project acronym: gewamed€¦ · · 2009-04-17project n°: inco-ct-2005-517696 project acronym:...

EC- DG

Research

6th Framework Programme

GEWAMED

Project n°: INCO-CT-2005-517696

Project acronym: GEWAMED

Project title: “MAINSTREAMING GENDER DIMENSIONS INTO WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION”

Instrument: Coordinated Action

Thematic Priority: Specific Measures in Support of International Cooperation (FP6-2003-INCO-MPC-2)

Deliverable No. 15

Organization and undertaking of a national policy seminar in each of the SEMR countries

Due date of deliverable: 36th Month

Actual submission date: 37th Month

Period covered: From 15 February 2006 to 15 February 2009

Start date of the Project: 15 February 2006

Project Duration: 4 years

Project Coordinator: Dr. Nicola Lamaddalena

Project Manager Mr. Juan Antonio Sagardoy

Organisation name of lead contractor for this deliverable

NWRC- SRU and EE.AA (Egypt)

Date of preparation of report : February 2009

Revision No. 1

Report of National Seminar

On

Key policy to Mainstreaming Gender in water Management

18th

January, 2009

Cairo House - Egypt

by

Strategic Research Unit

National Water Research Center

Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation

&

Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency

Ministry of State for Environmental Affair

February, 2009

Report of National Seminar On Key policy to Mainstreaming Gender in water Management

18th January, 2009 Cairo House -Egypt

GEWAMED Project Page 1

This report has been prepared for demonstrating the

objectives and the exertion of the national seminar On Key

policy to Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management. The

seminar was held in Cairo - Egypt on the 18th January 2009.

The seminar was organized within the framework of

GEWAMED project by the project’s partners in Egypt,

Strategic Research Unit - National Water Research Center-

Ministry of Water Resources and irrigation in collaboration

with Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency - Ministry of

State for Environmental Affair. The report presents a

summary of the research which was presented and the most

important conclusions and recommendations reached.

(GEWAMED PROJECT)




TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY ..............................................................................................3

1.INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................4

2.GEWAMED PROJECT ............................................................................6

3. BACKGROUND OF THE SEMINAR .......................................................8

4.OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SEMINAR ...............................................10

5.SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS ...................................................................14

6.WORKING PLENARY SESSION ...........................................................21

7.RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................25

8.OFFICIAL CLOSURE OF THE SEMINAR ..............................................27

Annex A : AGENDA .................................................................................1

Annex B : List of attendees .........................................................................1




SUMMARY

On the 18th

of January 2009, a national seminar On Key Policy to Mainstreaming

Gender in Water Management was held in Egypt. . . . The seminar was detained under the auspices

of H.E. Dr. Mahmuod abu- Zied, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and H.E. Maged

George, Minister of State for Environmental Affair. The seminar was officially opened by

Professor Dr. Shaden Abdel-Gawad, president, National Water research center, Dr. Mawaheb

Abouel-Azem, CEO, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, and Dr. Samia Gerges, member

of the Shura Council and the National Council for Women. The seminar was organized within

the framework of GEWAMED Project by the project’s partners in Egypt, Strategic Research

Unit-National Water Research Center-Ministry of water resources and irrigation in collaboration

with Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. The Seminar was attended by a number of

members of the National Council for Women, and many researchers who are concerned with the

affairs of the various water aspects and representatives of civil societies.

The objective of this seminar was to discuss the policy issues related to the

mainstreaming of gender in the water resources management and come up with a set of

recommendation to be forwarded to the politicians and decision makers for their consideration.

The seminar discussed and highlighted the importance of the role of men and women at all levels

in the integrated water resources management.

The seminar programme was scheduled to have presentations from all the project’s

partners about the objectives, activities and structure of GEWAMED project, the developed

national data base and Egyptian GEWAMED web site, and the methodology of developing

Egyptian gender-sensitive indicators to measure gender mainstreaming in water resources

management. The manager of the GEWAMED project, Professor Juan Sagardoy, made a

presentation on the need of gender indicators. Other sessions were organized during the seminar,

regarding the current policy on the integration of gender in water management, the role of both

men and women in the preservation of the environment and women empowerment in water user

associations.




In addition, working plenary session discussed the current policies and their adequacy to

ensure the integration of gender and the application of the principle of gender equality in the

management of water resources at all levels (national - ministerial – local). Mechanisms to be

activated in order to strengthen the channels of communication and cooperation among the

various stakeholders to integrate gender in the management of water resources were also

discussed.

The seminar resulted in many of the recommendations and policy proposals for the

inclusion of gender in water resources management. The most important recommendations of

the seminar refer to the need for the participation of all ministries and organizations concerned in

the development of policies for the integration of gender in water resources management,

emphasis on strengthening dialogue and exchange of information between them, and the need to

improve and strengthen the capacity of women beneficiaries and partners in decision-making.

