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  HWE Events and Activities

   World Environment Day Seminar 2009
         9 June, 2009                                                                             (Show Details ...)

On Tuesday June 9th, 2009, the House of Water and Environment hosted a Seminar commemorating World Environment Day. World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Commemorated yearly on the 5th of June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The theme for World Environment Day 2009 is 'Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change'. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.

The seminar included speaker Dr. Imad Ibrik, who gave a presentation on the promising initiatives for ‘The Use of Renewable Energy in Palestine’. Dr. Amjad Aliewi presented historical data and current models on the issue of ‘Climate Change in Palestine’ and Mrs. Nadia ElKhodary spoke about the ‘Role of the UNDP GEF/SGP in Averting Climate Change’. A group of 15 scientists and experts from the Palestinian Water Authority, Environmental Quality Authority, Ministry of Energy, The Palestinian Energy and Environment Research Center, among others, participated in the seminar.

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   Kick-off meeting and Introductory Workshop for ‘The Use of Solar Energy for
        Pumping Water’ in Beitillu
        June 1st, 2009                                                                           (Show Details ...)

HWE held a kick-off meeting and introductory workshop on Monday June 1st, 2009 for the project ‘The Use of Solar Energy for Pumping Water in the villages of United Municipality (Beitillu, Deir Ammar, Jammaleh) of Ramallah funded by the UNDP-GEF program. This project will apply the use of solar photo-voltaic (PV) cells to generate energy for pumping water to nearby agricultural lands in the study area. Participants in the workshop included the HWE team, UNDP representative, United Municipality members, farmers, and local residents.

The objectives of workshop were to:
     1. Present the idea of the project and introduce the funding agency.
     2. Discuss the phases of the project.
     3. Discuss the use of renewable energy in Palestine and the potential use of solar energy
          in pumping water.
     4. Create a monitoring committee for the project.

  
                       HyperLink  HyperLink  HyperLink  HyperLink
 




   HWE organizes a workshop on the effects of pollution on water resources and
        public health in Salfeet district
        13 May, 2009                                                                            (Show Details ...)

On Wednesday May 13, 2009, HWE held a workshop regarding the effects of domestic pollution and the effects of industrial pollution created from Israeli settlement in particular, on the health and water resources of Salfeet district. Representatives from the Palestinian Water Authority, Environmental Quality Authority, Ministry of Health, Institute of Environmental and Water Studies- Birzeit University, Salfeet Women’s Organization, Salfeet Municipality, and others were present.

This workshop was a final output of a 2-year project funded by AGFUND and carried out by HWE with IEWS- Birzeit University and Salfeet Municipality. The purpose of this workshop was to present the findings of the project and to discuss the impacts of pollution in general, and the pollutants emerging from Israeli settlements in particular, on the water resources and the health of residents in Salfeet. Presentations were given on the pollution sources in Salfeet, the importance of environmental protection, the use of GIS in mapping pollution sources, and the awareness raising campaigns carried out within the activities of the project.

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   5th WWF, Istanbul
        16 – 22 March, 2009                                                                 (Show Details ...)

House of Water and Environment participated in the 5th World Water Forum that was held in Istanbul from 16-22 March 2009. Dr Aliewi the Director-General contributed in a number of sessions about the Mediterranean Region and Transboundary basins.




   Groundwater Assessment
        25 Jan – 3 Feb, 2009                                                                 (Show Details ...)

Dr Amjad Aliewi, the Director-General of HWE completed his visit to Newcastle University where he was the lecturer of the course, "Groundwater Assessment". This course is attended by 50 MSc students at Newcastle University.




   GIS Applications in Urban Planning Training
        17 Dec, 2008 – 3 Jan, 2009                                                       (Show Details ...)

Ramallah- Within the activities of the TEMPUS project, which is funded by the European Union to build the capacity in GIS application in the field of water and environment, the House of Water and Environment has conducted two training courses in the GIS Application in Urban planning .

