Title: Report on the ARW "SHARING KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA FOR PREVENTION OF CATASTROPHES AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND ENERGY"
Author: wormser
Company: LAL

Report on the ARW "SHARING KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA FOR PREVENTION OF CATASTROPHES AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND ENERGY".
The title of our workshop indicates a definite focus on the goals of sustainable development. To attain these goals, however will involve a broad definition of the knowledge that has to be transferred as will be apparent in reading the report.
1- Natural risks
Throughout History, the Mediterranean regions have suffered from major catastrophes caused by seismic and volcanic activities.Related landslides and tsunamis can be quoted as well. One cannot yet predict with any degree of certainty when an earthquake will happen. On the other hand, we know it will be located along faults. Oddly enough there is no detailed knowledge of the location of the most active faults in the region. A detailed mapping (and in some cases instrumentation) are both urgent and possible. This calls for international collaboration. Widely distributed seismic sensors, connected through the Internet could make possible a better estimation of seismic waves and may contribute to a warning system which (even it is counted in minutes or even seconds rather than hours) could save thousands of lives. They are now relatively inexpensive. Processing the data online thanks to the Computing Grid could provide live warnings. But it would be imperative to enforce implementation of paraseismic construction norms and also educate the public (as done in Japan) on what to do in case there is an alert. Volcanoes have been studied extensively and their dangers are now well known (lava flows can be controlled, the main danger lies in explosions projecting in a short time pyroclastic flows and mud). The Vesuvio is presently in a phase when it could explode at any time, threatening the lives of close to two million people. The region now has a very elaborate system of prevention that calls, in case there are precursor signs, for the orderly evacuation in 7 days, of 500 000 people living in a "red zone" . The different communes in the zone have been twinned with regions all over the Italian territory and people know exactly where to go and by what means. Drills involving thousands of people take place every year. This is a model which should be be imitated: the dramatic events of New Orleans come immediately to mind.
To summarize, the different levels involved call for:
–Training research experts in the relevant disciplines in all countries of the Mediterranean  and making sure they work together in a coordinated fashion, both for fundamental research and for the maintenance of a monitoring network of sensors.
–Implementation of a broadband internet network and related advanced computing facilities.
–Education of the public at all levels on what to do in an emergency. To start with, the level of illiteracy (particularly high in Morocco ) should be addressed. See recommendation 1
2- Water, Energy and Food
Satisfying these very basic needs should be viewed in the context of a very high rise in the population of Southern countries (doubled since 1970), with no demographic transition expected before 2025.
The water resources are at best constant (meaning a decline in per-capita availability). In addition, several countries (such as Algeria) face a ten-year drought with a suspicion that this is announcing a drier Climate Change. The added request for irrigation water is compounding the situation. The fact that the population tends to increase fastest in urban centers along the coast gives a strong incentive to the recourse to non-conventional means such as Sea Water and Brackish Water desalination. Algeria has created a sensation in 2003 by contracting with international firms the construction of desalination plants which by 2010 will adress the needs of some 6 million persons along the coast. Morocco which has less pressing needs in its North has also decided to put water desalination facilities in its arid South. Tunisia has sizable brackish water resources and will also begin sea water desalination. It should be noted that Morocco and Tunisia have trained research and operation personnel and maintain working relations with the international scientific community which Algeria will now have to do for its program to succeed. New technological trends include co-generation of electricity and water and re-use of waste water for optimal management of the resource and environment protection.

With the exception of Algeria, all Southern countries are dependent on imports for oil and gas. In addition to this dependency, the concern about climate change mandate a look at renewable resources that they could produce. Rubbia pointed out that more R&D effort is needed to make practicable a very promising option of Thermodynamic Solar Energy, based on mirror concentration and storage. Promising results have been obtained in pilot plants in Sicily and Spain (Almeria). More R&D should permit progress which should directly benefit efforts in Algeria where natural conditions in the Sahara are more advantageous. This has the potential of producing electricity or synthetic gas for export to Europe. Another intriguing prospect is wind energy in Southern Morocco which is scarcely inhabited and benefits from very stable and constant Trade Winds.

All Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries are now, because of their increasing population importing most of their food. The main import is wheat (75% self sufficiency in 1980, 65% in 2004). Turkey has become net importer in 2000. The agricultural exploitations are small and less productive than in the North.Consequently, the proportion of rural population living below the national poverty line has increased in Morocco from 18% in 1990  to 27.2 % in 1999. For  Algeria  the figures are 16.6% in 1988 and 30.3 % in 1995. These figures indicate a risk of social instability, flux toward cities, pressures towards emigration etc.. The opening of the free trade zone in 2010 could, without precaution make things even worse. It is probable that a solution can only be found in types of high added value produce such as citrus, dates, olive oil etc...Attention should be given to the "Mediterranean diet" which is highly regarded by dietitians. A vigorous R&D program, involving partnership between North and South agronomers (eg in the context of CIEHAM) is needed to find appropriate solutions (see recommendation 2).

3-Fighting the Digital Divide. The availability of suitable broadband internet connections is a prerequisite if one wants researchers from  the South to avoid isolation and work together with their peers from the North on any sort of development projects as has been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. This has in our mind the dimension of an ethical necessity in bringing about a "leveling of the field" in the intellectual sphere.The availability of EUMETGRID as an outgrowth of the European academic network  GEANT is an important step in the right direction. In addition to just transmitting files, the advent of a distributed "Computing Grid" could put at the disposal of Southern countries, when temporarily needed, an amount of very cost effective computing power that would otherwise necessitate unaffordable "supercomputers". This is typically the case when one needs to process data to avoid a natural catastrophe. Given the quasi absence of optical fiber connection in most of Africa, it has been suggested that an initiative to link all of North Africa (between Morocco and Egypt) by a proprietary optic fiber link could become a federative effort of great significance (see recommendation 3).

4- Integration of the Euromediterranean research area.
A very important trend is taking place in relations between Northern and Southern countries. Rather than "help" or "assistance" , one now has a situation of "partnerships" or "dialogues".In practical terms, some of the programs of the EU (such as Marie Curie fellowships) are now  open to non EU Members. Problems remain: the essence of cooperative research is to abolish obstacles to mobility. The advent of the European charter for researchers will allow doctoral students and researchers working in Europe to move inside the Union, regardless of their nationality. One the other hand, it is urgently needed to find a solution to the problems of visas for entry in a European country. Could a special category of multiple entry visas be created for researchers belonging to an institution engaged in approved cooperative program ? It was felt that more fellowships were needed for doctoral and post-doctoral studies and that one should get private foundations interested.

5-  Formation of elites  and the drive towards excellence.

In the long run, fruitful collaborative partnerships mandate to have, in southern countries, groups of researchers of good standing.
On the international level, it was impressive for the workshop to hear reports about two outstanding institutions that already give a contribution to World Science. One is the ICTP center founded by Abdus Salam in Trieste (Italy) and the other is the new Alexandrina Library in Egypt.
It is a wrong view to assume that gifted scientists from emerging countries should not take part in the intellectual and technological challenges of front-line fundamental research of today. The participation to international programs such as CERN is a strong way to integrate scientists from the South on both the scientific and technological levels. SESAME is a synchrotron light source for the Middle East area that UNESCO has founded on the CERN model. This is a first example of a South-South international research center and will be opened in Jordan in 2009. These are remarkable opportunities to which some countries (Morocco, Egypt) have begun to pay attention. By and large, we believe this to be insufficient and that an effort should be made by Southern countries to take more advantage of these openings.(see recommendation 4)
On a country by country level, the situation is rather mixed. Several North African countries (Algeria, Morocco) are feeling the necessity of reforming their higher education system.This is happening in the context of discussions in the Continent on "LMD" reforms. Taking into account the differences in the situation and needs, there is a good opportunity for scientists in France to work jointly with their colleague on that subject. AFAS welcomes the proposal by the French Physical Society to hold a joint meeting with their Moroccan colleagues in Morocco in 2006-2007.
Focusing on Morocco, it was apparent that in the fields where an active international collaboration exists (Particle physics and related technologies such as Information Technology or Water desalination),one finds excellent researchers, which communicate with their peers in the North. That situation is far from widespread and some researchers still are (and feel) isolated. A comforting note is in the structuring in Poles of Competence, Associations etc.. which will help both nationally and internationally. 
Last but not least, we should address the issue of Women and Science. No country can hope to develop if the intellectual potential of one half of its population is not fully utilized. Going to the extreme, there still exist a high percentage of illiteracy among women in some countries. This is extremely prejudicial if one is to spread simple common sense measures about prevention of catastrophes, or epidemics among the disadvantaged population. The rôle of successful women scientists as models encouraging young girls to study sciences could be very important and should be publicized. The careers of women scientists still suffers from discrimination from their colleagues, even in a country like Tunisia which is proud of its record on women's rights.