1. INTRODUCTION

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a cross-sectoral policy approach to

respond to the growing demands for water in the context of finite supplies. It is an approach that

aims to ensure the coordinated development of water, land and related resources to optimize

economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of environmental systems.

Any development activity has its impacts on the community, a community is not a collection of

equal people living in a particular geographic region. It is usually made up of individuals and

groups who command different levels of power, wealth, influence and ability to express their

needs, concerns and rights. The most important two groups in any community are women and

men. The deferential impacts of development initiatives on women and men can only be

identified if monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are sensitive to gender.

Gender refers to the roles and responsibilities of men and women and the relationship

between them. Gender does not simply refer to women or men, but to the way their qualities,

behaviors and identities are determined through the process of socialization. Gender is seen as




the social construction of men’s and women’s roles in a given culture or location. Gender roles

are distinguished from sex roles, which are biologically determined. Gender refers to the

socially determined roles played by women and men. These different roles are influenced by

historical, religious, economic, cultural and ethnic factors. As women and men are defined in

the weave of specific social fabrics, the relation they share constitutes what is known as gender

relations.

In Egypt Women's struggle for their rights goes back to the early 1920s when the

Egyptian Feminist Union was formed. Its impact was increasingly felt from the 1950s. Egypt

ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) with reservations in 1981, and has signed other international conventions of the

International Labour Organisation (ILO). The Constitution gives women equal access to

education, employment and work opportunities, equal pay for equal work, and social security.

The management of water resources in Egypt is the main role of Ministry of Water

Resources and Irrigation (MWRI). Since 1997, this management has been directed towards the

overall goal of mainstreaming gender in the policy framework and programmes of MWRI. The

present and future objectives and strategies stated in the MWRI policy provide ample space to

include attention to roles, responsibilities and relations of male and female water users. The

main objective is to ensure the sustainable utilization of water resources for all sectors in order to

meet national and regional development objectives.

The management of water pollution control in Egypt is fragmented among different

authorities such as Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of State For

Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Health and

Population, Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities.

In each ministry concerned with the management of water resources in Egypt, female as

well as male share in carrying out the different activities. Some of these activities are i)




development and following the implementation of laws and legislation to ensure the

sustainability of water resources development and their use, ii) definition of suitability of water

quality for each specific use, iii) control of water pollution, establishing the water quality-

monitoring network along the irrigation and drainage systems as well as in groundwater wells,

iv) introducing and applying measures to control use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers to

minimize the pollution loads in drains plus encouraging organic agriculture techniques, and v)

providing a comprehensive and accurate assessment of the environmental quality of the surface

water, groundwater and soil, and Sharing in removing solid west from canals and drains.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of State For

Environmental Affairs, through their entities, have successfully carried out several programs to

promote the role of women participation in the water resources development process. Many

activities were performed through different projects' actions and their achievements in that regard

have been well recognized. The most recent project is “MAINSTREAMING GENDER

DIMENSIONS INTO WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN

THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION” PROJECT (GEWAMED).

2. GEWAMED PROJECT

"Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions Into Water Resources Development And Management

In The Mediterranean Region" (GEWAMED) is a project financed by the INCO (International

Scientific Co-operation) programme within the six framework research programme of the

European Commission (EC) and addressed to the countries of the Mediterranean Region. The

project is a Coordinated Action and this means that it emphasizes networking and co-ordination

of on-going research activities. A total of 18 institutions from 14 countries from the

Mediterranean Region participate in the project. The project’s partners in Egypt are Strategic

Research Unit -National Water Research Center - Ministry of Water Resources and irrigation in

collaboration with Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency - Ministry of State for

Environmental Affair.




The overall objective of the GEWAMED is to contribute to the mainstreaming of gender

dimensions in the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Mediterranean

Region, by promoting a dialogue among the countries of the Region and establishing regional

and national information networks and coordination structures to promote the adoption of gender

sensitive policies and build a common knowledge base.

The above mentioned objective will be achieved through the following strategic objectives:

1. Building a national and regional shared knowledge base on gender issues, policies,

actions and measures to support gender mainstreaming in all processes related to IWRM.

2. Enhance the cooperation and dialogue among Mediterranean countries but also within

each country promoting the exchange of information and its dissemination among

national governmental agencies, NGO’s research institutions, international

organizations, private sector and communication media involved in gender related issues

and the water sector.

3. Contribute to the adoption of national policies and other related instruments (strategies,

approaches, guidelines, incentives and legislation) by involving decision makers and

politicians in the processes of mainstreaming gender dimensions in IWRM.

The Project coordinators are Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques

Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM) Bari, ITALY and Istituto Agronomico Mediterraneo (IAMB) Bari,

ITALY.

