The first objective of MADFORWATER was to improve the analysis of water and food security in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. For the first time, the 2016 Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) for quantifying economic water security was applied to Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, leading to the identification of the sectors that contribute more intensely to the water vulnerabilities of each country. A mapping of wastewater reuse potential in the target MACs was elaborated (Fig. 2). The economic water security approach was applied also to the analysis of food security. This led to the production of two maps showing food security risk in Mediterranean countries, one referred to the current situation and one to a 20-year projection. This analysis led to the identification of measures to enhance water and food security in the 3 target countries.
The second objective was to develop a technological toolbox for WW treatment, irrigation efficiency and treated WW reuse in agriculture. MADFORWATER set up and adapted to the local contexts of Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt technologies for the treatment of different WW types, largely produced in these countries: municipal WW, water of drainage canals in the Nile delta, agro-industrial WWs and textile WW. Furthermore, the project developed and adapted to the 3 target countries 6 technologies suitable for irrigation with treated WW in hot climates. The most promising technologies were scaled-up and validated in 4 demonstrator plants of integrated WW treatment and reuse, installed in the 3 target countries and operated for over 1 year (Figs. 3-6). The 4 demos led to the production and reuse of high-quality effluents, and to the validation of several irrigation technologies under field conditions. In addition, MADFORWATER worked on the development of protocols for the detection and quantification of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in raw and treated WW. Two methods for virus recovery and concentration were validated, and the development of a method for virus quantification in WW is in progress.
In order to promote business opportunities in the target countries (third objective), a business plan was developed for each MADFORWATER SME, and guidelines for the market expansion in the target MACs of for EU and North African water and irrigation companies were produced.
The fourth objective was to decrease water vulnerabilities in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia through the development of sustainable water management strategies. Two model-based Decision Support Tools – dedicated to WW management and to agricultural water management – were developed and utilized to integrate the MADFORWATER technologies and economic instruments into basin-scale water & land management strategies adapted to the 3 hydrological (sub)basins targeted by the project: Souss-Massa in Morocco, Cap-Bon and Miliane in Tunisia, North-Eastern Nile Delta in Egypt (Fig. 7). A review on the policies and economic instruments applied in water management in the target MACs was produced and published.
In order to increase the level of capacity building in the target countries in the fields of water management and social acceptance of treated WW reuse (fifth objective), MADFORWATER organized in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt several stakeholder consultation workshops, capacity building workshops, train-the-trainer courses and field visits. 32 scientific articles, a book on the project’s technologies and 4 newsletters were published. Various dissemination materials were translated in French and Arabic to ensure wider impact in North African countries.
