Following its creation in Barcelona on 21 January 2010, the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) has set up its own structures and commenced operations.
On 29 January 2011, members of ARLEM met in plenary session in Agadir (Morocco), the first plenum to take place on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. On this occasion, members of ARLEM debated and adopted three important reports on “State of the territorial dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean”, “Urban Development”, “Local water management”. These reports will be presented to the General Secretariat of the UfM.
The report on local water management aims to offer local and regional support to the Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean, its priorities, targets and instruments, in order to achieve wide-ranging goals: firstly to ensure that the Water Strategy is now adopted and secondly to propose practical measures in this field.
With the report on urban development, ARLEM aims to offer local and regional support to the Mediterranean urban strategy, which includes: a charter on sustainable Mediterranean cities; spatial planning system for the Mediterranean region; a call for projects to develop model sustainable cities and neighbourhoods and an agreement on common eligibility criteria for innovative urban projects by long-term donors and investors.
ARLEM has also established its work programme for 2011, retaining four main themes: climate change, with special emphasis on the problem of desertification; renewable energies; small and medium enterprises in the Mediterranean; cultural heritage, including the role of youth in the preservation and enhancement of local cultural heritage.
ARLEM members will meet for their next plenary session in January 2012 in Bari (Italy).
Files:
ARLEM_report_on_local_water_management_EN_fin.pdf
ARLEM_report_on_urban_development_in_the_Mediterranean_EN_fin.pdf
ARLEM_report_on_the_state_of_the_territorial_dimension_of_the_UfM_EN_fin.pdf