The Project partners are:

1. Italy: Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes

(CIHEAM) Bari

2. Algeria : Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée pour le Développement (CREAD)

3. Egypt : Strategic Research Unit (SRU), National Water Research Centre (NWRC)

4. Jordan : Faculty of Agriculture – University of Jordan (FA-UJ)

5. Morocco: Association Marocaine de Solidarité et de Développement (AMSED)




6. Palestine: Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC)

7. Egypt: Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA)

8. Tunisia : Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR)

9. Turkey: Çukurova University – Faculty of Agriculture (CUKUR)

10. Cyprus: Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)

11. Greece: Mediterranean Information Office for Environment Culture and Sustainable

Development (MIO-ECSDE)

12. Italy: Osservatorio Nazionale per l’Imprenditoria e il Lavoro Femminile in Agricoltura

(ONILFA)

13. Syria: General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR)

14. Italy: Comitato Italiano per l’Irrigazione, la Bonifica Idraulica e la Difesa del Suolo

(ITAL-ICID)

15. Spain: Instituto Andaluz de la Mujer de la Junta de Andalucía (IAM-JA)

16. Morocco: African Training and research Centre in Administration for Development

(CAFRAD)

17. Lebanon: René Moawad Foundation (RMF)

18. France: Programme Solidarité Eau (pS-Eau)

3. BACKGROUND OF THE SEMINAR

On the 18th

of January 2009, a national seminar On Key Policy to Mainstreaming

Gender in Water Management was held at Egypt. The seminar was organized within the

framework of GEWAMED Project by the project’s partners in Egypt, Strategic Research Unit

(SRU) - National Water Research Center-Ministry of water resources and irrigation in

collaboration with Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). The Seminar was attended

by a number of members of the National Council for Women, and many researchers who

concerned with the affairs of the various water aspects and representatives of civil societies.

The objective of this seminar was to discuss the policy issues related to the

mainstreaming of gender in the water resources management and come up with a set of




recommendation to be forwarded to the politicians and decision makers for their consideration.

The seminar discussed and highlighted the importance of the role of men and women at all levels

in the integrated water resources management.




OFFICIAL OPENING OF

THE SEMINAR

4. OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SEMINAR

The seminar was officially opened by Professor Dr. Shaden Abdel-Gawad, president, National

Water Research Center, Dr. Mawaheb Abouel-Azem, CEO, Egyptian Environmental Affairs

Agency, and Dr. Samia Gerges, member of the Shura Council and the National Council for

Women.




Professor Dr. Shaden Abdel-Gawad, president of the National Water Research Center,

Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation started proceedings with brief opening annotations.

Professor Abdel-Gawad, in her opening statement, welcomed the participants and referred to the

objectives of the seminar and explained that the seminar was a follow-up to the frame work of

GEWAMED project. Prof. Abdel-Gawad declared that the history of technical cooperation

between European Commission and the different Egyptian governments’ agencies is remarkable

example of successive success stories in international cooperation where many EU funded

development projects are being carried out, one of which is the GEWAMED project with NWRC

as the main research arm of the MWRI.

Prof. Abdel-Gawad, stated that the preservation, rational use, and management of water; which

is an essential factor for achieving sustainable development; is a collective responsibility shared

by the politicians and decision makers, researchers and all groups of people, men and women

and children. Prof. Abdel-Gawad confirmed that the participation of both men and women in the

integrated management of water resources increase the effectiveness and feasibility of projects

and lead to their sustainability. She mentioned that The Ministry of Water Resources and

Irrigation in Egypt play a leading role to achieve equality between men and women to

accomplish full participation of all water users. Consequently lots of attention should be directed

towards involving men and women as gender dimension in the Water Resources Development

and Management as an urgent need. For that reason, the implementation of GEWAMED project

in Egypt requires full and sincere participation and cooperation from different organizations and

stakeholders with the SRU and EEAA. . At the end of her speech Prof. Abdel-Gawad hoped

that such ambitious project contributes to the adoption of national gender oriented policies and

she expressed her deepest thanks and gratitude to H.E. Dr Mahmoud Abu Zeid who always gives

support and encouragement. Moreover she gave many thanks to the European Commission for

its sincere support towards the successful development of such a project. Finally, she wished all

a very successful seminar that can contribute to strengthen our national policy regarding gender

mainstreaming in the water management.




Dr. Mawaheb Abouel-Azem, CEO, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency welcomed the

participants, and referred to the objectives of the seminar and the importance of the

implementation of GEWAMED project. Dr. Abouel-Azem stated that it should be taking into

account the gender dissemination in all polices, plans and strategies of water resources

management. Dr. Abouel-Azem mentioned that, today the society is essential and reliable

partner in the implementation and enforcement of the national policies and legislation.

