Within the framework of the Oman Water Week organized by UN-ESCWA (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) and the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources, Muscat will host two major events, namely: the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on National Institutional Reforms for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (18-20 March 2007) and the Seventh Session of the UN-ESCWA Committee on Water Resources (20-22 March 2007) at the Muscat Holiday Hotel. Participants in the first meeting include a group of experts, consultants, academicians, and representatives of research centers concerned with water issues. The second meeting will be attended by government representatives of UN-ESCWA member countries who are also permanent members in the Committee on Water Resources. This is in addition to representatives of the United Nations organizations and programmes, regional and international governmental organizations and networks, as well as non governmental organizations accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. National Institutional Reforms in the Field of Water The EGM will be held in cooperation with the German Government represented by the federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ). The meeting, which will be opened by Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources Abdullah Bin Naser Al Bakri at 09:00 am next Sunday, aims to review and discuss the UN-ESCWA Guidelines for Legislative and Institutional Reforms Needed for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the National Level, which addresses the institutional reform of the water sector in UN-ESCWA member countries in light of previous regional and international experiences. The meeting also seeks to come up with a set of region-specific recommendations to enrich the Guidelines and suggest operational steps for translating these Guidelines into national plans of action for implementing IWRM processes. The recommendations and findings of the EGM will be negotiated during the Seventh Session of UN-ESCWA Committee on Water Resources. Seventh Session of the Committee on Water Resources The Seventh Session of the UN-ESCWA Committee on Water Resources goes under the theme “Institutional and Legal Reform for the Implementation of IWRM in the UN-ESCWA Region”. The aim of the session, which will be opened by Omani Minister of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem al Rowas at 10:00 am next Tuesday, is to provide a forum for discussion of the water situation at the national ‎and regional levels and allow member countries to present achievements, developments and challenges in the ‎field of water. Increasing pressure on water resources has driven most UN-ESCWA member countries to review ‎and develop their water strategies and policies, and to take a set of institutional, legislative and economic ‎measures designed to optimize the management of water sectors and achieve the integrated management of ‎water resources. The session also aims to discuss the draft feasibility study on the “Establishment of a Regional ‎Mechanism for Capacity-Building in IWRM”, which was prepared by ‎the secretariat pursuant to the resolution that was adopted by the twenty-third UN-ESCWA session in that regard.‎ An additional aim of the session is to acquaint member countries with the UN-ESCWA draft programme ‎of work for the biennium 2008-2009 in the field of water resources, and make recommendations on the ‎legislative and institutional reform that is necessary for the application of the integrated management of ‎water resources at the national level. Other Topics for Discussion ‏Participants will also discuss the national policies for the application of IWRM in the UN-ESCWA region. They will review the progress made in the field of water resources in UN-ESCWA member countries over the past five years as part of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation; and the actions taken in the field of water resources since the sixth session of the Committee on Water Resources (December 2004). The review of the actions taken will be made through a follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations made by the sixth session and a review of the progress made in carrying out water resource-related activities under the UN-ESCWA programme of work between the sixth and seventh sessions of the Committee on Water Resources. It is worth mentioning that the conclusion of the Oman Water Week coincides with the World Water Day (22 March) that goes under the theme "Coping with Water Scarcity". UN-ESCWA and the Omani Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources will celebrate this day during a press conference to be announced later. Brief on Committee on Water Resources The Committee on Water Resources was established pursuant to UN-ESCWA’s resolution 205 (XVIII) of 25 May 1995 that was adopted by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1995/26 of 24 July ‎‎1995. The aim of establishing the Committee was to strengthen regional cooperation by effectively ‎involving stakeholders in member countries in the planning and implementation of the UN-ESCWA programmes ‎of work in the field of water resources. The Committee on Water Resources held its first session in Amman ‎in 1997, while the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth sessions were held in Beirut in 1998, 1999, 2001, ‎‎2002 and 2004 respectively. UN-ESCWA at a glance UN-ESCWA is one of five UN regional commissions. It is considered as the regional arm of the world body in the Western Asia region. UN-ESCWA member countries include Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The objective of UN-ESCWA is to support economic and social cooperation among the countries of the region and promote the development process in order to achieve regional integration. This is of particular importance in view of the regional dimension that has become fundamental to dealing with issues of globalization. UN-ESCWA also aims to ensure that Western Asia interacts with other regions and to familiarize the outside world with the circumstances and needs of the countries in the region. UN-ESCWA works to strengthen regional integration and consider the issues and problems of the countries from a regional perspective. As an instrument of the United Nations system, UN-ESCWA seeks to harmonize the policies of member countries in various sectors such as water, energy, industry, agriculture and technology, as well as to unify databases, statistics and information and prepare and distribute these to users. It also seeks to conduct analytical studies and implements field projects aimed at serving various social strata, including women and children, the elderly and those with special needs. UN-ESCWA organizes conferences, intergovernmental and expert group meetings, training workshops, lectures and study sessions. It also provides technical cooperation assistance, including advisory services, to the member countries. For more information: http://www.escwa.org.lb/divisions/sdpd/events/20mar07e.asp http://www.escwa.org.lb/divisions/newsdetails.asp?id=352&teams=Water%20M... Mr. Bahaa El Koussy Director United Nations Information Centre, Beirut Mobile: +961-70-118 990 Email: elkoussy@un.org Mr. Nabil Abu-Dargham Information Officer United Nations Information Centre Mobile: +961-3-428 438 Email: dargham@un.org Ms. Margo Helou Information Assistant UN-ESCWA Mobile: +961-3-346 181 Email: helou@un.org