Optimisation for Sustainable Water Resources Management.

• Austria
• Cyprus
• Egypt
• Greece
• Italy
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Malta
• Morocco
• Palestine
• Syria
• Tunisia
• Turkey

The overall aim of OPTIMA was to develop, implement, test, critically evaluate, and exploit an innovative, scientifically rigorous yet practical approach to water resources management intended to increase efficiencies and to reconcile conflicting demands, applied to 7 pilot case studies around the Mediterranean.

Within this context, IRMCo had the lead-role for the Work Packages dedicated to respectively, the Socio-economic framework: objectives, criteria, indicators, and to the Dissemination of the project outcomes. As an integral part of both Work Packages, IRMCo also had the lead role of guiding a process of active stakeholder involvement throughout all stages of the research using innovative interactive approaches.

In the first phase of the OPTIMA project, IRMCo guided a comparative evaluation and benchmarking through (a) the building up common thematic information layers and (b) establishing a priority ranking of water issues among the respective stakeholders across for the 7 pilot river basis: Dhiarizos (Cyprus), Zarqa (Jordan), Litani (Lebanon), Martil (Morocco), Zeimar/Aexander (Palestine/Israel), Melian (Tunisia) and Gediz (Turkey). The outcomes provided the basis for the drawing up of a series of posters.

In support of the first phase and not least to streamline the organization of workshops with the respective stakeholders in each of the pilot river basins, IRMCo drew up Guidelines for local participation. IRMCo was invited to lead the participatory workshops for the Melian River Basin in Tunisia as well as for the Israel-Palestine cross-boundary river basin, Alexander River/Wadi Zeimar.

As lead partner for the Work Package dedicated to Dissemination, IRMCo hosted a Regional Dissemination Workshop in Malta in which the project outcomes were jointly reviewed in a series of round tables by both the partners of the OPTIMA consortium and by four invited speakers.

The outcomes of the Socio-economic framework analysis were the object of a further specific report.

IRMCo’s Final Dissemination Report brings an overview of all dissemination related activities that were undertaken in the OPTIMA project.

The lessons learnt from OPTIMA and our earlier projects COLASU and ResManMed, were presented at several international events, including ECOLLAW 2006 and WATMED 2, 2005.

Furthermore, IRMCo’s evolving shift of emphasis in research projects, from ‘academic’ on the shelf results, to useful ‘hands on’ results that could be immediately taken up by stakeholders and endusers alike were presented at the International Workshop on Geomantics for Land and Water management: Achievements and Challenges in the Euromed context, organized by the Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy, during 23-25 June 2004.