The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership established between the European Union and 10 Mediterranean partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey) in 1995.

The overall objective of the EU funded initiative is to contribute through enhanced and regular dialogue, free trade and co-operation, to guarantee peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Program (SMAP)

To reach SMAP web page, use the following link.

http://www.smaprms.net/EN/index.php

Within the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Program (SMAP) has been created in November 1997 as a framework program of action for the protection of the Mediterranean environment.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partners have selected by consensus the following five priority fields of action for the SMAP;

o        Integrated Water Management,

o        Waste Management,

o        Hot Spots (covering both polluted areas and threatened biodiversity elements),

o        Integrated Coastal Zone Management,

o        Combating Desertification.

The SMAP should also promote the transfer of Community experience in the field of financing techniques, legislation and environmental monitoring and integration of environmental concerns in all policies.

The SMAP Clearing House

http:// smap.ewindows.eu.org/

To contribute for ensuring the objectives of SMAP, The SMAP Clearing House mechanism have been established.  The SMAP Clearing House (CH) is an open access, a web based information system developed by the SMAP Regional Management and Support Unit (SMAP RMSU).

The SMAP Regional Management and Support Unit (RMSU) was set up in 2003 by the EC (EuropeAid) in order to facilitate the exchange of information and strengthen co-operation between SMAP participants and environment stakeholders. It is implemented by the Italian Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services (APAT) and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).

The SMAP Clearing House information system has been designed to facilitate access to valuable environmental information of the Region.

The SMAP Clearing House provides:   

o        information about the key environmental actors in the Mediterranean region and its countries

o        examples of the tools applied to tackle environmental problems around the region

o        access to wide-ranging environmental information and reports

o        details of the environmental prospects for the Mediterranean, in terms of national and regional policies, plans and strategies.

Main features of the SMAP Clearing House

§         The SMAP Clearing House serves as a portal, providing shortcuts to a wealth of environmental information from all around the Mediterranean region. These shortcuts consist of brief descriptions together with links to the relevant websites or other publications containing further information.

§         The clearing house has been developed together with the European Environmental Agency (EEA). Other organisations around the Mediterranean with experience on environmental issues have also been consulted during the development of the portal.

§         Information can be found quickly and easily through two user-friendly search functions. 

           Free text search – allowing speedy access to the whole database.

           Project search – by SMAP priority area, by country, or by combinations

§         The clearing house is based on collaborative editing, with national environmental institutions from each of the countries around the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean responsible for their respective country sections and other key contributions.

§         The overall data model is composed of:

Ø      Environmental Projects

Ø      Mediterranean Countries (National) Environmental Information

Ø      Regional Environmental Information

Ø      Environmental Management Tools

Ø      Environmental Information

Turkey in the SMAP the Clearing House

To reach Turkey information folder in SMAP Clearing House, use the following link:
http://smap.ewindows.eu.org/fol112686

Ministry of Environment and Forest of Turkey, as SMAP correspondent’s institution, was in charge of the Turkish section. MLAE selected and prepared relevant metadata for Turkey to be loaded into the SMAP Clearing House portal.

Such metadata consist in short descriptions in English of legislation, organizations, projects and important reports and strategies with links to original texts and documents. 

In particular, it is possible to find: 

• In Legislating Folder, 26 laws and 33 by-laws, which were selected according to their importance and scope, are organised in CH along with environmental thematic categories as. 9 references to national strategies and Action Plan are also stored.

o        In Institution folder, information on 24 government entities such as ministries and other administrations, 26 research institutions as independent centres and centres established in the universities are stored. Moreover, 36 NGOs were selected for CH according to their international/national activities and visibilities.

Such folder will be further extended with new submissions from NGO’s and Universities. 

• In data and report folder:  information is relevant to national level documentation. In the next future, reports produced by NGO s on environmental subjects may be posted in CH.  In this part 16 data entry were made. Also while selecting information to be published in CH, it was taken in to account whether the information is in English or receivable from internet.
• In project folder:  44 international, regional and national environmental projects implemented in Turkey are described in CH.

In the near future the SMAP Clearing House will be opened to a wider range of stakeholders and experts, facilitating the inclusion of even more information on national and regional organisations, projects, news and events. The more people use and contribute to this valuable portal, the better it will become.