The purpose of this training course was to train the Palestinian staff from different municipalities and local institutes in the use GIS applications in urban planning. Two modules have been distributed to the 18 trainees.

The two training courses provided 48 tainting hours to the 18 trainees.   

                       HyperLink  HyperLink  HyperLink  HyperLink
 



   Women’s Awareness Campaign
        December, 2008                                                                         (Show Details ...)

Eng. Lubna Siam at HWE is conducting several training seminars for women in Salfeet City, Bruqin, Kafr ad-Dik, Deir Istiya and Dair Ballut. These training seminars aim to enhance the individuals’ knowledge of women’s rights regarding water, state responsibility towards water and environment, as well as to offer women many strategies that will increase their awareness of drinking water source protection within their community. The main discussed issues in this campaign are:
    • Environmental problems and health related topics.
    • Impact of pollution on water resources and the prevention measures.
    • How to develop an attitude and practices towards protecting groundwater resources on
       the local community level.
    • Groundwater protection guidelines on the national and regional levels.
    • Water related disease issues.


This activity is a main task of the “Assessment of the Pollution Sources on the Water Environment “project which is funded by the Arab Gulf Programme for the United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND). The activity also includes distribution of many training materials, brochures …etc.

 Brochure

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   SWITCH third scientific meeting
        Belo Horizonte, Brazil
        30 November - 5 December, 2008                                            (Show Details ...)

The third scientific meeting of SWITCH project was held at Belo Horizonte in Brazil from 30 Nov to 5 Dec, 2008. House of Water and Environment (a partner in this project) participated and presented its work about a DSS of Jericho.

It should be noted that 33 organizations are involved in this project. For more details, please visit the website of the project  http://www.unesco-ihe.org/switch




   Symposium and Training Course to Introduce WAS and MYWAS Models
        Ramallah, Palestine
        2 - 4 December, 2008                                                                 (Show Details ...)

Eng Jumana Abu Sada and Eng Lubna Siam attended a three day training course which introduces WAS and MYWAS models. This course was conducted by Prof. Franklin Fisher from MIT University, USA and Dr Anan Jayyousi from An Najah University, Palestine, the training course was held at Rocky Hotel, Ramallah, December 2-4, 2008.




   Pro-Aquifer: Second Professional Conference
        "Protecting the Mountain Aquifer"
         Eshkol Pais for Arts and Sciences, Umm el Fahem
         25-26 November, 2008                                                              (Show Details ...)

The most recent activity within the Pro-Aquifer was the undertaking of the Second Professional Conference on “Protecting the Mountain Aquifer”. This conference was a public interdisciplinary academic conference, on the trans-boundary nature of water and environmental problems and their solutions, with a focus on the role of local municipalities.

The conference aimed to raise public awareness on the threats to groundwater resources which can be addressed at the municipal level on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Participation included municipality staff, scientists, environmentalists, students, and the general public. Presentations were given on the outputs of the Pro-Aquifer project, and a special presentation was given by guest Dr. Geoff Parkin from Newcastle University, UK, on ‘Municipal Leadership’. The conference began with a tour of Umm el Fahem and closed with a discussion on the Sustainability and Replicability of Pro-Aquifer.





   Introductory GIS Training
        10 - 13 November, 2008                                                             (Show Details ...)

Environmental Assessment of Pollution Sources on the Water Environment and Palestinian Livelihoods in the Northern West Bank- Salfeet District, is a project that addresses the protection of groundwater resources from pollution. The project also aims at correlating the impacts of pollution with the residents’ health in order to recommend guidelines for pollution prevention.

In order to achieve these objectives effectively a GIS training course was conducted at HWE for Salfeet governorate municipal staff. This was was held in the new HWE GIS computer lab, by Eng. Jumana Abu Sada, from 10-13 November 2008.

The main objective of the Training Course was to familiarise the participants with the project and its activities, by providing an introduction to the ArcGIS software. Participants were also provided with basic knowledge and experience about data management systems and their utilization. This training course provided 20 training hours for 10 engineers from Salfeet municipalities.

