Application area "reuse in the Mediterranean rim"

Reuse in the countries of the Mediterranean rim has several specific features compared to the French situation, which justify the development of approaches specific to these contexts, which are varied but have points in common.

The lack of operationality of regulatory frameworks (or even their absence) combined with the increase in pressure on water resources (increase in needs, climate change) results in the presence of reuse practices that are much more important than in France (for instance, in Dakar, 30% of the vegetables sold on the markets are irrigated with wastewater). There is therefore a need to develop new reuse projects, but also to improve current practices by institutionalising those that are not (while ensuring that previous use rights continue even if they evolve) and by controling their health and environmental risks.
Reuse must be accompanied by an effort to economise on the use of the resource, which in agriculture (70% of water consumption worldwide) means adopting more sober irrigation practices. These practices must be adapted to the new matrix represented by treated wastewater.
The reuse reveals a certain number of limitations of the centralised sanitation model as it is known in France, which limit the circularity of flows (network costs, mixing of water which limits their recovery). Wastewater management infrastructures are less developed in African countries and it seems interesting to propose to accompany this development to maximise its impact on the circular economy by sharing the lessons learned from our mistakes.
Only 31% of the world's population is connected to a sewerage system (WHO, 2019^*). In Africa, even in large cities, the majority of the population has not any individual access to sanitation. The nature of the effluents to be treated and recovered is therefore very different from that in France. It is necessary to focus on household wastewater and especially on faecal matter. In addition, sanitation service models adapted to these effluents and to the cohabitation of individual and collective scales must also be developed.
The INRAE's reuse network produces knowledge through its four research themes (Territories, Risks, Sectors and Stakeholders) that can be mobilised to meet the challenges of Mediterranean and African countries. One of the objectives for this application area is to make the network and its skills known to stakeholders in these territories. Initially, in 2021, it is proposed to organise exchanges with French cooperation actors in order to make the network and its position on these issues known. These exchanges would take the form of a half-day seminar with the Water and Sanitation Department (EAA) of the AFD, as well as contributions to/co-construction of seminars organised by the pS-Eau on the theme for decentralised cooperation actors.

Contact: Jérôme Harmand and Rémi Lombard-Latune (see contact details on the contact page)

^*WHO global water, sanitation and hygiene: annual report 2018, 2019