Contact Overview FAQ

Organisational structure

To deliver its work in the region, GWP-Med has a governance structure with four bodies:

  • The Membership Platform
  • The Partnership Council
  • The Advisory Board
  • The Secretariat

Any organisation involved with water issues or having an impact on them, and having its base in a Mediterranean country, can become a member of the Membership Platform. In addition, members could be accepted among organizations working actively and regularly on water issues in the Mediterranean even if their seats are outside the region. Currently, the GWP-Med Membership Platform brings together 11 major Mediterranean networks of major stakeholders and, furthermore, 35 competent organisations, institutes and companies.

The organisations participating in the Membership Platform agree to abide by the Dublin-Rio principles, as follows:

  • freshwater is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment;
  • water development and management should be based on a participatory approach involving all users, planner and policy-makers at all levels;
  • women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water;
  • water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as an economic good.

In addition they should pledge a willingness to actively participate in the GWP network—a global network of institutions representing all stakeholders in the water sector—that is committed to:

  • the concept and implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) towards achieving global water security;
  • raising awareness of water and the need for IWRM among the political and decision making levels;
  • sharing experience and knowledge on IWRM among GWP Partners;
  • providing advice and services to help GWP Partners where and when appropriate;
  • proactively working together with GWP Partners to identify water related problems at regional, national and local levels; and
  • formulating priorities, and devising and implementing programs to resolve these priorities through IWRM approaches.

The Partnership Council, headed by its Chair, is the deliberative and decision-making body of GWP-Med. The present members of the Partnership Council, are representatives of the following regional networks:

  • the Regional Activity Center of the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP (Barcelona Convention) - Blue Plan
  • the Center for Environment and Development in the Arab Region and Europe - CEDARE
  • the Euro-Mediterranean Irrigators Community - EIC
  • the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies - CIHEAM
  • the Mediterranean Institute on Water - IME -
  • the Mediterranean Cities Network - MedCities
  • the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative - MEDWET
  • the Mediterranean Network of Basin Organisations - MENBO/REMOC
  • the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development - MIO-ECSDE

The Advisory Board, headed by its Chair, acts as a think tank / committee of experts assisting the Partnership Council on GWP-Med development and programme of activities.
A small Secretariat is responsible for the coordination and execution of the GWP-Med work plans and projects in collaboration with members and competent institutes and organisations. The Secretariat is based in Athens, hosted by MIO-ECSDE.