Environment & Assessment

The Environmental Program for the Mediterranean (EPM) assesses the nature and the extent of the environmental problems in the Mediterranean Basin. It leads to recommendations for short- to medium-term actions. Policies, institutional measures, technical assistance and investment project proposals are necessary to ameliorate such problems. The EPM emphasizes the economic and financial implications of environmental protection. It suggests ways in which the countries of the region can achieve the high-priority environmental investments that are recommended. The case is made for greater efforts from the international aid community to assist the Mediterranean countries in this endeavor.
The EPM is a common initiative launched in 1988 by the European Investment Bank and by the World Bank. The World Bank has economic development as its main objective. The Bank has lent for development projects since 1946, primarily in the developing countries of the Third World. The EIB's main task, under Article 130 of the Treaty of Rome, is to contribute to the balanced development of the European Community, another of its priorities is the protection of the environment.
The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) derives its legal status from an Act of Parliament of 1930 on applied scientific research in the Netherlands. It is a fully independent R&D organization and currently has a staff of about 5,100 and a turnover of more than 370 million U.S. dollars a year.
Studies by TNO are carried out in a number of institutes and laboratories located throughout the Netherlands.
TNO's primary task is to support technological innovation in trade and industry, government agencies and community groups. TNO also assists clients and sponsors in solving problems. It conducts consultancy and transfers knowledge and know-how to individual companies and sector groups. Know-how is obtained from TNO's own research or is generated through collaboration with universities and third parties.
The present study is sponsored by the European Investment Bank in the framework of the EPM.
The TNO report gives an overview of the environmental condition of the Mediterranean, especially that of EC Mediterranean countries. It also estimates the environmental investment requirements for sewage treatment plants, river basin management, port reception facilities other environmental protection measures.