International Conference "Confronting fresh water crisis in the Mediterranean Basin. What role for the European Union ?"

Organized in Paris on May 28th and 29th, 2008, with the support of Iddri, Plan Bleu and World Water Council, this conference aims at attracting the general public’s attention to the problems related to fresh water in the Mediterranean basin. <More...>

International workshop "Sustainable agricultural and rural development in the Mediterranean"

Plan Bleu, CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies) and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB) are organizing the international workshop devoted to "Sustainable agricultural and rural development in the Mediterranean" that will take place in Bari (Italy), on the 8, 9 and 10th of May 2008. The participation to this workshop is limited. Works will be based on the results of 10 national studies and 4 regional studies implemented in the framework of the Plan Bleu/CIHEAM Partnership for the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development and for the publication of Mediterra 2009. Download the agenda.
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Consultation of the World Bank on the next World Development Report

On May 5th-6th, 2008, Plan Bleu participated in a consultation organized by the Marseilles Office of the World Bank (WBI/KNA MENA) on the next World Development Report (WDR 2009). The main topic of this report will be “spatial disparities and development policy”. Organized for the Middle East and North Africa Region, this consultation focused on three thematic issues: urban-rural transformation and the emergence of slums, territorial development and decentralization, regional and global integration. The draft report will be presented to the World Bank Board of Directors in June 2008.

Draft agreement between Veolia Environment Institute and Plan Bleu

On May 5th, 2008, Georges Valentis, General Delegate of Veolia Environment Institute and Henri-Luc Thibault, Plan Bleu’s director, signed a draft agreement set for organizing joint actions in the field of Mediterranean prospective. These works aim at anticipating the main trends and changes related to environment protection and sustainable development and are relevant to interactions between the Mediterranean societies and the environment in particular.

5th meeting of the “Water & Environment working group” of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region

On 29th April 2008, Plan Bleu participated in the 5th meeting of the “Water & Environment working group” of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region lead by the Regional Economic Development Organization (MDER). The meeting consisted in presentations concerning the activities and research topics of CEMAGREF (Aix-en-Provence local centre), the policy and tools implemented by the Regional Council for “A water joint and sustainable management in PACA region”, and the current Mediterranean cooperation programmes in the water field.

Mediterranean seminar on « the method Imagine’s assets »

On 21st April 2008 in Sophia Antipolis, Blue Plan organised a Mediterranean seminar on « the method Imagine’s assets » with about fourty participants from 13 countries. The objectives were to get together Imagine’s practitioners and potential users, in order to promote a transfer of know-how.  The programme of work has been to present the results of the Imagine’s different experiences and to debate on Imagine’s transfer.

Cycle of conferences of the HydroSciences Montpellier Laboratory

On 11th of April 2008, within the cycle of conferences of the HydroSciences Montpellier Laboratory, Plan Bleu gave a lecture on ” the Plan Bleu, an integrated approach of the environmental issues for the Mediterranean basin”.

20th Session of the Silva Mediterranea Committee

Plan Bleu took part to the works conducted during the 20th Session of the FAO’s Committee On Mediterranean Forestry Questions (Silva Mediterranea) that was held in Sofia (Bulgaria), from 7th to 10th, April 2008. The question related to the reorganization of the Committee and the state of progress of the working groups’ activities were put on the agenda. As per the “sustainable management of forests” group , Plan Bleu presented the knowledge and achievement of the project “Mediterranean forests and sustainable development” and proposed to the Committee the main lines of a working program for 2008-2010.

Improving water use efficiency for facing water stress and shortage in the Mediterranean .
April 2008