Therefore, it is a must to ensure the representation of all classes of society and the equality of

women and men from the stages of problem identification and formulation of policies and

programs to the stages of project implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Dr. Abouel-Azem mentioned that the role of the Egyptian women as managers of all the affairs

of the house, whether in rural or urban areas, both in the provision of the requirements or

patterns of consumption or behavior towards natural resources, especially water, make us give

particular attention to what can be achieved in the protection of water resources of our society if

women believed in the seriousness of water scarcity issue. Dr. Abouel-Azem stated that the

Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs performs many efforts to protect the water resources

in cooperation with the concerned authorities through 12 programs for the protection of the Nile

River and she explained some of these efforts.

Dr. Abouel-Azem mentioned that the ministry considers mainstreaming gender in its plans and

programs. Therefore, gender unit was established to take over this responsibility. She said that

this seminar is a good opportunity to present and discuss the problems of integrating gender

dimension in the management of water resources and work to formulate a national strategy that

aims at activating the role of all classes of the community in protecting and preserving water

resources from pollution as an issue relating to the life of the Egyptian people and the national

security of our country. At the end of her speech Dr. Abouel-Azem thanked everyone who

participated in the preparation of this seminar, all guests, and EU for supporting this project.

Dr. Samia Gerges, member of the Shura Council and the National Council for Women,

welcomed the participants and referred to the objectives of the seminar. She mentioned that the




Dr. Farkhanda Hassan, general secretary of the National Council for Women in Egypt, is an

active member of the Facilitation Committee of the project with the participation of the Ministry

of Water Resources and Irrigation, and the State for Environmental Affairs. Dr. Gerges stated

that the National Council for Women gives considerable attention to the environmental aspects

and the implementation of environmental awareness program for women in all governorates of

the republic. She mentioned that the environmental awareness program for women includes

many curriculum and the most important of them are about the role of women in the

conservation of natural resources and the protection of them from degradation, rationalization of

water consumption, and environmental pollution effects on health of family and the community.

At the end of her speech, Dr. Gerges thanked all the participant for their attention and wished all

of them a successful and fruitful seminar.




SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS

5. SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS




The programme was scheduled to have six main scissions. The six scissions delineated to the

following topics:

1. Introduction to the Seminar and GEWAMED – Egypt

2. Egyptian GEWAMED Website and Data Base

3. Women and Water – Policy Development

4. Women Empowerment in Water Institutions – Water Boards Experience

5. Gender and the Environment

6. Gender Indicators

Scission (1): Introduction to the Seminar and GEWAMED – Egypt

Prof. Alaa Abdin, Director, Strategic Research Unit of National Water Research Center

introduced a presentation in which he illustrated the objectives of the seminar and its outline.

Moreover, thorough his presentation, he illustrated the importance of GEWAMED project and

why we need such a project. Prof. Abdin presented a case study of Fayom governorate to

illustrate tthhee importance of mainstreaming gender dimensions into water resources development

and management.

Specifically, Prof. Abdin presented a brief overview for the current situation of gender and

water management in Egypt. Moreover he presented some of the problems that obstruct

mainstreaming gender dimensions into water resources management such as lack of coordination

mechanisms among relevant institutions and related bodies, lack of institutional support for

information/dissemination, lack of coordination among women programmes, insufficient

knowledge among men and women about their own rights, lack of access to information and

technology, and limited political commitment in integrating gender dimensions in water-related

policies, legislations and programmes.at the end of his presentation, Dr. Alaa suggested some

solutions to solve such problems such as, developing information and communication strategies,

undertake national seminars and workshops with women associations and government agencies,

and increasing the capacity building on gender analysis.

Scission (2): Egyptian GEWAMED Website and Data Base




Dr. Rasha El-Kholy, Associate Professor-National Water Research Center introduced a

presentation under the title “Egyptian GEWAMED Website and Data Base (Development,

Contents, and Information Dissemination Role)”. Through the presentation Dr. El-Kholy

mentioned that the purpose of developing this website is to achieve one of the main activity of

GEWAMED project that are building an extensive knowledge base for mainstreaming gender

dimensions into IWRM through establishing regional and national networks using internet

technology in countries of the South East Mediterranean Region.

Dr. El-Kholy, illustrated the structure and the components of the national website. She

mentioned that the national website consists of seven main sections that contain general

information about GEWAMED project , the national project team, national and international

news and events that relates gender and water resources management , the Egyptian gender

indicators and national data base that developed by the Egyptian partners, and fact sheets about

several gender issues such as gender equality, equity, and sensitivity, Egypt’s gender profile,

and gender analysis framework. Dr. Rasha El-Kholy, through her presentation, described each

section in details.

