EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON UPDATING ASSESSMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN ESCWA MEMBER COUNTRIES OPENS IN BEIRUT

Press Release
REC/40

EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON UPDATING ASSESSMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN ESCWA MEMBER COUNTRIES OPENS IN BEIRUT

BEIRUT, 20 April (UN Information Service) -- Under the patronage of Sleiman Trabulsi, Lebanese Minister of Oil, Water and Electricity Resources, an Expert Group Meeting on "Updating the Assessment of Water Resources in the ESCWA Member Countries" initiated by the Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) was opened today at the United Nations House in Beirut.

The objective of the meeting, which was opened by the Lebanese Minister of Oil, Water Resources and Electricity and Hazem El-Beblawi, Executive Secretary of ESCWA, is to review the progress made at the national and regional levels in improving water-resource knowledge, including shared sources, water availability, potential and demand, status of implementation of supply and demand management measures, and institutional and legislative evolution in the ESCWA region.

The four-day meeting provides a forum for the exchange of experiences between government-designated water professionals, experts and participants. Topics to be covered include water resource assessment and regional integrated water management, recent advances in water-resource-assessment techniques with regard to improvements in the application of existing or newly developed methodologies, isotopes, modelling, remote-sensing techniques, and the use of the Geographic Information System. Legal, economic, social and administrative frameworks will also be discussed. The outcome of the meeting will contribute towards improved assessment, development, utilization and management of scarce water resources in the ESCWA region.

The meeting was attended by representatives of ESCWA member States (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen). Delegates of the United Nations Secretariat bodies, specialized agencies and other organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations University, the Gulf Cooperation Council, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A number of universities, research centres and non- governmental organizations representatives and resource persons were also present.

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