MELIA - Mediterranean Dialogue on Integrated Water Management

Research on water management is and has been a priority in national and Euro-Mediterranean projects, especially in the INCO-Med programme. However, it has also been observed that the product of these research programs and projects find difficulties to transform in concrete proposals to improve the efficiency of water use and its management due to the lack of dialog between the different protagonists. Sometimes, the experts enhance technical solutions for some problems, but often they do not consider the social, economic or political links and implications of technical solution, leading to the failure of the applications of their model. Another general perception in the Mediterranean area is the lack of visibility of the important role that Science and Technology play in the sustainable development of the region. Part of these problems is due to communication gaps between political bodies, administrative institutions, scientists, sociologists, lawyers, economists, end-users and citizens. MELIA Community of Practice aimed at structuring a dialogue among the key stakeholders concerned and affected by water use and management, such as scientists, professionals, decision makers, policy makers, water providers, media professionals, educators and citizens to tackle the need for horizontal and vertical integration and dialogue. These are the fundamental justifications behind MELIA CoP. The presence of groups and administrations from different sectors and countries shall have allowed the MELIA CoP to create a wide dialogue and Forum to tackle the conflicts related to water availability, on the grounds of up to date scientific and technical knowledge, considering also social, economic and cultural perspectives. In this way MELIA CoP is now in the condition to propose consensus scenarios for promoting a convergence of the water policies in the Euro-Mediterranean region.