Ø International Conference on “Productivity and Growth in Agriculture: Strategies and Interventions” at University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

6-7 December 2006

Faisalabad, Pakistan

Ø International Congress on River Basin Management

22-24 March 2007

Antalya, Turkey

Ø 3rd International Conference on the ‘Water Resources in the Mediterranean Basin’ (WATMED 3)

01-03 November 2006

Tripoli, Lebanon

Ø ECO-IDB-FAO Regional Workshop on Water Demand Management Policies for Agriculture

5 - 11 November 2006

Islamabad, Pakistan

Ø Annual Water Resource Conference

06 – 09 November 2006

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Ø Water Finance and Investment Summit

08-09 November 2006

New York, United States

Ø International Forum on Water and Food

12-17 November 2006

Vientiane, Lao PDR

Ø 32nd WEDC International Conference on Sustainable Development of Water Resources, Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation

13-17 November 2006

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Ø Workshop on Groundwater Management through Policy Interventions and Regulatory Measures

15 November 2006

Lahore, Pakistan

Ø ICASALS 2006 Conference ‘Water in Arid and Semiarid Lands: Innovative Approaches and Informed Decision Making’

15-17 November 2006

Lubbock, Texas, United States

Ø 7th International Symposium on Water Supply Technology

22-24 November 2006

Yokohama, Japan

Ø 5th FRIEND World Conference - Water Resource Variability: Processes, Analyses and Impacts

27 November- 01 December 2006

Havana, Cuba

Ø International Symposium on Water Resources and Renewable Energy in Asia

30 November- 01 December

Bangkok, Thailand

Ø International Conference on ‘Rainwater Harvesting and Management in Africa'

04-08 December 2006

Mombasa, Kenya

Ø An International Perspective on Environmental and Water Resources Conference

18-20 December 2006

New Delhi, India

Ø First International Conference on Groundwater in the 21^st Century

26 - 28 December 2006

Alexandria, Egypt

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Ø Approaches to Private Participation in Water Services: A Toolkit (2006)

Ø Non-renewable Groundwater Resources – A Guidebook on Socially-Sustainable Management for Water-Policy Makers (2006)

Fellowship and funding opportunities

Ø Asian Development Bank - Japan Scholarship Program

Ø PEP’s (Poverty and Economic Policy) grants of $20,000 for developing country researchers studying poverty issues

capacity building and trainings

Ø Structuring and Financing PPP Projects in the Electricity and Water Sectors

6-14 November 2006

Cape Town, South Africa

Ø Agriculture and the Environment: Practices and Processes in Soil and Water

7-28 November 2006

Israel

Ø Crop production and Ecophysiology

13 November - 1 December 2006

United Kingdom

Ø Training Workshop on "Project Design and Management for Professionals in the Water Sector"

18-22 November 2006

Sana'a, Yemen

Ø 3rd International Training Course – Environmental Restoration for Sustainable River Basin Management

19 November- 15 December

Santiago, Chile

Ø Agricultural Extension Practices

20 November - 1 December 2006

Thailand

Ø Community-based Integrated Watershed Management

20 November – 8 December 2006

The Philippines

Ø Social Issues in Natural Resource Management with Soil and Water Conservation

29 January - 9 March 2007

United Kingdom

Ø Soil and Water Conservation

2 February – 9 March 2007

United Kingdom

Ø Soil Management and Extension Techniques

5-23 March 2007

Thailand

Ø Participatory Watershed Management

11 June – 6 July 2007

Thailand

DETAILS

NEWS

INPIM’s Ninth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management coming up in December 2006 – Lahore, Pakistan

The Ninth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management will be held in LAHORE, Pakistan from 4 – 8 December 2006. The Seminar is being organized by the International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM) in collaboration with the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Government of Pakistan/ Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MinFAL), Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA), Directorate of On-Farm Water Management, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and other national, regional and international research and development organizations. The theme of this seminar is “Institutional and Technological Interventions for Better Irrigation Management in the New Millennium”.

The seminar will highlight the diverse experiences of both the host country and other nations in the world, as well as selected cases with better practices in irrigation management. The seminar will offer the participants the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in irrigation sector, review state-of-the-art thinking on irrigation reforms, network with irrigation professionals, policy makers and donors from around the world, and see first hand the functioning of newly established institutions, including farmer organizations and water users associations in Pakistan. The program will be of five days and will include three and a half days of presentations and discussions and a day of field visits and interactions with stakeholders and staff of the newly established provincial irrigation and drainage authorities in Pakistan.

Seminar Theme and Sub-themes

The theme of the seminar is “Institutional and Technological Interventions for Better Irrigation Management in the New Millennium” with three sub-themes as follows:

i) Participatory Irrigation Management – PIM frameworks and models, support systems and sustainability of new institutions, public-private partnership in irrigation management, better practices and lessons learned from interventions, constraints and opportunities;

ii) Irrigation Financing – irrigation subsidies, irrigation O&M cost recovery, best practices in irrigation cost recovery, charging and financial sustainability of new irrigation institutions;

iii) Resource Conserving Technologies – productivity enhancing and resource conserving technologies, high efficiency systems, other water saving techniques and practices.

Call for Papers/Posters

Papers and posters are invited on the above three sub-themes (and may include related project/country case studies, success/failure stories, conceptual/ methodological approaches, frameworks and issues, experiences/lessons/guidelines).