   HyperLink    HyperLink    HyperLink    HyperLink    HyperLink



   Pro-Aquifer Professional Conference
        “Use of the Policy Guidelines: Developing Municipal Policies to Protect
        Groundwater”
        3-5 November, 2008, Notre Dame Center, Jerusalem             (Show Details ...)

The main objective of the Pro Aquifer project is the “Alleviation of groundwater pollution sources from Israeli and Palestinian municipalities”. To achieve this objective, different activities have been carried out including: research on pollution sources and modelling of pollution, training on water management and waste water science related topics, and other outreach activities. Within the activities of the project, a professional conference was held to present the research and guidelines.

This conference aimed to expose the research and guidelines developed within the project to appropriate officials and academics so to foster their implementation by Palestinian and Israeli municipalities. It also encouraged raising public awareness on the threats to groundwater resources which can be addressed at the municipal level on both sides. The participation mainly included decision makers in Palestinian and Israeli municipalities and academics.

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   HWE Director-General examined a PhD Student
        at Gent University, Belgium                                                       (Show Details ...)

Dr Amjad Aliewi was the external examiner to a PhD thesis, “Water Resources in the West Bank – Palestine: Characterization and Modelling of the Quaternary Aquifer in Jericho Area in the Jordan Valley” by the student Ammar Daas at Gent University, Faculty of Science, Department of Geology and Soil Science, Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology.

The Defense was held on 4 November 2008 and the jury members were:
Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Henriet, Chairman
Prof. Dr. Kristine Walraevens, promoter & Secretary
Prof. Dr. Amjad Aliewi, external examiner
Prof. Dr. Okke Batelaan
Prof. Dr. ir. Hubert Verplancke
Prof. Dr. Morgan De Dapper
Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Cnudde
Dr. Marleen Coetsiers

At the end of the defense, Ammar Daas was awarded his PhD degree.



   Networking and Innovation Workshop
        29 October - 1 November, 2008                                                 (Show Details ...)

Eng. Nael Ali Ahmad from HWE was invited to participate in the first regional InWEnt Alumni Conference on the subject "Networking and Innovation" for Alumni from the MENA region from October 29-November 1, 2008 in Alexandria/Egypt.

After his participation with other five experts from Palestine, there was an agreement to establish a local network which will be connected with other networks in the region.



   Training Program in GIS Applications
        11 - 18 October, 2008                                                                  (Show Details ...)

The Pro-Aquifer project is a project which addresses the protection of shared groundwater resources from pollution by municipalities. The project aims to directly improve the capacity of municipal staff to alleviate pollution stresses on groundwater through the training of professionals on relevant pollution prevention activities. This was one of the first GIS training programs that was held in the new HWE GIS computer lab, by Eng. Jumana Abu Sada, from 11-18 October 2008.

The purpose of this training course was to train Palestinian municipal staff in the use of the ArcGIS tool and its applications in water. Municipal staff was trained in data collection, creation of datasets, and water applications in GIS among other topics.

This training course provided 48 training hours to 10 engineers from different Palestinian municipalities.
                                            HyperLink      HyperLink      HyperLink



   Climate Change Policies in the Arab Middle East Region,
        Amman - Jordan
        21 - 22 October, 2008                                                                  (Show Details ...)

HWE participated in the above conference and presented a talk about the impacts of climate change on our water resources and the adaptation measures that should be undertaken to cope with the climate change. The conference was organized by Heinrich Boll Foundation (the Arab Middle East Office); United Nations University and others.

To see the presentation, Click  Climate Change, Water Resources and Adaptation




   IV International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management,
        Thessaloniki, Greece
        15 - 18 October, 2008                                                                  (Show Details ...)

