The Ministerial Conference on Water held on 22 December 2008 on the
shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan marked the speeding up of the issue of
water management and the first important step for the implementation of
the decisions made by Heads of State and Government on 13 July 2008 in
Paris for the Union for the Mediterranean.

A double goal was reached, partly through the major contribution of the
civil society partners who met on 21 December.

Firstly, the Ministers adopted the guidelines of a Strategy for Water in
the Mediterranean, permitting the challenges of climate change and its
impacts to be met and tackled. This Strategy, which will be submitted to
the same Ministers during the first semester of 2010 and to the Heads of
State and Government at the end of 2010, will make it possible to handle
problems exceeding the means of action of any single country or
organisation. It will have two figured targets concerning the
preservation of water quality and the reduction of pressure on water
resources through more efficient use.

Secondly, the Ministers drew the attention of governance bodies of the
Union for the Mediterranean, in view of the rapid development of new
equipment projects in the domain of water, consistent with the Strategy.
From this perspective, they have already identified an initial series of
projects which will be discussed as from January 2009. These projects
will be completed during the Fifth World Forum on Water to be held in
Istanbul in March 2009 and the first funds will be finalised for the
ministerial conference on sustainable development in Monaco before the
end of March 2009.

The Ministers have undertaken to stick to this very ambitious yet
realistic calendar with regards the water situation in the
Mediterranean. They insisted on the significant role that the Union for
the Mediterranean must have for an effective improvement in the life of
this region's inhabitants.



Press Contacts:

FRANCE: Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development, and Town
and Country Planning- Tel: +33 (0)1 40 81 72 36

EGYPT: Dr. Essam Khalifa - Tel: + 202 35 41 98 71/+ 202 35 44 94 20 -
Email: essam@mwri.gov.eg                 

JORDAN:  Omar Salameh- Tel. +962 (0)797 29 36 66 - Mail:
omar_salameh@mwi.gov.jo

Press Release:

English version:
http://www.medaquaministerial2008.net/en/press/communique_AR.pdf

French version:
http://www.medaquaministerial2008.net/fr/press/communique_AR.pdf

Arabic version:
http://www.medaquaministerial2008.net/ar/press/communique_AR.pdf