Scission (3): Women and Water – Policy Development

Dr. Zeinab Safar, National Council of Women introduced a presentation under the title”

mainstreaming gender into water resources developed and management”. Through the

presentation, Dr. Safar analyzed the status of gender and IWRM in Egypt and proposes

recommendations that ensure gender mainstreaming in the IWRM. She gave an overview about

the policy of mainstreaming gender into water resources management and a general idea about

the developed Egyptian gender indicators. She mentioned that sustainable development is best

achieved by the participation of both men and women as equal partners; this has encouraged the

promotion and use of gender-sensitive approaches in water and sanitation programs and, more

recently, in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Dr. Safar denoted that with a

gender analysis, planners gain a more accurate picture of communities (men and women, rich

and poor), natural resource uses, households and water users. In addition, Dr. Safar denoted that




gender analysis helps in understanding the gender-differentiated systems for access to resources,

labor, water uses, water rights, and the distribution of benefits and production.

Within her presentation, Dr. Safar mentioned many valuable recommendations that can improve

gender mainstreaming into the water resources management. Some of these recommendation

are: gender mainstreaming in all activities of the strategic plan of the Integrated Water Resource

Management should be ensured, awareness workshops should be executed for decision makers to

identify links between gender equality issues and water resource management, training programs

for planners and NGO’s must be implemented, involving both women and men in decision

making with an emphasis on increasing women's participation is very important, participation of

women at all levels especially users will result in accurate planning of distribution of water

resources. Gender and IWRM should address gender differences and inequalities in relation to:

uses and priorities for water, access to income and other financial resources, and access to land.

Scission (4): Women Empowerment in Water Institutions – Water Boards Experience

Eng. Soheir Kamal, Water Boards Project, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation

introduced a presentation under the title “Gender in the Integrated Irrigation Improvement

Project (IIIMP)”. Through the presentation, Eng. Kamal illustrated the women empowerment in

water institutions according to the water boards’ experience. Eng. Kamal mentioned that (IIIMP)

project targets all water users’; men and women. She illustrated the Premises of (IIIMP) gender

strategy that could be summarized in: i) providing men and women with equal access to

information by making meetings convenient for men and women and encourage female Water

Board membership, ii|) gathering information from men as well as women by including women

in studies and questionnaires and including women’s needs in water board action plans, and iii)

providing equal mechanisms for participation by including residential as well as agricultural

interests and obtaining male consent for women’s participation in water board.

Scission (5) : Gender and the Environment




Dr. Mohamed El Zarka, Environmental Specialties, introduced a presentation under the title

“Gender and Water”. He started his presentation by demonstrating a brief introduction about the

definition of gender and gender mainstreaming.

Dr. El Zarka mentioned that: women are primarily responsible for the use and management of

water resources, sanitation and health at the domestic level. Involvement of women in water

resources development and management can design effective new solutions to water problems

where involvement of women in water resources can help in making projects more sustainable;

ensure that the infrastructure development yields the maximum social and economic returns; help

governments avoid poor investments and expensive mistakes; and advance progress on

millennium development goals.. The gender perspective seeks to include an understanding of

gender roles and relations and how these affect and are affected by water and sanitation

interventions. Dr. El Zarka emphasized that taking gender issues into consideration allows better

understanding of the entire hydrological cycle and the interaction of water with other natural and

socio-economic systems. At the end of his presentation, Dr. El Zarka stated that increasing

gender awareness in water resource management can foster greater participation, collaboration,

and consensus.

Eng. Samah Saleh, Gender Equality Unit – EEAA, introduced a presentation under the title

“the strategy of gender and environment”. Through the presntation, Eng. Samah mentioned the

contents of the general framework of the strategy of gender and environment, the strategic target

of this strategy and the importance of mainstreaming gender in the environmental work. She

stated that the EEAA with all stakeholders concerned with relevant issues of gender and the

environment cooperate to achieve the objectives of the strategy at the national level. Eng. Samah

said that the strategy develops a strategic roadmap for the next phase to mainstreaming gender

dimension in all policies and programs of environmental action in Egypt on the basis of the

current situation in terms of capacities, capabilities, opportunities and constraints. She explained

the relationship between gender equality and the integrated environmental management. Finally,

Eng. Samah explained the strategic target of the strategy of Gender and environment.

Scission (6): Gender Indicators




Prof. Juan Sagardoy, GEWAMED Project Manager - Agronomic Mediterranean Institute – Bari

introduced a presentation under the title “Gender Indicators in Water Management: Review

and Proposals”. Through his presentation Prof. Sagardoy introduced a review of existing

gender indicators from international sources, relations among development objectives and

indicators, prioritizing the indicators to be used, and suggested list of indicators to monitor

gender situation in water management for agriculture.

