Klaus Ritter, Peter Buettner, Martin F.Schriver

DELIWA (Germany)

EITEP (Euro-Institute for Information and Technology Transfer in Environmental Protection) was founded in 1996 to handle the international activities of DELIWA at first to be the international contact partner for all members of its parent company DVGW - Technical and Scientific Assotiations for Gas and Water and to transfer especially the German know-how in management, safety, regulations and norm to developing and emerging countries. By the long tradition of international projects in which history EITEP was founded it can be seen as a long experienced company with a network of contacts and succesfully project in nearly every part of the world.

EITEP is a totally product free company which is specialised in the field of co-operation with the administration for environmental related subjects. This co-operation varies from training measures and seminars in Germany and abroad to the establish of regulatios and fee systems for water and waste water treatment and waste management in developing and emerging countries. Special weight in this project will be laid on the long term and sustainable success of the training of administration and their staff and the simultaneous training of company staff.

Today, the set of offers of the section includes whole area of water and waste management, and environmental protection. Within the departments, programmes for management, legislation and economy, techniques, and socio-cultural and -economical questions are offered.

Measures include consultation of sponsoring agencies, foreign and national seminars and workshops, training courses, education and field trips and excursions. In additions, short-term and long-term experts are send out and are taken care of; contacts to national and international companies and institutions can be mediated.

Before we can comfortably tap potable water and use natural gas for heating, cooking and baking, a great deal of know-how has been employed "behind the scenes", since every technical measure a supply company is undertaking to garantee a reliable, safe and perfect gas and water supply, is baked on the Technical standards of DVGW. These are relevant for buying a pipe, they regulate the requirements for the pipe, the certification, the quality control, the conditions for pipe laying, as well as necessary qualification of the pipeline construction company, to name but some examples. It is a complete set of standards which is based on the whole knowledge of the field and which focuses valuable practical experiences.

Through its work, the DVGW is a relief for the state. The federal and state legislator restricts itself to the stipulation of the general aims of protection and safety and leaves the formulation to the experts of the DVGW. Thus, the dynamic technical progress is best paid due regard, because the standards are designed by directly involved experts of theory and practice. For the exercise and acceptance of this joint task the DVGW is free from economic interests and political influencing. It is nonprofit-making.

The aim of the association is to support the gas and water supply with regards to technical and technoscientific aspects and particularly with safety, environmental protection and hygiene.

The main tasks of the international activities are setting of standards and standardisation, examination and certification, research and development, professional education, information, consultation.

EITEP is focussing the specific know-how to enable the German enterprises of the water and energy branch to enter the international market and support them in foreign markets respectively.

EITEP is the contact for every interested foreign business partner who is seeking a German company to realize his future projects.

Special thanks for our partner - Scientific Research Institute "BITIS" - for help in preparing of this paper.