 Recommendation 3 "Setting up a dedicated academic optical fiber line across North Africa."

A broadband internet connection is now indispensable if one is to pursue research in international cooperation. The project EUMETGRID, an outgrowth of the European academic network GEANT is a first notable step in allowing researchers of  South Mediterranean countries to link with their peers in the North.
Given the probable increase in the demand for bandwidth and the desirability of more cooperation between countries of the Maghreb, particularly in fields such as climatology and catastrophe prevention, we recommend that scientists from all North African countries (from Morocco to Egypt) get together to set-up a joint proposal for a proprietary dedicated fiber line linking all countries. The example of the connection between California Institute of Technology and Sao Paolo University shows that this can be set-up using very means and volonteer work by students.

Recommendation 1 "On the prevention of seismic and volcanic catastrophes"

Initiate euromediterranean "field" research programs within the European Commission, encouraging coordinated participation of both northern and southern scientific communities.  

Advise concerned governments on the necessity (and benefits) of implementing paraseismic norms for buildings and various urban developments in high risk areas. This could be done through specific euromediterranean conferences.

Spread normalized seismic early warning systems within the still poorly equipped areas, and link them together via internet. Train appropriate technical support personnel.

Study in detail existing early warning systems (following the example of Italy) and adapt them to various areas of high risk. Examine both technical and societal aspects.

Encourage simple "down to earth" risk education in schools and communities with a strong commitment of teachers on an everyday basis.

Recommendation 2 "Insuring food security and food safety in South and East Mediterranean Countries."

It appears necessary to promote a true common euro-mediterranean economic zone that would allow effective mutual access to markets and protect and sustain local productions by looking for complementarity in types of products and timing of market availability between the European Union and Mediterranean countries. This should result in better relations and agreements between professional organizations of the North and the South. 

In conformity with the Tarragona declaration (Mediterranean Universities Forum 2-3 June 2005), support should be given to setting up a euro mediterranean framework of research and higher education urgently serving the needs of agriculture and food industry.

It is mandatory to give priority to a broad cooperative research program towards a sustainable agriculture able to take into account ecological constraints through the advances of Science. This would allow development of traditional agriculture and reconcile competitivity of modern agriculture with environmental and sanitary requirements.

Recommendation 4 "Taking advantage of opportunities in international projects"

CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics has now opened its program to non-member states researchers worldwide. In the last 5 years a determined effort has been made by CERN management to attract groups from the MENA region and physicists from Morocco, India, Pakistan are now taking an active part in the preparation of the Large Hadron Collider experiment program.Physicists from Egypt are presently considering that possibility. This is a very advantageous and cost-effective opportunity to take part in front line fundamental research and of training young people in very advanced technologies that can later be applied to other types of research. 
It would be desirable to get university groups in the Maghreb and in Egypt aware of these existing possibilities and of the advantages for their countries in taking part in that program.
We therefore recommend that researchers from Morocco and Egypt convene (with the help of CERN and other interested agencies). a pan North-African workshop to examine the modalities of a joint effort in that direction
Another international effort is the future SESAME light source that will open as an international laboratory based in Jordan in 2009. Nine MENA countries are already members of that international organization with Morocco, presently an observer expected to join soon. Since light and X rays are universal tools for a broad variety of research in the physical, life and earth sciences, one feels that this should be of interest to all countries of the region, particularly Algeria and Tunisia, but also including Mauritania and Libya. We therefore recommend that physicists from Egypt and Morocco invite colleagues from the region (with the help of SESAME user body) to hold a workshop to incite their colleagues of other North African countries to join that federative regional project.