HWE participated in the above conference and presented two talks: the first about the findings of the Pro-Aquifer Project, which is about the protection of shared groundwater aquifers which is funded by EU-Life. The second was about the management aspects of transboundary waters and the Palestinian water rights in the final status negotiations. The outcome of the conference was “Thessaloniki Statement” that clearly considers the importance of referring to the International Law when solving conflicts over Transboundary Waters.
http://www.inweb.gr/twm4/




   Tempus Project: Capacity Building in Newcastle University
        22 September - 3 October, 2008                                                 (Show Details ...)

Within the activities of the TEMPUS project, which is funded by the European Union, Eng. Jumana Abu Sada and Eng. Jamal Numan attended a ‘Continuing Professional Development (CPD)’ training course for GIS in Newcastle University. The Tempus project aims to build capacity in GIS applications in the field of water, environment and urban planning, This CPD training course consisted of Intermediate GIS and Spatial Analysis training using ArcGIS and was followed by discussions, development and preparation of the material for the 5th training course for the Tempus project, which is entitled “GIS applications in Urban Planning”. This course will be conducted in November 2008.

                                 HyperLink      HyperLink      HyperLink



   Launching of a GIS computer lab and two training programs
        24-29 August, 2008                                                                      (Show Details ...)

Ramallah- Within the activities of the TEMPUS project, which is funded by the European Union and aims to build capacity in GIS application in the field of water and environment, the House of Water and Environment has opened a GIS computer lab and has launched two training programs on the GIS applications in water and environment. One of the training courses is a beginner’s course -Introduction to GIS- while the second is an advanced course.

The TEMPUS project is a joint project between the House of Water and Environment, the Water and Environmental Studies Institute of Birzeit University, the Earth and Environmental Sciences faculty in Al-Quds University, Newcastle University, and the University of Lund. The purpose of this project is to develop academic curriculum for university students at the Bachelor level and the Masters level, as well as to train those employed in the field of water and environment in Palestinian organizations. Dr. Amjad Aliewi, Director General of House of Water and Environment, opened the training courses, and Eng. Jumana Abusadah, will be giving the training. Eng. Jumana has much experience using GIS on a local and regional scale in the field of water and environment.


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   SMART and GLOWA projects meeting
        25-29 June, 2008                                                                          (Show Details ...)

House of Water and Environment as a partner participated in projects management meeting about the status of GLOWA phase 3 project and the SMART project from 25-29 June, 2008 at Aqaba - Jordan. These projects are about conducting research studies about the development and management of the Jordan River.



   HWE and Salfeet municipality Meeting
        21 June, 2008                                                                               (Show Details ...)

On June 21, 2008, a meeting was held in HWE regarding the Environment Assessment of Pollution Sources on the water environment project. The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss the progress of this project with some members from the Salfeet municipality. Many tasks were undertaken with close coordination and cooperation with those members, so in order to express our thanks to their efforts, HWE donated a laptop to the Health and Environment department, as well as a GPS device to the Surveying department.   

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   AWARENET Palestine National Chapter Meeting
        4 June, 2008                                                                                 (Show Details ...)

Mr. Ashraf Nader from HWE attended a one day network meeting to discuss the future direction of the AWARENET network, and how the network can better serve its members. This meeting was about the Palestinian national chapter in the AWARENET. The meeting was held in the Dead Sea Marriot Resort, Jordan on 4 June 2008.

To learn more about AWARENET, visit, http://www.awarenet.org/



   Water Wisdom   9-10 April, 2008                                                (Show Details ...)

Dr. Amjad Aliewi, the Director General of HWE attended a scientific meeting in Amman-Jordan 9-10 April 2008 about publishing a book, “Water Wisdom”. Dr. Aliewi has written the water resources chapter of the Book. The Book is expected to be released by the end of the year.


   Field Visits to Wastewater Treatment Plants
        12, 24 March, 2008                                                                      (Show Details ...)

HWE organized with Foeme tow field visits as follows:

   (1) The first joint study tour was held on March 12, 2008. It consisted of a tour to the Shafdan wastewater treatment facility, the largest wastewater treatment plant in Israel. Shafdan is one of the most complex wastewater treatment plants in Israel and the most advanced in the Middle East.

