar (A1)
  3. Organization of a “Leadership training” for decision-makers for an awareness-raising on the urgency of a climate-sensitive water resources management
  4. Strengthen the exchange between countries on cultural approaches and "environmental education".
     

2. BGR Module:

  • Phase 1
  1. Assess the progress of the collection and analysis of hydrogeological information in the region
  2. Establishment of agricultural-use water withdrawal maps in pilot areas
  3. Analysis of the relevance and effectiveness of monitoring networks in the basin
  4. Capacity building.
  • Phase 2
  1. Exchange on the optimization of the management of information systems on water resources
  2. Evaluation by remote sensing of groundwater withdrawals for agricultural use in the pilot areas
  3. Improving the efficiency of monitoring networks and establishing the water balance of aquifers
  4. Capacity building.


Achievements

  • Establishment of project implementation bodies: appointment of national focal points and institutions
  • Definition of pilot demonstration sites by the national institutions
  • Organization of training sessions in water resources management tools as well as the exchange of information and good practices
  • Recruitment of national, regional and international consultants for the development of the situation of knowledge on the management of water resources in each country, on the tools for exchanging good practices and on the application of remote sensing.


The Maghreb's storytellers
Related to the CREM project, the "Maghreb storytellers, agents of change for the preservation of water" implemented by GIZ, in collaboration with the OSS, is an awareness-raising project which consists in relying on the predominant role of women in conveying non-waste values and implementation of methods that save water resources.

In this context, a group of women from the 3 Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) were supported and trained in the art of writing and storytelling in order to allow them to convey the values of preserving water for children and the general public, through stories. To do this, a set of tales on Maghreb water was produced, bringing together no less than 5 tales per country, comics and sound recordings. These products are intended to be widely distributed in the 3 Maghreb countries.