Prof. Sagarday illustrated the relation between gender indicators and the development

objectives. He said that there are many indicators that are available for water resources

development and management but few for the related gender issues. He proposed a set of

indicators that address the following areas of development: improving the access to land, water

and economic resources, improving socio economic conditions, competency reinforcement, and

institutional empowerment. Prof. Sagardoy stated that although not all these development

objectives are strictly related to water resources they need to be considered because they do have

an impact on all water development and management actions. He said that the numbers of

indicators that were suggested are in the order of 55 – 60 and this may be beyond the capacity of

some institutions and therefore some prioritization may be needed. He explained the priority of

the indicators to be used. Finally, he proposed a list of indicators by main categories of

objectives. That main categories of these indicators were to measure gender concept in the

following aspects: access to potable water, access to irrigation water, access to land tenure,

access to economic resources, gender distribution of tasks in farm management, access to

information, training and extension, water governance at national level and local level, water

users organizations, and participation of women in the decision making at farm level.

Dr. Inas El-Gafy, Researcher – Strategic Research Unit - National Water Research Center

introduced a presentation under the title “Egyptian Gender Indicators (Development &

Assessment)”. Dr. El Gafy, through her presentation, demonstrated an over view of the

methodology of developing gender sensitive indicators for monitoring and evaluating

mainstreaming gender dissemination into water resources management in Egypt. Dr. El Gafy

started her presentation by introducing a brief introduction about the significance of the gender




indicators and why such indicators are important for GEWAMED Project. After that Dr. El-

Gafy explained the basic work frame of the methodology of developing the Egyptian Gender

Indicators. Dr. El-Gafy mentioned that the indicators were developed in three levels; ministerial,

national, and project level. She illustrated a list of the developed indicators in each level. At the

ministerial, level she listed the indicators that were developed under five main categories that are

level of women participation in the water management, level of awareness programs on gender

issue, extent of women's role in WUAs , improvement of living condition, and improvement of

health conditions. At the national level, she listed the indicators that were developed under

seven main categories that are level of women involvement in economic, social , and

developmental aspects, women health conditions, level of women education , level of women

ownership, extent of women role and time allocated on agricultural activities and awareness of

the gender issue. At the project level, she listed eleven indicators that might help in assessing

the level of women and men participation in the project at the technical and management level.

At the end of her presentation, Dr. El –Gafy stated that the developed indicators might be help as

a first step for the assessment of the policies and/or other instruments (strategies, approaches,

guidelines,...ect) promoting a gender mainstreaming in the planning, development and

management of water resources.




Working Plenary

Session

6. WORKING PLENARY SESSION




The Working session was detained to discuss the current policies and their adequacy to ensure

the integration of gender and the application of the principle of gender equality in the

management of water resources at all levels (national - ministries – local). An additional

objective of the working session was to determine the mechanisms to be activated in order to

strengthen the channels of communication and cooperation among the various stakeholders to

integrate gender in the management of water resources.

Prof. Alaa Abdin, Director, Strategic Research Unit of National Water Research Center

commenced the working session by explaining the main target of the discussion. He explained

that there were four main questions to be discussed through this session as follows:

1) Are the current policies sufficient to ensure the mainstreaming of the gender dimension and the

implementation of gender equality principle of gender equality in the management of water

resources at all levels (national level - the ministries - local)?

2) What are the current obstacles to the mainstreaming of gender dimension in water resources

management?

3) What are the policies to be applied to strengthen the process of mainstreaming the gender

dimension in water resources management?

4) What are the mechanisms to be activated in order to strengthen the channels of communication

and cooperation among the various stakeholders to ensure gender mainstreaming in water

management

Through very effervescent discussion various view were raised. In the following, the

results of this valuable discussion are explained for each question.

1) The current policies sufficient to ensure the mainstreaming of the gender dimension

and the appliance of the principle of gender equality in the management of water

resources at all levels (national level - the ministries – local) are:

� The capacity of existing policies to incorporate the concept of mainstreaming gender in

the management of water resources cannot be categorically identified.




� Both men and women should participate in solving the problems of water resources.

Moreover it is required to change

� Some of the policies, laws and existing legislation should be modified to be in line with

the principle of community participation in the water management.

� When developing of irrigation laws and legislation for the protection of irrigation water

resources, it should be taking into account the role of women in rural areas as an

alternative to the man in the process of irrigation not only the harvest.

� At the national level, the governmental agencies working in the area of water resource

management with the participation of a number of specialists in this field must develop

an information guide material to be used in the definition of the water policies and their

link to the needs and requirements of both men and women.

2) The current obstacles to the mainstreaming of gender dimension in water resources

management are:

� Women's lack of awareness of the optimum water consumption in different water

uses, not the methods of irrigation only.

� Lack of coordination between the relevant ministries in considering

mainstreaming gender concept into their policies and plans.