     Participants were given a tour of the facility and were introduced to the different treatment      processes which take place there. A visit to the Maabarot Reconstructed Wetlands followed.

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(2)    The second joint study tour was held on March 24, 2008. It consisted of a tour to the ‘Yad Hana’ wastewater treatment facility. The participants found this tour especially interesting because the Yad Hana treatment facility is actually a joint environmental project between the Hefer Valley Regional Council and the Palestinian Authority city of Tulkarm. This treatment plant collects and treats Tulkarm’s wastewater in the water treatment center at Kibbutz Yad Hanna. The project prevents pollution of the Alexander River (also known as Wadi Zeimar), which is a vital waterway for both the Palestinians and Israelis.

               Participants were then given a tour of the ‘Ramat Hasharon’ facility, whose operation                 is helping in upgrading the water quality in the Yarkon, Poleg and Alexander Rivers.

 

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   WEAP- MODFLOW Workshop    9-13 March, 2008               (Show Details ...)

Under the technical cooperation project “Management, Protection and Sustainable Use of Groundwater and soil resources” between the Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), SYRIA, and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Eng. Najwan Imsieh and Eng. Lubna Siam participated in a trianing workshop which was held on setting up and applying a Decision Support System (DSS) for water management (WEAP- MODFLOW). This workshop was held from 9-13 March, 2008 in the Kempinsky Hotel, Amman, JORDAN.


   Training Course on Sewage Treatment Management
         16 Jan – 6 Feb, 2008                                                                   (Show Details ...)

HWE conducted a training course about sewage treatment technologies from 16 January to 6 February, 2008 at the Grand Park Hotel in Ramallah-Palestine for Municipality Engineers.
More Details...



   Groundwater Training Course    28-30 Jan, 2008                      (Show Details ...)

Dr. Aliewi was a visiting professor in January, 2008 at Newcastle University (UK) and he taught Groundwater Assessment Module with the MSc programme in Applied Hydrology.


   Back to Back Workshops Transboundary Aquifers
        14-18 Jan, 2008                                                                            (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended Back to Back Workshops: Initial Implementation of Joint Management in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, and Nahr El Kabir Aquifer System from 14-18 Jan 2008 in Cairo, Egypt.



   Training Course on Sewage Treatment Technologies
        21 Nov, 2007 – 16 Jan, 2008                                                        (Show Details ...)

HWE conducted a training course about sewage treatment technologies from 21 November, 2007 to 16 January, 2008 at HWE, Ramallah-Palestine for Municipality Engineers.
More Details...



   4th Water Directors Conference   10-11 Dec, 2007                   (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended the 4th Conference of the Water Directors of the EURO- Mediterranean and Southeastern European Countries from 10-11 Dec, 2007 in Bled, Slovenia.


   Water Management during Crisis Course
         4-8 Dec, 2007                                                                               (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended Water Management during Crisis Course from 4-8 Dec, 2007 in Amman- Jordan.



   Gender Mainstreaming   26 Nov – 2 Dec, 2007                         (Show Details ...)

Within the framework of the Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR), Gender and Water Alliance (GWA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) - WaDImena Project, the Cap-Net - AWARENET, and GEWAMED, Eng. Lubna Siam, a Water and Environment Research Associate at HWE, attended Training of Trainers (TOT) course on Gender Mainstreaming in IWRM in the Arab Region from 26 Nov – 2 Dec, 2007 in Tunis, Tunisia.


   Shared Aquifer database for the MEDA Region
        26-27 Nov, 2007                                                                            (Show Details ...)

Eng. Jumana Abu Sada , the GIS Specialist at HWE attended a workshop, entitled: “Shared aquifers database for the MEDA region: content, use and maintenance.” which was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 26th-27th November 2007 organised by ESCWA.



   SWITCH   25-28 Nov, 2007                                                         (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended the SWITCH Second Scientific and Integration Meeting from 25-28 Nov, 2007 in Tel Aviv.


