LDEM chairperson, faculty member and AUB's NAWAMED project coordinator, Dr. Yaser Abunnasr, launched the project's cycle of “Water Tables" in Lebanon to gather stakeholders interested in water use efficiency in non-conventional water resources (NCWR) over four local Water Tables. The online workshops took place on July 28, 29 and August 11, 12. Discussions focused on the following themes:
- Current and emerging water demand management (WDM) and NCWR technologies
- Barriers for the uptake of WDM and NCWR in Lebanon
- Cost feasibility assessment of WDM and NCWR technologies in Lebanon
- Identification of challenges for promoting the adoption of WDM and NCWR technologies
Dr. Nadim Farajalla (IFI), co-project investigator, moderated the meetings, at which Dr. Abunnasr introduced the overall project and its context and implementation in Lebanon. Invited speakers included Dr. Ahmad El Moll of the AQUACYCLE project (financed through the ENI CBC MED program), Dr. Hammou Laamrani, Senior Expert in the- Economic Sector of the League of Arab States, and Mrs. Rita El Jahjah, Research and Development Officer at CubeX - Lebanese social enterprise, which specializes in resource-oriented bio-waste management. The speakers shared their contribution and experience during the meetings, which were followed by fruitful panel discussions in which stakeholders discussed the interlinked themes of current and emerging WDM and NCWR technologies and the barriers to their uptake in Lebanon, how to overcome these barriers, and ways to facilitate the implementation of best practices. The session outcomes and conclusions will be formulated by participant feedback, with final conclusions with specific policy recommendations for Lebanon contributing to the development of a “Mediterranean Policy Document" that identifies key policy approaches needed to support the increased adoption of WDM and NCWR at Mediterranean level.