� In the desert areas where there is water scarcity, women suffer more than men.

� Lack of confidence of the ability of woman, especially in the rural community, to

participate in the decision-making and to demonstrate her opinion in the planning

stages of polices.

3) The policies to be applied to strengthen the process of mainstreaming the gender

dimension in water resources management are:

� Applying the modern irrigation methods and developing a training program for both men

and women to adopt these methods. This will lead to the preservation of water resources

for the benefit of society and future generations.




� Study the situation of women in terms of dealing with water resources in various

governorates all over Egypt.

� Improve the capacity of women as beneficiaries and as a partner in decision-making

4) The mechanisms to be activated in order to strengthen the channels of communication

and cooperation among the various stakeholders to ensure gender mainstreaming in

water management are:

� Develop a strategy for all parties concerned, ministries, and localities to determine

the roles and responsibilities of both men and women in order to achieve a common

goal which is to integrate gender perspectives in water policies over the next five

years.

� Develop some mechanisms such as legislation, awareness-raising, public

information on how to deal with water resources efficiently and not wasted.

� Elaborate programs for education and training to raise awareness, especially in the

countryside and for illiterate women.

� Sub-plans for the advancement of women's role in preserving water resources,

especially in rural areas must be developed on the localities level.

� Distinction between water resource management and use is essential. The water

resource management is a governmental role while the use of water resources is the

role of the private sector, NGOs, and civil society; both (men - women), especially

women because they have direct contact with water.




Recommendations

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

The seminar resulted in many of the recommendations and policy proposals for the inclusion

of gender in water resources management. The most important recommendations of the

seminar can be summarized in the following:




1. Women and men differ in their responsibilities. Women and men also differ in the ways

in which they use water as a productive resource. Therefore, water resources

management must identify these critical gender differences.

2. Gender analysis should be constantly applied. Without gender analysis, the planners do

not have a full and accurate picture of the current situation, other than they will have

incomplete information that will result in deficient planning.

3. Involving stakeholder’s women as well as men is significant for IWRM.

4. Gender mainstreaming in all activities of the strategic plan of the Integrated Water

Resource Management should be ensured, including irrigation, domestic water supply

and sanitation, coastal zone management and fisheries

5. All the ministries that are involved in the water resources management, directly or

indirectly, should collaborate in the development of policies that authorize the

mainstreaming gender into water resources management

6. Involving both women and men with an emphasis on increasing women's participation at

decision- making levels is very important.

7. Develop a strategy for all parties concerned, ministries, and localities to determine the

roles and responsibilities of each in order to achieve a common goal which is to integrate

gender perspectives in water policies over the next five years.

8. Participation of women at all levels especially users will result in accurate planning of

distribution of water resources.

9. It is emphasized that it is very essential to improve women's access to sources of land,

water ,training, awareness, and credit.

10. The capacity of women as beneficiaries and as a partner in decision-making should be

improved

11. The situation of women in terms of dealing with water resources in various governorates

all over Egypt should be investigated.

12. Need for the participation of all ministries and organizations concerned in the

development of policies for the integration of gender in water resources management,

13. Emphasis on strengthening dialogue and exchange of information between all ministries

and organizations




8. OFFICIAL CLOSURE OF THE SEMINAR

At the end of the seminar, Prof. Shaden Abdel-Gawad, stated that the seminar was very

successful and will contribute in strength our national policy regarding gender mainstreaming in

the water management. Prof. Abdel-Gawad stated that all ministries and bodies involved in

policy development should participate for the integration of gender in water resources

management. In addition, she emphasized on the importance of strengthening the dialogue and

exchange of information between all ministries to improve the capacity of women as

beneficiaries and partner in the decision-making. She said that the seminar was a good

opportunity to present and discuss policies to include the social dimension in the management of

water resources and to work and develop strategies and mechanisms to empower this policy.

Finally, Prof. Abdel-Gawad thanked everyone who participated in the preparation of this

seminar, all guests, and EU for supporting this project.




National Seminar

On

Key Policy Issues to Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management

Annex A:

AGENDA




18th January, 2009

The main Purpose of the event is to:

� Discuss the policy issues related to the mainstreaming of gender in the management of

water resources, and

� Have a set of recommendations to be forwarded to the politicians and decision makers for

their consideration.