   WEAP Training and Application Workshop
        24-25 Nov, 2007                                                                            (Show Details ...)

Eng. Najwan Imseih, A Water and Environment Research Associate at HWE, attended the ‘WEAP Training and Application Workshop’, which primarily addressed trans-boundary management questions, including alternatives to the Red Dead Canal. This workshop was held in Amman, Jordan, November 24-25, 2007. This workshop provided an introduction to the regional WEAP model for the Jordan basin.



   Regional Meeting on Climate Change
        6-8 Nov, 2007                                                                                (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended the 12th Regional Meeting of the Arab IHP National Committees on Climate Change in theArab Region from 6-8 Nov, 2007 in Al Ein, United Emirate.



   Horizon 2020 and Private Investors Conference
        22-23 Oct, 2007                                                                             (Show Details ...)

Member of Staff from HWE attended Horizon 2020 and Private Investors Conference from 22-23 Oct, 2007 in Athens, Greece.



   Tempus project meeting   16-25 Oct, 2007                                  (Show Details ...)

Within the activities of Tempus project, Eng. Jumana Abu Sada and Eng. Jamal Zeitawi –GIS Specialists at HWE -attended the meeting for the project partners’ staff at Newcastle University-UK during the period, 16th-25th October 2007. The main objective of this meeting was to build the Palestinian partners’ staff capacity in Geographic Information System (GIS), to enhance their abilities to develop GIS curriculums for new courses intended to be offered for the undergraduate students at the Al- Quds (AQU) and Bir Ziet (BZU) Universities. This meeting provided the opportunities for curriculum development, preparation of case study/Project material etc.


   HWE Water conference   27-29 Aug, 2007                                 (Show Details ...)

Staff of HWE attended the International Conference on “Sustainable Development and Management of Water in Palestine” which was organized by HWE at the InterContinental Hotel, Amman – Jordan, from 27-29 Aug, 2007.

For more details, visit www.hwe.org.ps/conf7


   Evaluating and Adapting Existing Water Vision
        30-31 July, 2007                                                                            (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended Evaluating and Adapting Existing Water Vision/Forecasts for shared Aquifer Management in the MEDA Region from 30-31 July, 2007 in Cairo-Egypt.



   MARD/ Balancing Water Scarcity Symposium
        26-29 June, 2007                                                                           (Show Details ...)

Member of Staff from HWE attended MARD/ Balancing Water Scarcity and Growing Demands in Agriculture from 26-29 June, 2007 in Jordan/ Dead Sea.



   Tempus Meeting/kick off   18-22 June, 2007                              (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended the Tempus Meeting/kick off from 18-22 June, 2007 in Newcastle- UK.


   Congress River Basin Management   22-24 March, 2007         (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended Congress River Basin Management from 22-24 March, 2007 in Antalya -Turkey.


   Kick off meeting of the 5th WWF  18-21 March, 2007               (Show Details ...)

Members of Staff from HWE attended Kick off meeting of the 5th WWF from 18-21 March, 2007 in Istanbul -Turkey.


   Renewable Energy Workshop  18 December, 2006                    (Show Details ...)

House of Water and Environment organized on 18 December, 2006, a workshop on renewable energy in Ramallah, attended by a number of Palestinian and German experts.

The Palestinian experts were from BirZeit and Annajah universities, water and energy authorities, Jerusalem Electricity Company, Palestinian Hydrology Group and others.  

The experts discussed how to use the technology for solar radiation for electricity generation and desalination of water. 
 

Dr.Amjad Aliewi explained the importance of using this technology in Palestine with confirmation that the Palestinians should first their water rights in the Jordan River and groundwater basins and all means of water resources.  

              HyperLink       HyperLink

 

Eng Yousef Awayes, a director general in the Palestinian Water Authority-(PWA) and Eng. Deeb Abdalghafour from the PWA spoke about the water status of water supply in the West Bank, while Eng. Ahmad Yaqubi, a director   general in the PWA, spoke about the Palestinian experience in using solar in Gaza, showing the needs for additional fresh water resources in Gaza.  

