Peer to Peer (P2P): Exchange on Water Harvesting and ...

LDK Consultants Global EEIG

This Project is funded

by the European Union

Peer to Peer (P2P): Exchange on Water Harvesting and Natural Water Retention Measures, Activity No.: RW-4-P2P

Kick-Off Meeting with Peers

12 July 2021 - From 11:00 to 14:00 pm(Athens time)

(Video-conference)




Peer to Peer (P2P) Exchange on Water Harvesting and Natural Water Retention Measures Activity No.: RW-4-P2P

Kick-Off Meeting with Peersvideo-conference12 July 2021

Presented by: Suzan TAHA, WES Key Water Expert

Overview of the Water and Environment Support (WES) Project (8 mins)




WES in a Snapshot

3

• WES aims at protecting the environment and improving the management of scarce water resources in the Mediterranean.

• It strives to address the country needs for creating the enabling environment and enhancing the capacities of stakeholders in the Partner Countries (PCs) to tackle problems related to pollution prevention and water use efficiency.

• WES capitalises on previous successful EU funded regional projects (Horizon 2020 CB/MEP; SWIM SM; SWIM-Horizon 2020 SM).




WES Identity

Facts & Figures

Partner Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Libya, Palestine* and Tunisia

Project value: 9 508 054 Euros

Duration: May 2019 – Oct. 2023 (54 months)

Project team:

Team Leader: Professor Michael SCOULLOS, [email protected] Expert: Ms Suzan TAHA, [email protected] Expert: Mr Anis ISMAIL, [email protected] & Networking Expert: To be announcedStakeholders engagement expert: Dr. Emad ADLY, [email protected]

*This designation is not to be construed as recognition of the State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

mailto:[email protected]







WES Identity

LDK Consultants Global EEIG (Leader) Gopa Infra GmbH

Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE)

Ramboll Denmark A/S

Arab Network forEnvironment and Development (RAED)

Royal HaskoningDHV

Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable ResourceManagement (ACR+)

Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (ARC-SCP/RAC) of UN

Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan

CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari)

Our Consortium

5




Project Architecture

Component 2Efficient Utilisation

of water

Component 3Monitoring & support

to DEMO Projects

Component 4Support to UfM Water & Environment Agenda

Component 1Pollution

prevention

Dim

ensi

on

1

Cap

acit

y b

uild

ing

• Regional Trainings• Exchanges between peers• Seminars & regional webinars• Support for pilot experiments and DEMO projects• Support for PPP activities

Dim

ensi

on

2

Tech

nic

alas

sist

ance • Technical assistance on institutional, legal,

technical and management frameworks• Technical assistance on demand and adapted to the national level

Dim

ensi

on

3

Enh

ance

men

t o

f en

ablin

g co

nd

itio

ns

• Capacity building for civil society, professionals and citizens' associations• Scaling solutions and access to investment• PPP support activities• Sensitization of water users on scarcity & water use efficiency• Dissemination of best practices from EU & MENA

Component 55. Capitalisation, Sharing

knowledge and project visibility

• Review of best practices and best reference documents that can be replicated in project countries• Support the Contracting Authority by designing and launching a competition for best practices, technologies and institutional solutions• Organization of the stakeholder networking system• Project website• Promotional material

6

- Regional training on NWRM (Oct. 2021)

DEMO Project in TN on using rainwater in urban areas in Gabes city

4 national activities on NWRM in JO, LB, TN & IL




Technical assistance, Capacity building, Networks between stakeholders

• Regional Level :

✓ 20 regional activitiestrainings / workshops, study tours to European or South Mediterranean Countries, webinars and guided peer-to-peer exchanges).

Regional Trainings :

8 on water, 8 on environment, 4 Horizontal

Study Tours:

4 to 8 Study Tours

Exchanges between peers:

10 peer-to-peer exchange exercises combined with 4 webinars

▪ National Level:

✓4 national activities in each partner country (2 on water and 2 on the environment).

✓2 WES national meetings acting as collaboration platforms, to assess progress, plan next steps, etc.

7




Component 2: Topics related to efficient water use

o Theme 1: Assessment and estimation of water use (by sector)

o Theme 2: Investigations and introduction of water efficiency gains at the decentralized level

o Theme 3: Water resources assessment, cost recovery and affordability of water services

o Theme 4: Legal and regulatory aspects related to the integration of water use efficiency into national and regional frameworks

o Theme 5: Improving water efficiency and productivity in agriculture

Project Component

8




• Online Regional Training

• Peer to Peer for Regional exchange

Summary of Ongoing /Planned activities on

NWRM

9

CB on non-conventional water resources with a focus on water harvesting, including retention and recharge of aquifers with storm water- Training (October 21)- Peer to Peer: July 21-June 22

- Education for sustainable development: focusing on treatment for the reuse of wastewater and unconventional water resources

