Implementing partners
Lead: Green Compass
Partners: Regional Commissariat for Agricultural Development (CRDA) of Beja | Municipality of Testour | Local Water Associations in Beja | Women’s Agricultural Development Group (GDA) Dar El Barka – Beja and other GDAs
About the project
The project aims to strengthen the role of rural women living along the tributaries of the Medjerda River in inclusive and sustainable water governance. The Medjerda (Tunisia’s only perennial river and its main water source for over one-third of the population) faces severe degradation caused by domestic, industrial, and agricultural pollution. This situation threatens public health, local livelihoods, and aquatic biodiversity, including endemic and endangered species such as Pseudophoxinus punicus.
Through a participatory survey involving 100 rural women, the project will document the social and environmental impacts of water pollution, linking local knowledge with scientific data. It will deliver three (03) training workshops on water governance, leadership, environmental health, and sustainable practices, and implement a pilot waste management initiative with two riverine municipalities to reduce domestic pollution entering the Medjerda.
The project will also establish a local network of women leaders for water protection and promote biodiversity as an indicator of water quality and a tool for community advocacy. Therefore, the initiative will contribute to the preservation of ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of the Medjerda Basin by empowering women, engaging local authorities, and fostering collaboration among institutions and communities.
Key objectives
- Document the impacts of water pollution on rural women and their families through a participatory survey combining scientific and local knowledge.
- Build capacities of rural women on water governance, leadership, environmental health, and sustainable practices.
- Promote women’s leadership and create a local network of women leaders to implement pilot actions (e.g., waste management) and advocate for clean water.
This project is part of the BRIDGE (Building River Dialogue and Governance) initiative grants: Gender Mainstreaming Grants / Women Leadership Grants. The BRIDGE Grants aim to address barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment in transboundary water governance. The grants support practical actions to strengthen inclusive institutions and promote women-led solutions for managing and restoring freshwater ecosystems. BRIDGE is made possible through the Water Diplomacy Programme of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC).