Dr. Imad Braik from Annajah University spoke about the potentiality of using the solar radiation in Palestine.  

Dr. Omar Kittaneh, the head of the Energy Authority in Palestine spoke about the importance of using this technology in developing Palestine. 

Professor Gerhard Kneis from Germany gave examples about the practicalities of this technology and water it was applied in the Middle East.

 


   Regional Training Course  1-8 December, 2006                         (Show Details ...)

Within the context of the inter-regional project on “Capacity building for Sustainable Utilization, Management and Protection of Internationally Shared Groundwater in the Mediterranean Region”.

The United Nations Economic & Social Commission forWestern Asia (ESCWA),was jointly organizing with the Regional Center for Training and Water Studies (RCTWS) at the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Network on Groundwater in the Arab Region (NGWP), UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization-International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) and UN-Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) a training seminar on “Groundwater Modelling and Data Analysis”. This seminar was taken place from 1 to 8 December 2006 at RCTWS, Egypt.

 

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There were 9 participants in this training course one of them is Eng. Amjad Assi from House of Water and Environment the others are Mr. Ismail Karray (Water Resources, Tunisia), Mr. Nidal Khalifa (Groundwater Modeller, Jordan), Mrs. Mona Fakih (Head of Service of Research and Hydraulic Structures, Lebanon), Mr. Hassan Fayad (Director Deputy, Syria), Mr. Ahmad Abdallah (Hydrogeologist in ACSAD, Syria), Mrs. Halima Mamou (Research Groundwater, Tunisia), Mr. Mohamed Hindi (Civil Engineer at Water Research Institute for Groundwater, Egypt), and Mrs. Heba Abdel Aziz (Civil Engineer at Water Research Institute for Groundwater, Egypt).



   EMWIS Project - Seminar  13,15 November, 2006                    (Show Details ...)

With the framework of Euro Mediterranean Water Information System – EMWIS Project (http://www.emwis.net), Eng. Jamal Alqadi the IT and IS Manager of House of Water and Environment,

was nominated by the Palestinian Water Authority to represent the Palestinian National Focal Point in the Data Managers Seminar, between 13 and 15 Nov, 2006 in Spain-Madrid, Since he was  a member of the project's IT Group for more than 5 Years,The seminar's objective is to provide complementary information and training to help the NFP in improving their web sites.
This seminar aims at:

    •  Reviewing the water documentation management set-up by the NFP
                1. Tools used
                2. Implementation of the OAI protocol - Open Archive Initiative-

  • Discussing an approach for the collection and the diffusion of water projects information in each country and at the regional level (in connation with the data base implemented on the new portal).

  • Reviewing the progress on the syndication of news and events, in particular on the basis of experiences carried out with Algeria, Spain and France (shared and automatic re-use of the news produced by the various focal points using XML flows). The last version of the metadata of EMWIS will be provided to the NFP.

  • Reviewing the potential syndication of other types of content, e.g. the water legislation .

  • Examining the progress, the use and the enhancement of the common multilingual hesaurus/glossary on water: English, Arab, French, Spanish (Italian -under development).

  • Making a self-evaluation of NFP and international web sites in order to improve their Content.

  • Discussing the future of the national portals
              1. Technological and thematic watch.
                  
    2. Assessment of user needs and new information products.
              3. News sections topics (working groups, topical studies, etc).
     

  • Giving a synthetic vision of the Spanish Water Information systems for future exchanges on know-how make between country experts.

Also, Eng. Jamal Alqadi conducted a presentation about
(Palestinian Water Authority and Exchanging Water Information with other NGOs)
PWA and NGOs 342.50 Kb
  

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   Argentina Workshop  24-30 July, 2006                                        (Show Details ...)

