ESCWA Facilitates Exchange of Environmental Knowledge between Palestine and Tunisia

ESCWA Regional Advisor for Environment and Water Ralf Klingbeil said today that Tunisia and Palestine will benefit from the exchange of information on their national approaches to environmental management through the activities, which ESCWA has planned at the Tunisian Ministry of Environment from 22 to 26 April 2013. Speaking to the ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU) of this mission, Klingbeil noted, “We expect to enhance direct cooperation between both countries in a number of fields. The Palestinian delegation will explore the substantive experience in Tunisia in areas such as waste, wastewater management and environmental technologies while the Tunisian side will further discover the challenges faced by Palestine in this field.” The knowledge exchange visit, which includes senior delegates of environmental management from the Palestinian Ministry of Environmental Affairs, will begin with a workshop scheduled to start at 9:30 on Monday 22 April 2013 at the Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (CITET). Tunisian Minister of Environment Mohamed Salmane and Regional Advisor Klingbeil are expected to address the opening session. Following the workshop, the agenda includes field visits to relevant institutions and locations in Tunisia, which will offer practical demonstrations on environmental governance; hazardous waste management; sustainable rural development and eco-tourism; waste and sewage treatment and links to aspects of sustainable energy production; and coastal zone management. The visit will conclude with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Palestinian Ministry of Environmental Affairs and the Tunisian Ministry of Environment. ESCWA is one of the five UN regional commissions. It provides a framework for the formulation and harmonization of sectoral policies for member countries; a platform for congress and coordination; a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory. ESCWA aims at supporting economic and social cooperation between the region’s countries and promoting development process in order to achieve regional integration. Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Tunisia became members of ESCWA in September 2012. By this new membership, the number of ESCWA countries rose to 17, including: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The Sudan, The Syrian Arab Republic, The United Arab Emirates and Yemen.