Saturday 10th October 2009
Signature of the Partnership Agreement. Standing, Prince Albert II of Monaco; seated, from left to right: Mr. Lucien Chabason, President, Plan Bleu, H.E. Bernard Fautrier, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Mr. Dominique Heron, Director of Partnerships, Veolia Environnement, Mr. Carlos Lopes, Executive Director, UNITAR.
This initiative is an outcome of the Zaragoza conference which took place during the Water Expo in 2008 bringing together key stakeholders strongly engaged in the integrated water resource management. Based on in-depth benchmark analysis and various consultations with experts in this area, the Water Think Tank was initiated and announced by Prince Albert II of Monaco and the other partners during the
5th World Water Forum organized in Istanbul in March 2009.
The goal of this initiative is to promote, through a research – action process, integrated and sustainable water resource management in the Mediterranean region. The initiative will focus on designing tools and methodologies that take into consideration the needs of Local Authorities in the region, and will help them overcome the challenges related to water management particularly due to Climate Change.
This innovative partnership will benefit from the cross-cutting expertise of the partners to make decentralized and locally based management compatible with basin-level considerations and translate the research into action.
UNITAR will contribute to the Initiative by providing methodological guidance, facilitating exchange of experiences during the symposium, and enabling the dissemination of “best practices” to networks of stakeholders on water governance. This will foster collaboration among local governments in the Mediterranean region and will contribute to sustainable development.