• Horizontal Activity on NCWR

UNEP-MAP MEDPOL: Regional assessment on USWM & action plan

• Other Regional Activities

• National Activities 4 national activities on NWRM in JO, LB, TN & IL

Reg

ion

alN

atio

nal




Thank you for your attention

10






Presented by: Prof. Michael SCOULLOS, Team Leader, WES

Introducing the P2P process and its functioning (5 mins)





12






Facilitated by: Suzan TAHA, WES Key Water Expert

Introducing the Peers (5 min)





14






Presented by: Dr. Demetris ZARRIS: Non-Key Expert TechnicalCoordinator & Representative of WES experts’ Team

Presentation of the WES P2P Activity (10 min)




Introduction

• The focus of this specific regional P2P process will be on WaterHarvesting (WH) and Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRMs) asan alternative and efficient tool to minimize flood risk and increase thepotential for water storage either on the surface or in the aquifer.

• The concept is to use clever and small-scale interventions with naturalmaterials, minimizing the use of concrete, that emulate the physicalprocesses of the hydrologic cycle like infiltration, storage in the vadoseand saturated zone and storage in natural depressions.




Regional Τraining on Water HarvestingActivity Number: RW-4-REG & RW-4-P2P

The P2P process forms a part of an overall regional activity which aimsto build the capacity of the partner countries on NWRM and WH. Theregional activity consists of two separate but interrelated sub-activities.

• 1. Regional On-Line Training (RW-4-REG): The training is scheduled totake place online with twice weekly sessions for 2 weeks in October(total of 15 hours sessions). It is expected that during the training bothplenary and break-out sessions will take place. A carefully designedprogram with highly regarded invited speakers together with rapid WHand NWRMs exercises and practical problems is being prepared.





The training sessions will target both the designated participants and nominated peers from theproject countries.

Throughout the training event, participants will have the opportunity to:

• Get introduced to the overall concept of WH and NWRMs (hydrologic, environmental andeconomic components) and their various approaches.

• Learn about the benefits of WH and the use of NWRMs (e.g. assessment, planning, policydecision).

• Get familiar with the computational procedures needed to plan, design and assess theperformance of WH and NWRMs.

• Get introduced to the design of WH and NWRMs as described by the EU through its WorkingTeam for the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) of the WFD.

• Review data needs and requirements for the design and implementation of WH and NWRMsboth in urban and natural environments and its links mostly with irrigation and agriculture.

• Explore the real use of WH and NWRMs through countries' case studies (preferably from theMENA region).

• Implement rapid WH and NWRMs exercises and practical problems.

• Discuss real situations in their own countries where WH and NWRMs can be implemented.





Just to name a few shortlisted, initially agreed scientists to participate asinvited speakers, include the following:

1. Dr. Herbert Dreisetl, Landcape Architect, Owner Dreisetl Consulting,Expert on Urban Planning with water related systems design.

2. Dr. Panos Panagos, Soil Scientist and Soil Erosion & ConservationExpert, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

3. Dr. Christos Makropoulos, Professor on Water Systems, Expert onWater Reuse Systems.

4. Dr. George Papanikolaou, Irrigation Agronomist, Expert on WaterHarvesting in Agriculture.





The specific objectives of the Peer-to-Peer activity are:

• Training on selected issues related to NWRM/WH in both urban and natural/rural environments. The focus of the training issues will be decided upon during the regional training planned to be conducted in October 2021.

• Clarifying concepts, perceptions, misunderstandings or “myths” about NWRM.

• Sharing knowledge among the peers on challenges related to the implementation of NWRM in their countries.

• Sharing expertise on NWRM applicable in the South Mediterranean countries.

• Boosting south-to-south (and north-to-south) cooperation.

• Building lasting relations and exchanges among the peers.

• Allow participation of peers to National trainings of other countries as resource persons or observers.

The peers will benefit by their interaction with leading scientists in Europe in the associated fields of WH and NWRMs.

The expected outcome of the process is:

• Improved understanding and knowledge on selected issues related to the NWRM and Water Harvesting,

• Capacity building among the PCs,

• Establishment of cooperation and alliances among the PCs.




Regional Τraining on Water HarvestingActivity Number: RW-4-REG & RW-4-P2PTo achieve the Peer-to-Peer objectives,

• a participatory and interactive approach will be adopted.

• The Peer-to-Peer process will be mostly facilitated by virtual meetings andcontinuous e-mail communication among and between the NKEs and the peers.

• Two focus groups are envisaged who will also attend the regional training plannedin October:

▪ Urban areas and natural areas (coordinated by Dr. D. Zarris).

▪ Agricultural areas (coordinated by Dr. G. Papanikolaou).




