ESCWA Executive Secretary Bader Omar AlDafa discussed today the issue of water resources in the region with Wilhelm Struckmeier, head of the groundwater department at the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). Technical cooperation between ESCWA and BGR dates back to 1992, and both parties work together with the overall objective to enhance the cross-country collaboration in the ESCWA region in the area of water.
Discussions covered the areas of cooperation and shared activities; integrated water resources management, and the management of groundwater and shared water resources. Struckmeier, who also heads the world's largest association of groundwater professionals, the International Association of Hydrogeologists, highlighted the importance of shared water resources in the ESCWA region, and the role the UN Regional Commission can play in facilitating and promoting the cooperative management of these resources.
In the area of water resources, ESCWA coordinates its activities with BGR and GTZ (German Technical Cooperation), two German bodies that complement their fields of expertise. The ESCWA-BGR component focuses on the promotion and application of integrated approaches to water resources management. Special emphasis is placed on the management of shared groundwater resources
