Commission for Sustainable Development. Brussels, 3 September 2010

Transcription

1 Commission for Sustainable Development Brussels, 3 September 2010 DRAFT MINUTES of the first meeting of the Commission for Sustainable Development of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, held at the Committee of the Regions, Brussels, on 2 July 2010 EN

2 - 1 - The Commission for Sustainable Development (SUDEV) held its first meeting at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels, Belgium, on 2 July 2010 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ATTENDANCE LIST Co-chairs: Governor of Algiers, Mr Mohamed Kebir Addou (Alger/DZ), and President of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'azur, Mr Michel Vauzelle (FR) Members present Addou Mohamed Kebir (Alger/DZ) Al-Bashir Amer (Greater Amman/JO) Bennour Karim (Hydra/DZ) Blanc Jacques (Languedoc-Roussillon/FR) Cohen Michael (Kalkara/MT) Gémesi György (Gödöllö/HU) Håkansson Harju Lotta (Järfälla/SE) Joseph Jean-Louis (Bastidonne/FR) Katićin Danijel (Tkon/HR) Lebrun Michel (Viroinval/BE) Papastergiou Georgios (Pieria/GR) Raimbert Christian (Monaco/MC) Szwabski Stanislaw (Gdynia/PL) Valcárcel Siso Ramón Luis (Murcia/ES) Vauzelle Michel (Provence-Alpes-Côte d Azur/FR) Vidmar Jasmina (Maribor/SI) 1. Communications by Mr M. K. Addou and Mr M. Vauzelle, SUDEV co-chairs The co-chairs welcomed ARLEM members and informed them about developments since the creation of ARLEM on 21 January Mr Mohamed Kebir Addou (Alger/DZ) stated that the ARLEM Bureau had met on 3 March in Brussels to draw up the work programme for It set up two thematic commissions: the Commission for Economic, Social and Territorial Affairs (ECOTER) and the Commission for Sustainable Development (SUDEV). Each commission could have a maximum of 41 members. The SUDEV Commission would deal with sustainable development, water management, waste management, energy, transport, agriculture and tourism. The ECOTER Commission would deal with topics such as decentralisation, urban and territorial development, cultural cooperation, information society, migration and integration, small and medium-sized enterprises and commerce. The commissions would meet twice in The next ARLEM Bureau meeting would take place on 9 October 2010 in Tangier, Morocco, and prepare the second plenary session. The next plenary session would take place on 29 January 2011 in Agadir, Morocco, at the invitation of ARLEM copresident Mr Mohammed Boudra. To facilitate the start of work, the Bureau had decided that, for 2010, Bureau members would act as commission co-chairs and rapporteurs. Mr Luc Van den Brande (Flanders/BE) and Mr Ivan Jakovčić (Istria/HR) would be the co-chairs of the ECOTER Commission and Mr Michel Vauzelle (Provence- Alpes-Côte d'azur/fr) and Mr Mohamed Kebir Addou (Alger/DZ)) the co-chairs for the SUDEV Commission. At the next plenary session ARLEM members would be requested to take a decision, based upon a proposal by the two commissions, on the commission co-chairs and next year's rapporteurs. In 2010 each commission would deal with one topic. The ECOTER Commission would deal with urban development and the SUDEV Commission with local water management. In this context the Bureau had appointed two rapporteurs on 3 March: Mr Khalid Al-Hnaifat (Greater Tafilah/JO) would