Scope of the Regional P2P: RW-4-P2P

▪ Kickoff Meeting (12 July 2021):✓ Introduce the whole Peer-to-Peer activity process and its functioning, the peers and the experts;

(the Team Leader)✓ Explain the purpose of the questionnaire referred to above; get initial (preliminary) reflections

of the peers on the questionnaire, clarifications and discussion of any open issues with thepeers.

✓Decide about possible case studies/lessons learned to be presented by the peers during theregional training.

▪ During the Regional Training (in October 2021): Two sessions are envisaged during thetraining.✓ The 1st session will be an informal meeting to be held following the end of session 1 of the

regional training in order to reflect on the first session of the training and obtain feedback andcomments to allow for eventual improvements in the subsequent sessions.

✓ The 2nd session will take place after the last session of the regional training in order to:• Agree on (finalise) the topics and the expected outcomes of the P2P process per focus group.

The topics will be proposed based on the peers’ response to the questionnaire that wasdistributed few days ago.

• Define the process and tools for sharing and exchange of information and experiences.• Plan in more detail the next steps and agree on milestones and deadlines.




Scope of the Regional P2P: RW-4-P2P

▪ Conduct the Peer-to-Peer process:This task will commence immediately after the training and will comprise:✓ Implementation of the Peer-to-Peer exchange process over a period of one year till the end of June

2022, extending beyond the completion of the training and provision of technical support to the peerson the selected NWRM topics in the two focus areas (Urban Areas and Natural/rural areas).

✓ Coordination of the peers and facilitation of the Peer-to-Peer process including facilitating access todata, reading materials, web sites and knowledge hubs.

✓As part of the Peer-to-Peer process, the activity will further engage the peers by inviting them toremotely review and provide comments on the results (to date) and the recommendations of theongoing assessment of Current Practices in Urban Storm Water Management (URSWM) in theMediterranean undertaken by the UNEP/MAP MED POL in the framework of preparation of the newRegional Plan on USWM. To this effect, UNEP/MAP will be invited to present the findings and thepreliminary recommendations during an online session dedicated for that purpose to help buildownership and design recommendations that are suited for the region.

✓ Four (4) Informal meetings for each focus group of the peers-every second month within the first year(after the end of the regional training in October till June 2022) to review and report progress.

✓Ad -hoc meetings on a “needs” basis (up to four (4)) among the peers and with the WES Team✓ Short informal 6-month report and yearly report of the Peer-to-Peer progress (eventually to be included

in the reports to the Commission).




Target Group of the Regional P2P: RW-4-P2P

For the Peer-to-Peer supported exchange, the target group includes:

• Up to four peers from each WES Partner Country (PC) (or from the PCs thatappoint peers for this activity in response to WES invitation), representingrelevant institutions: ministries (water, irrigation, agriculture and landmanagement), water utilities, municipalities and river basins authoritiesinvolved.

• Ideally, in the countries where WES is implementing a relevant Nationalactivity under NWRM, it is suggested by the WES Team that the nominatedpeers be selected from the country’s partner team involved in theimplementation of the pilot areas (one to two peers per pilot area). This isparticularly applicable for Israel (Activity WES-N-W-IL-2), Jordan (ActivityWES-N-W-JO2), and Lebanon (Activity WES-N-W-LB1) and partially for Tunisia(Activity WES-N-W-TN-2).

• All the peers will participate in the regional training.




Target Group of the Regional P2P: RW-4-P2P

The Peers will be informed on the findings and the results of the on-going nationalactivities:

• Activity No: N-W-IL-2: Storm water management and Natural Water RetentionMeasures.

• Activity No: N-W-JO-2: Explore the potential of Natural Water Retention Measures(NWRMs) at the catchment scale.

• Activity No: N-W-LB-1: Explore the potential of Natural Water Retention Measures(NWRM)

• Activité No: N-W-TN-2: Risque de sédimentation des réservoirs et mesuresd'atténuation en faveur de la durabilité en Tunisie Etude de l'envasement de deuxbarrages tunisiens : Barrage Siliana et Barrage Lebna

• .




Introducing the WES experts’ Team (5 min)

- 1. Dr. Demetris ZARRIS: Non-Key Expert (NKE1), specialised in Hydrology and Technical Coordinator

- 2. Dr George Papanikolaou, Agronomist, International NKE (NKE 2).





27






Introduction & Definitions of Water Harvesting & Natural Water Retention Measures (15 min)

Presented by: Dr. Demetris ZARRIS: Non-Key Expert,Technical Coordinator & Representative of WES experts’Team




IntroductionThe subject the Regional Activity (Training and P2P process) is planned under thefollowing WES topics/subtopics:

• Topic 2: “Investigation and Introduction of Water Efficiency Gains at theDecentralized Level”,

• Subtopic 3 “Non-Conventional Water Resources” and Dimension 2 “CapacityBuilding”.

