Eligibility criteria

ELIGIBLE STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders eligible for aid from the agency are project leaders in the Rhone- Mediterranean and Corsica basins, such as:

• Local and regional authorities and groups of authorities;

• Syndicates in charge of water and treatment;

• River syndicates;

• Other responsible bodies in the basins (regional planning companies, chambers of agriculture, etc.)

Humanitarian associations and NGOs may also apply for funding from the agency, on condition that at least one project leader from the Rhone- Mediterranean and Corsica basins is involved in the project (with a minimum financial contribution of 5%). Eligibility conditions (zones and areas of intervention) are the same. However, lower rates of aid are granted.

AREAS OF INTERVENTION

• The agency provides aid for:

• operations to improve lasting access to water and treatment and related supporting actions;

• actions to improve governance of water and management of water resources;

• all environmental protection operations related to the agency’s basic activities;

• emergency aid actions

GEOGRAPHICAL INTERVENTION AREAS

The agency has made its financial assistance available to all the countries on the list drawn up by the Development Aid Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, to remain consistent with the agency’s institutional cooperation activities, some priority action areas have been defined:

• countries around the Mediterranean basin;

• the Nile drainage basin;

• the Mono River drainage basin;

• Madagascar.

APPLICATION EVALUATION CRITERIA

The eligibility of the projects will be evaluated on the basis of the area of intervention, the status and location of the applicant, project location, budget and funding plan, and the completeness of the aid application form related to international cooperation.

Project quality will be analyzed on the basis of a technical application attached to the aid application form. Whether the project leader is a local authority or an association, the sustainability and durability of the projects presented to the Agency are essential prerequisites for all decisions on aid. Special attention will be paid to the following points:

• Project relevance:

• The capacity of those involved to implement the project.

• Project technical and financial viability:

• Its consistency with the country’s institutional organization and strategy and those of the local authorities that will benefit from it;

• Its efficiency (the resources mobilized in the light of the expected results):

• The sustainability of the service that is established;

• The expected impacts.

The agency may not provide aid for a project that has already been started.