BRIDGE 5 - IUCN launches the first series of dialogues in the Medjerda catchment area
This June, Tunisia hosted the first series of dialogues on "water diplomacy", bringing together stakeholders from the Medjerda catchment area. These dialogues follow the recommendations of the official launch in 2023 of the BRIDGE programme, which now includes the Medjerda in its fifth phase of work.
On 20 and 21 June 2024, the first series of dialogues dealing with "water diplomacy" was held in Tunis for stakeholders in the Medjerda catchment area, ranging from directorates representing the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Equipment, research institutions and non-governmental organisations on the Tunisian side.
This series of workshops follows on from the recommendations made at the official launch in 2023 of phase 5 of the BRIDGE programme, which included the Medjerda basin among its working basins (2022-2026), on the need to build the capacity of Tunisian stakeholders in terms of effective basin management, improve inter-institutional cooperation and water diplomacy.
This workshop is the first in a series of dialogues on water diplomacy, an initiative that will run from 2024 to 2025 and aims to:
- Examine the development, principles, agreements and institutions for the governance of shared basins.
- Provide guidance on the key issues to be considered in the development and reform of policies and laws relating to freshwater ecosystems, particularly in the context of the impacts of climate change.
- Promote a better understanding of these issues among governments and other stakeholders working in and/or involved in water governance and management in Tunisia.