• “Decentralized Level”: means generally “small – scale” interventions where thedistance between source (of water) and end-user is short. It is not expensive (lackof water transfer works) and is democratic since everyone has the capability tomanage these interventions (from a single user to a community of users).

• “Non-Conventional”: means that source of water, mainly not directly for humanconsumption”, is not in the context of traditional engineering & water management(e.g. dams/reservoirs and/or GW pumping) but involves a variety of sources rangingfrom reclaimed wastewater to rainwater harvesting in plot scale.




Introduction• European Commission (2012) define NWRMs as intervention

techniques over water related ecosystems that are designed toreplicate nature’s capacity of adaptation. The principal objective interms of water management is to regulate water flow so that thehydrologic extremes such as floods, droughts or desertification can bemitigated as well as achieving better water storage.

• NWRMs can be regarded as adaptation tools to climate change,preferably as natural adaptation mechanisms in contrast to hardengineering solutions (such as large dams/reservoirs). In this respect,NWRMS are more “cost effective”, they are more flexible or reversible,are low or no – regret measures, have reduced decision time horizons,etc.




Introduction

• WH and NWRMs can be implemented in both urban and naturalenvironments. Urban developments are responsible for floodproduction since large areas are sealed by impervious materials thattransforms rainfall to runoff to over 90% and to significantly decreaseconcentration times on catchments, thus increase flood peaks.

• WH and NWRMs can also be applied within the context of the combatagainst desertification minimizing soil erosion in sensitive areas,promoting green and blue infrastructure to mitigate climate changeeffects, etc.



by the European Union32

Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRMs)

✓Retain water (runoff or river flows) beyond the existing capacity of systems, releasing it at acontrolled rate, or infiltrating it to groundwater;

✓Use the retention capacity of soils and of aquatic ecosystems to provide otherenvironmental and well-being improvements, such as water quality, biodiversity, amenityvalue or resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts;

✓Are usually applied at relatively ‘small scale’, in comparison to the size of the watercatchment or territory in which they are implemented;

✓Emulate a natural process, although are not always ‘natural’ features themselves (asclearly illustrated by green roofs, check dams, etc.).

NWRMs are multi-functional measures that aim to protect water resources and addresswater-related challenges by restoring or maintaining ecosystems, as well as natural featuresand characteristics of water bodies using natural means and processes (EU PolicyDocument).

Definitions




Definitions

33





Definitions

34






River Hydromorphology





Urban Drainage





Forestry and Natural Areas





Agriculture





Video (3 minutes duration) explaining NWRMs in a catchment scale




NWRMs Applicability• NWRM offer a variety of measures that are relevant EU wide. But:

▪ Their design needs to be tailored for each eco-region

▪ Benefit depends on type, location, implementation design and combinationwith other measures.

• NWRM are far from being applied in all cases in which they would bean option/the best option. There is a need for a change of thinking toensure NWRM are duly considered in planning processes.

• Enhanced knowledge is required for supporting the optimisation ofNWRM and their combination with other measures, for quantifyingtheir impacts at large scale, and for estimating all their benefits.




NWRMs Applicability• Research and demonstration in pilot activities is to be promoted to

gather further evidence on the (real) effects of NWRM on floodmitigation at the catchment scale.

• There is no integrated framework to assess the net benefits and thecost-effectiveness of strategies for achieving multiple policy goals.

• Funding sources are available at the European and at other levels. Butthe utilisation of available financial resources for financing NWRMremains limited.

• Smart financial engineering is essential to the implementation of NWRM – searching for synergies between different funding instruments including innovative financing instruments.




NWRMs Applicability• Raising awareness on the potential role of NWRM remains essential –

including with local communities and across sectors.

• NWRM can help achieving the objectives of different EU and nationalpolicies. However, their contributions to different objectives are rarelyassessed because of the absence of multiple impact monitoring.

• The multifunctional and multi-sector character of NWRM requires enhancedcollaboration between stakeholders representing different sectors.

• Enhanced coordination between planning processes across different policy areas (e.g. River Basin and Flood Risk Management, but also nature protection, rural development and land use/spatial planning) will provide more opportunities for NWRM and for their multiple benefits to be considered.




NWRMs Applicability• Spatial planning is key for the successful implementation of NWRM.

• Urban planners should make the water cycle explicit in their territorialplanning. The concept has now shifted from “design against nature” to“design with nature”.

• NWRM offer multiple benefits and opportunities for achieving WFD andFDs objectives and as such should be included in the RBMPs andFRMPs. NWRM often represent a "better environmental option".




Review of Natural Water Retention Measures in Urban Areas





45

Peer to Peer (P2P): Exchange on Water Harvesting and ...

Documents

Transcript of Peer to Peer (P2P): Exchange on Water Harvesting and ...