Lead Organization

The World Bank. 

Partners

Arab Water Academy, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), French Development Agency, Plan Bleu, Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA), Mediterranean Water Institute (IME), Arab Water Council (AWC) and the International Water Association (IWA).

Challenges

Water Innovation, a sub-set of the CMI Water Resources Management program, responded to the regional issue of water scarcity through fostering innovative solutions while involving entrepreneurs from the Mediterranean. 

Program Objective

Water Innovation’s goals include:

• Sharing lessons learned from case studies on reducing water losses in urban utilities and developing decision-making tools.
• Exploring innovative solutions, such as an analysis of the viability and replicability of desalinization plants powered by renewable energy.
• Building on existing platforms and with contributions from local practitioners, a nascent water innovations network involving young entrepreneurs fostered regional coordination on innovation and policy priorities.

Selected Results

Innovative approaches and solutions generated: Two regional technical consultations were held in 2012, in Marseille, France and Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss water innovations and gather feedback from micro-entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean region.