The Environment and Water WES Activities in Tunisia

The Water and Environment Support project in the Southern Mediterranean Neighbourhood aims to protecting the environment and improving the management of scarce water resources in the Mediterranean region. It will tackle problems related to pollution prevention and water use efficiency. WES is a regional project with emphasis on the countries of North Africa and the Middle East.

The EU funded “Water and Environment Support in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” project in cooperation with the Tunisian Government organised a Meeting on the 28th of November 2023 in Tunis.
More than 300 key Tunisian stakeholders have gained valuable knowledge and experience by actively participating in 5 National Activities and 12 Regional and 3 Horizontal WES Activities.
The meeting was also attended by more 70 representatives of Ministries, Institutions and Agencies involved in the water, irrigation, agriculture, environment, as well as representatives of local Authorities, the private sector, experts, associations and media.

H.E. Ms Leila Chikhaoui Mahdaoui, underlined the fact that 3 WES environment activities were designed and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry and highlighted their successful alignment with national strategies addressing critical areas such as waste management, particularly in managing plastic waste, climate change mitigation, and the green transition as well as advancing the national agenda for the establishment of sustainable public procurement services.

Mr Gianfranco Bochicchio, Deputy Head of the European Delegation in Tunisia, emphasized the importance of the WES project in the development of a very large number of regional activities of a strong notable impact on the field of water and the environment, which ensured the active participation of many Tunisians, as well as experts from other partner countries of the WES project in the MENA region since 2019.

Mr. Paolo Scialla, from the EUD in Tunisia presented key EU environmental activities in Tunisia; Ms. Dhekra Gharbi, Head of UGPO – EcoPact at the Ministry of the Environment presented the Integrated project for the depollution of the Lake Bizerte region; Mr. Giuseppe Cammarata, Mr. Fethi Bouksila and Ms. Mayssa Hamdaoui presented the activities of the WISPER Project, and ARESET GIZ, Tunisia, respectively.

Professor Michael Scoullos, WES Team Leader, following the presentation of the WES work program at national and regional level, its achievements and lessons learned, expressed the satisfaction for the close cooperation with the Tunisian Authorities and the EU Delegation in providing useful assistance to the country. He also announced that WES, in its next phase 2024-2028, will have the opportunity for further cooperation and synergies. Prof. Scoullos thanked both the Environment Focal Point, Ms. Sabria Bnouni Ben Ammar from Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Karim Sahnoun, Director of International Cooperation from Ministry of the Environment and Mr. Slaheddine Ounissi, Water Focal Point from Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, as well as the coordinating teams of CITET and ANPE for their valuable contributions.