Four national H2020 trainings, one study visit and a sub-regional workshop have taken place already, while another eight activities will be organised till June 2013. Trainees from the ten participating countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, [Syria] and Tunisia) are joined by colleagues from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey in the sub-regional and regional events of this new phase.
A four-day study visit of Israeli officials from the Ministry of Environmental Protection took place on 14-17 January 2013 in Brussels and surrounding areas. The workshop entitled “Study Tour Flanders - Packaging and WEEE management policies and practices” succeeded to increase the trainees’ understanding of the complex and multidimensional challenges of packaging waste and especially Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE). The course came at the right moment to address needs pertinent to the new packaging law and the upcoming WEEE law in the country.
The first national training of the 2nd phase of CB/MEP was in support of the Tunisian Ministry of Environment's efforts to develop and implement a National Pact for Sustainable Development with the Tunisian private sector so as to accelerate the transition of Tunisia towards a Green Economy. The workshop was held in Tunis, on 5-6 December 2012. Read more here.
In Palestine, the second phase of CB/MEP was launched with a national training which contributed to improved data collection in municipal solid waste management systems taking into account issues such as cost, cost recovery and financing. The Minister of Environment Affairs Dr. Yousef Abu Safieh honored the training with his presence, which took place in Ramallah, from 9-11 April 2013.
Trieste hosted the first sub-regional workshop of the second phase with a much anticipated workshop on industrial emissions on 22-24 April 2013. The workshop was organized jointly by Horizon 2020, UNEP/MAP-MEDPOL and ENPI SEIS at the University of Trieste and focused on improving capacity to prepare Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) as a tool for monitoring industrial emissions.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Universities was the focus of a national training in Morocco, which took place on 23-24 April 2013. The training contributed directly to the implementation of the principles of the Mediterranean Strategy on ESD which is currently in the pipeline and is expected to be adopted at a Ministerial level meeting in October 2013.
Finally, the first quarter of 2013 closed with a training in Amman in support of a national strategy for a Green Economy in Jordan, held on 28-30 April 2013. The workshop succeeded in enhancing the participants’ understanding of the concept of Green Economy, introduced them to best practices drawn from the Mediterranean and explored challenges and opportunities for the application of relevant policies in the country.