Paper abstracts and poster proposals should be submitted to INPIM as soon as possible and no later than 20 September 2006. Abstracts must be submitted in the following format:

1. Length: no longer than one letter size page

2. Font: Time New Romans 12 point

3. Margins: 1 inch around the entire page

Papers accepted for presentation must be submitted by 30 October 2006. Papers must be submitted in the following format:

1. Length: no longer than 10 letter size pages

2. Font: Time New Romans 12 point

3. Margins: 1 inch around the entire page

Background

The importance of participatory irrigation management in irrigation reforms, with the aim to make irrigation systems sustainable, is now widely recognized by governments, donor agencies and other stakeholders. While PIM as a concept and approach has been in vogue for over two decades with varying degrees of success, the fascinating and challenging debates on emerging PIM issues continue. As irrigation reforms progress, issues continue to emerge, alternative PIM models and frameworks continue to be experimented in diverse local environments, and PIM approaches continue to be evolved and refined. Importantly, as water becomes scarce and faces intense sectoral competition in most settings in the world and in times of ever than greater need to increase land and water productivity of irrigation systems to meet the additional demand for food for increasing population, there is an increasing need to better use and manage each single drop of water. And the PIM approach to irrigation management assumes greater than ever significance in such settings. The purpose of this international seminar is to report and discuss various issues and challenges related to PIM, irrigation financing and new resource conserving technologies, share experiences and lessons, discuss solutions and options, and celebrate progress made in these areas in international settings.

Through a combination of insightful presentations by a series of international speakers and ensuing discussions, the participants will be taken through the issues and challenges in the field and become acquainted with some of the possible options and solutions. We trust that this event will provide an excellent opportunity to participants for sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge in a high level of professional but still informal, friendly and networking atmosphere. We are confident that this event will be truly outstanding for deepening our knowledge of PIM issues and outlining the way forward. Through this event, we hope that we can continue the wonderful tradition of water professionals in making our share of contribution to the betterment of the water users, especially the poor men and women in rural areas of developing countries.

Seminar Venue

Pearl Continental Hotel, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore – Pakistan

Seminar Program

Besides offering the opportunity to review state-of-the-art thinking on irrigation reforms, this international seminar offers the opportunity for networking with irrigation professionals from around the world. The seminar will be conducted in English. The participants are requested to begin checking into the hotel at 12:00 hrs on Sunday 3 December 2006. The participants should check out of the hotel no later than 12:00 hrs local time on Friday 8 December 2006. Participants wishing to arrive before, or stay after, the above mentioned dates and times should arrange for accommodations at their own expense. INPIM and other organizers will not be responsible for any additional expenditure incurred. The seminar program is briefly outlined below:

03/12	Participants Registration (afternoon, evening)
04/12	Inaugural Session, Keynote Address and Keynote Presentations. Technical Sessions, Presentations, Welcome Dinner (evening)
05/12	Technical Sessions, Presentations, Discussions
06/12	Field Visit – Interactions with FOs/WUAs, PIDA/AWB/FO Personnel
07/12	Group work, Technical Sessions, Presentations, Discussions
08/12	Group work, Technical Sessions, Presentations, Discussions
08/12	Participants leave in the afternoon

VISA and Travel to Pakistan

Each participant must arrange to obtain his or her own visa for entry into Pakistan. Participants are advised to contact the Pakistani Embassy in their respective country to ascertain procedures for obtaining a visa. A letter of invitation will be made available to all participants for securing a visa from their respective country. INPIM will facilitate the issuance of letters of invitation upon receipt of the registration forms. Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to, and should make their airline reservations as soon as possible. Participants are advised to intimate their arrival and departure plans to enable reception and send off at the airport or train station.

Seminar Fee, Payment and Registration

INPIM offers a pre-arranged package including lodging, local transportation, meals, study materials and field visits at US $1200 (from the afternoon of Sunday 3rd to the forenoon of Friday 8th). See next page for concessions on the fee. Any additional expenses on telephone calls, laundry, and use of the hotel bar will be at the participant’s expenses. Payment of the seminar fee can be made through a bank/wire transfer directly to INPIM's bank account. The information required to make a wire transfer will be made available upon request by email to ihussain@inpim.org or ssarwar@inpim.org or info@inpim.org.

Participants will be registered through a two-step process of registration as explained below:

Information for Registration

Final registration and payment of fee – upon receipt and processing of the pre-registration forms, final registration forms will be sent to the pre-registered participants as per the following schedule:

- Final Registration and full fee payment by 15 Nov 2006, 5 percent late registration charge

- Final Registration and full fee payment by 30 Nov 2006, 20 percent late registration charge

Pre arranged package including accommodation per participant – US $1,200

Pre arranged package excluding accommodation per participant – US $ 500

Note: 25 percent discount for international participants [Researchers/paper contributors/presenters from developing countries only (excluding participants from international organizations), Students]

Please indicate clearly on the registration forms if you belong to any of these categories.

ADB Conference Aiming to Boost Investment to Meet Asia's Water Challenges

A Water Financing Program Conference opened on 26^th of September 2006 at ADB's Manila Headquarters aiming to accelerate water investments for the five participating countries. The conference brought together central and line agency high-level representatives from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Viet Nam, including experts on urban, rural, and basin water issues, as well as finance and planning ministry officials.

Over two days, they discussed barriers to water investment, practical strategies to overcoming the barriers, ADB products and services that can help them, and opportunities for water investments.

“Improvements in the MDG indicators for income levels, hunger, communicable diseases, maternal and child mortality rates, and environmental sustainability rest on many factors. But all have one factor in common: Water,” ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told the meeting's opening. “Water is essential to sustain life, to provide food, to create the conditions for higher levels of health, education and income.”

Delegates heard that among People's Republic of China, Pakistan, Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Viet Nam – none except India and