Invitation

JUNE 2008

Dear Madam, Dear Sir, Dear Friends,

As you know it, « a Water Tribune » is organized during the « SARAGOSSA 2008 » International exhibition to allow profitable exchanges of experiences and opinions between the professionals and decision makers of the water sector. It is a great event not to be missed!

The organizers of « the Water Tribune » have invited the International Network of Basin Organizations - INBO to hold a special session on « River Basin Management and Transboundary Cooperation in Europe and in the Mediterranean», jointly organized with the Mediterranean Network of Basin Organizations - MENBO and the European Water Partnership - EWP:

On Tuesday 8 July 2008
from 15:40 to 19:00
at the World Trade Center of Saragossa - WTCZ
SARAGOSSA - SPAIN 

This session will be particularly devoted to the preparation of the 5th World Water Forum 2009 of Istanbul, with the participation of all our European and Mediterranean partners.

I send you herewith the form necessary for your registration.

The aim of INBO and its partners is to enable all the institutions and professionals interested in the management of national and transboundary river basins to meet in order to exchange their practical experiences and propose solutions to prepare the future.

As you know it, INBO and UNESCO were designated by the International Organization Committee of the World Forum of Istanbul as coordinators of topic 3.1 „Basin management and transboundary cooperation” and the European Water Partnership as coordinator of the European report and day of the Forum. This session of 8 July 2008 in Saragossa will thus be one of the important steps for the preparation of the World Water Forum and its conclusions will feed the European and world proposals on topic 3.1.

With regard to Europe in particular, the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive and of the Convention of the United Nations for Europe (UNECE), the work of SOEC and the European Water Initiative (EUWI) in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, will, of course, be paid special attention, as well as the „water” component of the project of Union for the Mediterranean.

As our meeting is taking place in Spain, the specific issues of water management in the Mediterranean basin will also take a very particular place in our work, especially the development of plans for drought prevention.

The four following key issues emerged from the preparatory meetings of the coordinators, for topic 3.1 of the Istanbul Forum, and will be used as guidelines for our work:

1. Examples of practical IWRM application at basin level, of groundwater management and transboundary cooperation,

2. Management of transboundary surface and ground water resources,

3. Participation of the stakeholders and populations in the management of river basins and groundwater and transboundary cooperation,

4. Existing operational tools for the management of basins and aquifers and for transboundary cooperation.

You are invited to present a paper on your experiments: The title and summary should reach us before 1st July 2008 at the following e-mail address: inbo[@]wanadoo.fr

The meeting is open to all INBO member organizations and observers, and also to the interested water administrations and organizations of the member and candidate countries of the European Union and of all the other countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and of the whole Mediterranean region.

Our session is in line with the program of “Topical Week N°4” of the “Water Tribune”, entitled “Water, Unique Resource”, which is held from 7 to 9 July 2008 in Saragossa and which will deal with shared waters, governance and governability, water sharing, water geopolitics, river basins and aquifers, development and management, etc.

Any useful information, the programs and proposed papers will be continuously available on the websites:
www.inbo-news.org, and: http://www.expozaragoza2008.es/... .

The registration key for Topical Week 4 is: 78A93g.

I also take the opportunity of this invitation letter to propose you to consult, on INBO website - www.inbo-news.org  - the papers and photographs of the side event organized on 12 May 2008, during the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, by the French Water Partnership and the European Union, together with INBO, on the financing of IWRM, on the one hand, and, on the other, of the special session organized by INBO on last 5 June, during the “ECWATECH 2008” international exhibition of Moscow.

I also remind you, if you have not already done it, that you can now register to participate in next “EUROPE - INBO 2008” conference, which will be held in Sibiu, Romania, from 2 to 4 October 2008, to report on the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. You can download the registration form on www.inbo-news.org .

We rely on your participation in these events!

I hope to see you in Saragossa next July, and I remain,

Yours faithfully.