Links to Resources
Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC)
SOPAC is the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission. It is an inter-governmental, regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. SOPAC’s work is carried out through its Secretariat, based in Suva. The work programme is reviewed annually by the Governing Council assisted by: Secretariat representatives, a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), and a Science, Technology and Resources Network (STAR)
At SOPAC Secretariat, SOPAC’s work focuses on providing assistance to its member countries in three key programme areas: Ocean and Islands Programme, Community Lifelines Programme and Community Risk Programme.
Ocean and Islands is an integrated programme focused on research, development and management of non-living resources in ocean and island systems addressing issues relating to seabed resources, energy, maritime boundary delimitation and monitoring of ocean processes.
Community Lifelines is a diversified programme that strengthens national capacities in energy, water and sanitation, information and communications technologies.
Community Risk is a comprehensive programme aimed at reduction of community vulnerability through improved hazard assessment and risk management.
These three key programme areas are supported by Corporate Services. To effectively provide these support services, SOPAC maintains an information technology unit, provides publication and library services, and offers technical and field services for specific project work.
River Basin Initiative
This is an activity of the River Basin Initiative (RBI), a joint
work plan between the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The RBI Portal was
developed to establish a global network to share information and
lessons learned, as well as to link and support activities which use
an integrated approach in managing our biodiversity, wetlands and
river basins.
The South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, SaciWATERs, is committed to bringing about structural change in the dominant water resources management paradigm in South Asia. Within that, SaciWATERs focuses on transforming water resources knowledge systems. Key ideas are an interdisciplinary approach to understanding water resources issues, from a pro-poor, human development perspective, with an emphasis on exchange, interaction and collaboration at South Asia level.
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that contributes to international efforts to find solutions to the world’s escalating water crisis. SIWI advocates future-oriented, knowledge-integrated water views in decision making, nationally and internationally, that lead to sustainable use of the world’s water resources, sustainable development of societies and reduced poverty.
The IA, a 501(c)(6) non-profit business, promotes and supports the irrigation industry by:
-
Providing a voice for the industry on public policy issues related to standards, conservation and water-use on local, national and international levels
-
Acting as a source of technical and public policy information within the industry
-
Raising awareness of the benefits of professional irrigation services
-
Offering professional training and certification
-
Uniting irrigation professionals, including irrigation equipment manufacturers, distributors and dealers, irrigation system designers, contractors, educators, researchers, and technicians from the public and private sectors.
The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD)
The work of ACSAD is supervised by a General Assembly composed of the ministers of agriculture from the member states of ACSAD and an elected Executive Council consisting of seven representatives of seven Arab states. ACSAD specialized divisions include Soil Studies and Water Uses, Water Studies, Animal Wealth Studies, Plant Studies, Economy and Planning and the Financial and Administrative Affairs.
Twinning between Basin Organisations is a mean making it possible to obtain concrete results to stimulate and support IWRM. Moreover, recommandations from many international agreements can effectively be implemented. The TwinBasin project aims at faciliting Basin Organisations's twinning arrangements, by defining a framework for action, by enabling the move of staffs between twin agencies and by capitalizing the knowledge thus acquired.
The Murray-Darling Basin Initiative
The Murray-Darling Basin Initiative is the partnership between the governments and the community which has been established to give effect to the 1992 Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. The purpose of the Agreement (Clause 1) is ' to promote and co-ordinate effective planning and management for the equitable, efficient and sustainable use of the water, land and other environmental resources of the Murray-Darling Basin'. The Initiative is the largest integrated catchment management program in the world, covering the watersheds of the Murray and Darling rivers, an area of over one million square kilometres.
Turlock Irrigation District (TID)
"The first irrigation district organized in California, TID
delivers water to approximately 150,000 acres of farm land in
the fertile San Joaquin
Valley. ... The district pioneered the development of its flexible water
ordering system in the 1950s. Today, district growers receive the
exact amount of water they need for their crops, usually within 48
hours of ordering it." Another of the many irrigation districts with
sites on the web.
Water is one of our most critical resources, but around the world it is under threat. Worldwater.org is dedicated to providing information and resources to help protect and preserve freshwater around the globe. A project of the Pacific Institute, this site is a companion to our biennial book; The World’s Water and also provides links to a wide range of water resources.
The UNESCO Water Portal’s objective is to improve access to information on freshwater on the web.
The site serves as a thematic entry point to the current UNESCO and UNESCO-led programmes on freshwater. It also provides a platform for sharing and browsing websites of other water-related organizations, government bodies and NGOs through the water links and events databases.
Water Environment Federation (WEF)
Formed in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with more than 33,000 individual members and 81 affiliated Member Associations representing an additional 50,000 water quality professionals throughout the world. WEF and its member associations proudly work to achieve our mission of preserving and enhancing the global water environment.
WaterAid is an international charity. Our mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.
WaterPartners International (USA)
WaterPartners International is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries. Working in partnership with donors and local communities, we have helped thousands of people develop accessible, sustainable, community-level water supplies. WaterPartners not only offers traditional, grant-funded programs, but is also harnessing the power of micro-finance to address the world water crisis.
WaterNet is a regional network of 52 university departments and research and training institutes specialising in water. The network aims to build regional institutional and human capacity in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) through training, education, research and outreach by harnessing the complementary strengths of member institutions in the region and elsewhere. WaterNet member institutions have expertise in various aspects of water resources management and are based in Southern and East Africa.
Water Conservation and use in Agriculture (WCA infoNET)
The WCA infoNET information system is an Internet-based integrated information platform which merges high quality information resources and expertise allowing direct access to publications, documents, data, computer programs and discussion groups which provide a knowledge base, support and the necessary global platform for decisions on water conservation and use in agriculture.
World Bank: Water Resources Management
This site serves as a central organizing point for water as a cross-cutting issue throughout the World Bank. It addresses water as a resource in its many dimensions, serves to assess and disseminate emerging lessons and shared experiences, to publicize policies and guidelines, facilitate cooperation on water issues and to address issues of knowledge generation, management, and enhancing skills. Learn more about Water Resources Management and the World Bank.
The World Water Council was established in 1996 in response to increasing concern from the global community about world water issues. Its mission is to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decision-making level, to facilitate the efficient management and use of water in all its dimensions and on an environmentally sustainable basis. The WWC has been granted special consultative status by UNESCO and ECOSOC.
World Water Organization's (Humanitarian) primary objective has been to establish the organization through the parliamentary process of a public bill (a new law) in the parliament of Quebec. Accordingly, since the year 2000, it has initiated the appropriate and necessary steps and procedures to achieve the introduction and passing of such a public bill.
Last modified 28-07-2007 11:36 AM