Water resources experts participate in mission to Cairo, Egypt

Tom Osborne, Minister of Environment and Conservation, announced today Haseen Khan, water resources manager for the Department of Environment and Conservation, and senior remote sensing/GIS specialist Thomas Puestow of Centre for Cold Ocean Research (C-CORE) of Memorial University will travel to Cairo, Egypt this week to share expertise in the application of space technology (satellite) for the water resources management in Africa.

In April 2005, the Department of Environment and Conservation hosted a two-week visit by an Egyptian delegation from the Ministry of Water Resources. The delegation�s visit to the province included meeting and training sessions with the department�s water resources officials on water quality monitoring, data analysis, management and communication. As a follow up to the Egyptian delegation, C-CORE in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Conservation, Egypt Ministry of Water Resources and Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) submitted a joint proposal to European Space Agency for water resources capacity building in Egypt. The proposal was approved by the European Space Agency as a pilot capacity building project for a two year duration.

Haseen Khan of the Department of Environment and Conservation has managed a number of programs in the area of water resources and visited Russia in 1998 as a part of Canadian delegation on environmental governance capacity building. Thomas Puestow of C-CORE has worked on a number of projects in the area of remote sensing and its application. "Mr. Khan and Mr. Puestow will share their experience and expertise with the officials of the Egypt Ministry of Water Resources as they work to adopt space technology for water sustainability," said Minister Osborne.

"I am delighted that we are able to assist our counter-parts in Egypt," said Minister Osborne. "During their recent visit to the province, we learned about the water resources management related challenges experienced by them. I am confident that Mr. Khan and Mr. Puestow will provide valuable information and assistance and will represent both Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador very well. The combination of their professional backgrounds and experience in water resources and remote sensing makes them well suited for this mission."

Mr. Khan and Mr. Puestow will be in Egypt from February 25 to March 4. In addition to working on issues such as current water resources management practices, data gaps and monitoring needs, potential application of project outcomes in integrated water resources management, they will also meet end user groups to assess their training needs and senior officials in the Ministry of Water Resources.

Media contact: Tina Coffey, Communications, (709) 729-5783, 728-8650

2006 02 24                            2:40 p.m.