3 - 2 - draft the report on urban development and Mr Ramon Valcárcel Siso (Murcia/ES) the report on local water management. The reports would be drafted after that meeting and take in account the input ARLEM members had sent or would send to the rapporteur as well as the comments made during the discussions. The draft reports would be discussed at the second commission meetings and be adopted at the next plenary session on 29 January 2011 in Agadir, Morocco. As far as ARLEM's cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) was concerned the cochair noted that following the ARLEM's creation its co-presidents had already been invited to number of ministerial meetings, namely to the one on water in Barcelona, Spain, on 13 April 2010, and the one on environment in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which had, however, been postponed. In addition, Mr Ahmad Masa'deh, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, had attended the meeting of the ARLEM Bureau on 3 May He had outlined the current state of affairs of the Union for the Mediterranean and had welcomed the activities of ARLEM. The Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Union for the Mediterranean, which had been scheduled to take place in June in Barcelona, had been postponed to November. In addition, co-chair Addou informed members about some changes in the ARLEM's co-presidency and the composition of the ARLEM's Bureau. In February 2010, shortly after the inaugural ARLEM meeting, the mandate of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) had been renewed. As a result the CoR representation within ARLEM had changed. Ms Bresso (President of the CoR) was now co-president of ARLEM. Mr Valcárcel Siso (CoR First vice-president) was now a member of the Bureau, and Mr Van den Brande was now also a member of the Bureau in his capacity as president of the CIVEX Commission of the Committee of the Regions. The other Bureau members who had been appointed in Barcelona during the inaugural meeting retained their position. Finally, Mr Mohamed Kebir Addou (Alger/DZ) stressed that the issue of local water management was of major importance for the Mediterranean given the various complex challenges related to it. ARLEM was in a strong position to contribute to the improvement of local water management since its members were directly involved in it. It should stimulate debate on the subject, make proposals on how to improve it and contribute to the discussion at governmental level. Water management was a priority for the city of Algiers. Its so-called "blue plan" dealt in particular with the provision of drinking water, pollution, the re-use of water and flood prevention. Mr Michel Vauzelle (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'azur/fr) recalled that various initiatives regarding water management had already been taken: the Water Expert Group; the regional programme of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) "Sustainable water management and depollution of the Mediterranean"; private sector initiatives such as the Water and Environment workshop held at the Forum in Marseille on 27 May; the World Water Forum in Istanbul and the related declaration of local and regional authorities; the conference on the contribution of local and regional authorities to the water strategy of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), held in Lyon, France, on November 2009; the fourth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Water held in Barcelona on 13 April 2010, which was unable to adopt the water strategy. The next World Water Forum would take place in Marseille in Co-chair Vauzelle called on ARLEM members to join forces to tackle water management in the Mediterranean and stressed the need for multilevel governance and a cross-border approach. He reiterated the idea of "Local Consultation Committees", as suggested in the contribution by local and regional authorities to the water strategy of the UfM, which could help bring about improvements in territorial water management. The co-chair further proposed that local and regional authorities create a pilot project on water, which could be financed by the European Commission's DG AIDCO, states and financial institutions. He also raised the possibility of creating a water facility for the Mediterranean, similar to the ACP-EU Water Facility for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)

4 - 3 - region. Finally, he invited SUDEV members to consider which topics the SUDEV Commission could address in 2011, who would like to be rapporteur, and how the European Neighbourhood Policy could be improved in the future, for instance through the creation of a programme such as EUROMED CLIMATE. 2. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted without any changes. 3. Presentation of the broad outlines of the ARLEM draft report on local water management by the rapporteur Mr Valcárcel Siso The rapporteur, Mr Ramon Valcárcel Siso (Murcia/ES), thanked ARLEM members for all the contributions they had sent him. He stated that he would present the first draft of his report at the next SUDEV meeting in November. The report would follow on from the April ministerial meeting on water and the Istanbul Pact for Water. He stressed that it was important to enhance the dialogue on a water strategy in the Mediterranean and also to give the ARLEM more capacities. He shared some thoughts with the participants: the water strategy should be developed in an open manner involving governments and LRAs; a certain degree of decentralisation was needed in order to improve management; a water strategy needed to guarantee training in water management and respect for the environment; the role of LRAs in this field should be given more support; there was need for improvement in the use of water in the face of climate change and droughts; the "polluter pays" principle should be applied; community management of water should be envisaged. The rapporteur suggested putting in place a pilot project for the Mediterranean based on the Covenant of Mayors for climate change and the Istanbul Pact. Objectives could be established that could be taken on board by local and regional authorities in the Mediterranean. He stated that gradual progress could be made in the following areas: improving recycling of rainwater, risk impact of flooding, vulnerability of the supply system, development of education and training in water management. The rapporteur concluded by presenting the specific example of his home region of Murcia. It had to contend with all kinds of water problems such as desertification and salination. He offered to make the expertise of his region available to others so that successful practices could be identified. 4. Statement by Ms Jackie Church, European Investment Bank, Liaison Officer Ms Church gave a general overview of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and explained that the majority of the EIB's lending activities took place within the EU. However, the EIB also had an external mandate and was involved in projects with EU neighbourhood countries (in 2009 EUR 1.6 bn of the EIB's total lending of EUR 79.1 bn went to Mediterranean countries). The EIB's first Mediterranean lending operation had taken place as long ago as In 2002, the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) had been created, which was the umbrella under which all Euromed activities were carried out. The objective of FEMIP was to support the modernisation and opening-up of Euromed countries' economies via direct private sector support and the creation of an investment-friendly environment. FEMIP could make available tools such as loans, private equity and technical assistance to the partner country. Within the water management and