Location: Cairo House - EEAA

Proposed Agenda:

9:00 Registration

9:30 – 10:00 Opening Ceremony

Dr. Shaden Abdel-Gawad, President, National Water Research Center

Dr. Mawaheb Abu El-Azm, CEO, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency

Dr. Samia Gergas, National Council of Women

10:00 – 10:30 Introduction to the Seminar and GEWAMED – Egypt

Dr. Alaa Abdin, Director, Strategic Research Unit of National Water Research

Center

Dr. Rasha El-Kholy, Associate Professor-National Water Research Center

Egyptian GEWAMED Website and Data Base (Development, Contents, and

Information Dissemination Role)

10:30- 11:00 Break

11:00 – 11:30 Women and Water – Policy Development

Dr. Zeinab Safar, National Council of Women

11:30 – 11:45 Women Empowerment in Water Institutions – Water Boards Experience




Eng. Soheir Kamal, Water Boards Project, Ministry of Water

Resources and Irrigation

11:45 – 12:20 Gender and the Environment

Dr. Mohamed El Zarka, Environmental Specialties

Eng.Samah Saleh,Gender Equality Unit – EEAA

12:20 – 12:40 Break

13:00 – 13:40 Gender Indicators

Need for Gender Indicators:

Prof. Juan Sagardoy, Project Manager, GEWAMED

13:40 – 14:10 Egyptian Gender Indicators (Development & Assessment)

Dr. Inas El-Gafy, Researcher – Strategic Research Unit - National

Water Research Center

14:10 – 15:20 Working Planning Session

(Participants will break into 3 groups to address topics related to Gender,

Water and Environment)

15:20 – 15:30 Closing

15:30 Lunch

Annex B :

List of attendees




Name Position Work

1

Prof. Dr. Fouad El-Shibini

Technical Advisor

National Water Research Center

2 Eng. Atef El Kashef

Head of CDIAS

Ministry of Water Resources &

Irrigation

3 Prof. Dr. Maha Tawfik

Director

Environment & Climate Research

Institute, NWRC

4 Prof. Dr. Nahla Abou El Fotouh

Director

Water Management Research

Institute, NWRC

5 Prof. Dr. Tarek El Saman General Secretary NWRC

6 Prof. Dr. Alaa E. Abdin

Director

Strategic Research Unit, NWRC

7 Dr. Manar El-Beshry Director

Water Quality Unit

Ministry of Water Resources &

Irrigation

8 Dr. Rasha El-Kholy Associate Professor NWRC




9 Dr. Ghada Gamal Associate Professor Drainage Research Institute,

NWRC

10 Dr. Inas El Gafy Researcher Strategic Research Unit, NWRC

11 Dr. Ibrahiem Ghafer Researcher Strategic Research Unit, NWRC

12 Eng. Dalia Hassan Researcher Assistant Strategic Research Unit, NWRC

13 Prof. Mohamed El Zerka Technical Advisor EEAA

14 Eng. Ahmed abou ElSoud Under Secretary EEAA

15 Dr. Fatma El Gohary Professor NRC

16 Mrs. Elena SACHEZ CUADRADO Counselor

Science and Technology DELEGATION Office, Cairo

17 Justices. Mohammed Abd El Azziz Head of Environment Friends

Management Association, Alex

Environment Friends

Management Association, Alex




18 Samia Garges Member, National Council of

Women National Council of Women

19 Prof. Dr. Mona Gamal El Din

Mohammed Chairperson, EEAA in Alex EEAA

20 Eng. Ahmed Shokry IT Specialist

NWRC

21 Mr. Ismail Mohamed Ismail IT Team

NWRC

22 Mr. Mohamed Saad IT Team

NWRC

23 Mr. Abdel Moneam Hafez Expert

Data and Coordination EEAA

24 Laila El Kholy GD – RBO EEAA

25 Intesar Mostafa Media and Quality Specialist,

responsible of woman unit EEAA

26 Dr. Gamal El Sayed

Head of Central Management,

Middle Delta Branch

EEAA




27 Atef darwish hassan General Manager

Sina Regions Protection EEAA

28 Shereen Mahmoud Environment commission National Council of Women

29 Ikhlas Gamal El Din General Director

Water Quality EEAA

30 Abou Bakr El Shahawi Head of Mansoura branch Ministry of Government for

environment affairs

31 Amina Mahmmed Sawan Director of Agricultural

Department and consultant NRC

32 Eng. Seham Kamal Youssef Responsible of Social Gender

project of integrated management

and irrigation improvement

Ministry of water resources and

irrigation

33 Chem. Azza hessein hamdy Responsible of communication

for woman activities Environment affairs system

34 Prof. Dr. Maged Mahmoud Khatab Professor Agriculture Faculty, Cairo

University

35 Doaa hessein Specialist Gender




36 Nehal Adel Shama

responsible of planning and

following

Environment affairs system

37 Dr. Attia Hessein GERBO head Environment affairs system

38 Seham Ezz El Din Gebril Member, National Council of

Women National Council of Women

39 Dr. Inas Mohammed Abou youssef Assistant professor Media Faculty, Cairo University

project acronym: gewamed€¦ · · 2009-04-17project n°: inco-ct-2005-517696 project acronym:...

Documents