"Assessment, Monitoring and Protection of Groundwater Pollution in Urban Areas" Workshop in Argentina, July 24-30, 2006 organized by UNESCO- IHE

With the framework of the PoWER project, UNESCO-IHE invited Eng. Amjad Assi - Research Associate at House of Water and Environment  to participate in  the workshop which was held at Blas Pascal University, Cordoba, Argentina from July 24-30, 2006.

With the framework of the PoWER Joint Research Project between UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (Netherlands), Blas Pascal University (Argentina), Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee, India). Birzeit University and House of Water and Environment (Palestine) are working together in this project. UNESCO-IHE invited Eng. Amjad Assi - Research Associate at House of Water and Environment to participate in the project workshop which was held at Blas Pascal University, Cordoba, Argentina from July 24-30, 2006.

The participants in the workshop were;

    1.  Yangxiao Zhou, PhD - Associate Professor in Hydrology – UNESCO-IHE.
    2.  Dr. D. C. Singhal – Professor in Department of Hydrology
         – Indian Institute of  Technology – Roorkee.
    3.  Dr. Alberto Emilio Ferral – The Head of the Environmental Department 
         and he is also  the Secretary of Extension and International Relations –
         Blas Pascal University.
    4.  Dr. Eugenia Alaniz – Blas Pascal University.
    5.  Eng. Amjad Assi – Research Associate – House of Water and
         Environment.

                            
In this workshop, work plans were prepared for all partners. Moreover, a video conference between the team in Argentina and UNESCO_IHE was performed so as to discuss such joint projects.
There will be some publications and papers in national and international journals at the end of this project.



   CBT Project Meeting  13 May, 2006                                          (Show Details ...)

CBT Project Meeting at the National Committee of UNESCO in Ramallah,13 May, 2006.

Network Committee (of which HWE is a member) met, 13 May, 2006, at the offices of the National UNESCO Committee in Ramallah with those members in GAZA through the Video Conference and took the following recommendations to be considered by the project directors in
UNESCO-Cairo Office:

1- To seek with the donor (Belgium) the possibility to extend the project beyond 31/12/2006.

2- To meet again to decide about the preparation of an internationl water conferance to be held in Palestine
.



   SWITCH Project Meetings                                                          (Show Details ...)

1-  Dr. Amjad Aliewi attended a preparation Meeting for the SWITCH Project from 21-24 June, 2005
     in Delft, Holland.

2-  Eng. Muath Abu Saada from HWE and Dr. Nidal Mahmoud from Birzeit University attended the      Kick-off meeting of SWITCH Project in Delft, Holland During the period, 17-23 April, 2006 .



   "Shared Groundwater Aquifers" Workshop in Beirut
         24-25 Apeil, 2006                                                                          (Show Details ...)

"Shared Groundwater Aquifers" Workshop in Beirut, April 24-25, 2006 organized by ESCWA

Dr. Amjad Aliewi, the Director - General of HWE and as an advisor to the Palestinian Water Authority attended a workshop in Beirut, April 24-25, 2006 organized by ESCWA on shared ground water aquifers.
The workshop was entitled "Formulation of a policy framework to support the establishment of mechanisms for inter-state cooperation on shared groundwater aquifers in the Mediterranean Region.
The workshop adopted a number of conclusions and recommendations for further actions.

To see Dr Aliewi's presentation, Click shared aquifers 1.45 Mb

 



   "tempQsim" Conference - France on April,2006                        (Show Details ...)

"tempQsim" - open scientific conference in Montepllier - France on April 25-27, 2006

Dr. Amjad Aliewi, the Direcor-General of HWE was invited to present a talk about Watershed Modelling in Palestine in a conference called, "tempQsim" - open scientific conference, which was held in Montpllier on
April 25-27, 2006, France.
The title of his presentation was "Watershed modelling and biomonitoring to determine optimal restoration strategies for intermittent transboundary streams between Palestine and Israel.

To see the entire presentation click RIVER RESTORATION 2.99 Mb

To know more about the tempQsim, Please visit the website www.tempqsim.net



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