5 - 4 - sanitation sector FEMIP was already carrying out several projects, since the depollution of the Mediterranean was one of the three priority initiatives of the UfM. 5. Debate with ARLEM members on challenges, needs and solutions and current and potential activities of local and regional authorities in the field of local water management Mr Jacques Blanc (Languedoc-Roussillon/FR) stressed that water scarcity and unequal access to water were big problems and that an international and interregional approach was required. Mr Georgios Papastergiou (Pieria/GR) emphasised that the management of water resources needed to be improved. Cross-border cooperation and a clear legal framework were needed. Mr Stanislaw Szwabski (Gdynia/PL) stated that the water problem could first and foremost be solved at local and regional level. 6. Statement by Mrs Julia Jordan, Union for the Mediterranean Mission, representative of the French co-presidency of the UfM Ms Jordan pointed out that in 2025 there would be 63 million people living below the water scarcity threshold in the Mediterranean countries. In view of this enormous number it was imperative that water and urban development proceed hand in hand. She noted that the UfM placed a heavy emphasis on water management. The UfM secretariat had already pinpointed around 120 projects aimed at strengthening water management in the Mediterranean countries and adapting to climate change. She informed participants that a water strategy had been drawn up but still needed to be adopted and that, as a second stage, an action plan would be developed. She announced the full support of the UfM copresidency for ARLEM. 7. Statement by Mr Jean-Louis Ville, European Commission, DG EUROPEAID Mr Ville stressed that local and regional authorities were an important force for development. He underlined that the European Commission continued to support the water strategy although no agreement had been reached at the recent Barcelona ministerial meeting. A flexible dialogue between all partners was necessary in order to promote sustainable water use. He announced that the European Commission would soon select projects that put into practice the strategy guidelines. Approximately EUR 15 million were available for funding. 8. Statement by Mr Jacques Dufossé, Energies Demain, director for development Mr Dufossé presented the "Strateau" tool for water supply/demand. He explained that water needs were growing continuously but that distribution of water resources was unequal; consequently there was growing pressure to exploit renewable water resources in many Mediterranean countries. It was therefore paramount to balance water supply and demand. The tool which had been developed in order to assist water managers in decision-making gave an overview of water demand and availability in one territory. It took into account the territorial characteristics of the country: climatic inputs (temperature, rainfall etc), natural resources (surface water, groundwater etc) and water demand (for industry, agriculture etc) and allowed prospective analysis. The result was a comprehensive overview of the balance between water supply and water needs in one territory. Mr Dufossé explained that this prospective tool could aid users in the anticipation of problems and in developing strategies and solutions. He backed the use of the tool by citing the example of a comparison of the evolution of agricultural water demand between the Rhône-Méditerranée watershed in France and the Sebou watershed in Morocco.

6 Debate with ARLEM members on challenges, needs and solutions and current and potential activities of local and regional authorities in the field of local water management Mr Nabil Ben Khedher, councillor at the embassy of Tunisia in Brussels, spoke on behalf of Mr Mlika (Sousse/TN), who was unable to attend the meeting. He stressed that water management in urban areas of Tunisia had to be efficient because of the increasing demand for water due to tourism, rapidly growing cities and the farming sector. He gave an overview of water management in Sousse and outlined the challenges related to it. Mr Amer Al-Bashir (Greater Amman/JO) stressed the need for water management training programmes within local administrations and underlined that national water legislation needed to be in line with international agreements. Ms Lotta Håkansson Harju (Järfälla/SE) explained that Sweden had a lot of experience in cleaning water. She also suggested connecting the Baltic Sea strategy to ARLEM. Mr Georgios Papastergiou (Pieria/GR) requested that all contributions to the debate be posted on the ARLEM website. Co-chair Vauzelle (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'azur/fr) read out a message from Mr Nichi Vendola (Puglia/IT), who was unable to attend the meeting, who proposed that the Committee of the Regions' 2020 platform take up ARLEM topics. 10. Any other business Mr Lucio Gussetti, Director, Directorate for Consultative Works of the Committee of the Regions, explained that the report on local water management would be drafted over the summer and be distributed to members in early October. The draft report would be discussed at the next SUDEV meeting. The rapporteur would revise it after the meeting, taking into account the comments made by SUDEV members. The report would be adopted by consensus at the ARLEM plenary session on 29 January Closing remarks by the co-chairs Mr Mohamed Kebir Addou (Algiers/DZ) thanked all the participants for their contributions to the discussion on local water management. He stressed the importance of continuing to deal with this topic and highlighting the specific role of local and regional authorities, and encouraged members to launch projects to tackle common challenges. Mr Michel Vauzelle (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'azur/fr) thanked the participants and speakers for their contributions and invited the SUDEV Commission to hold its next meeting in Marseille. 12. Confirmation of the date and venue of the next meeting The SUDEV Commission agreed to hold its next meeting in Marseille at the end of October or beginning of November p.m. End of the meeting