9) Participation for Global Action & Change: Connecting practitioners, communities, networks, and organizations, July 29-August 2, 2002, University of Guelph, Canada

10) Enhancing Natural Resources and Livelihoods Globally through Community-Based Resource Management Conference November 2002

Highlights of the Sixth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management in Beijing, China Held in April 2002

The Sixth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management was the latest in a series of seminars jointly sponsored by INPIM, the World Bank and the Ministry of Water Resources. The seminar originally scheduled to be held in October 2001, had to be postponed to April 2002 in the wake of attacks on the United States and the following uncertainty in the Gulf Region. The seminar was the best attended in the series thus far with an attendance of 172 participants that originated from 27 countries, In addition to around 50 participants form the Ministry of Water Resources. The seminar participants were a diverse group of professionals that are each engaged in irrigation management work from a wide variety of disciplines. The each represented a number of organizations, both public and private.

The theme of the seminar was "Institutional Options for User Participation." Sam Johnson III, Mark Svendsen, and Fernando Gonzalez authored the keynote paper on this topic, which was distributed prior to the seminar to all participants. During the seminar country case studies were presented on the experiences of Mexico, Australia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Egypt. All participants attended field trips on which they learned firsthand about irrigation systems in 3 different Chinese provinces. Participants were split into three groups, Group A visited Tien Shaan Irrigation District, Group B visited Zaohe Irrigation District and Group C visited Shijing and Miyanhou Irrigation districts. Upon returning from the field the participants engaged in discussions on what they observed while in the field. This facilitated an exchange between the Chinese and the international participants that advanced the knowledge of both parties about the different institutional environment in their respective countries.

The Seminar venue was in the Shen Zhen Hotel from 21st. April to the 26th. The seminar was inaugurated by the Minister of Water Resources China Mr. Zhai Houhui and attended by the Ministry Local World Bank Staff and participants. On the 23rd and 24th, seminar participants visited the field in three groups to Xijhou, Hunan and Hebei to visit the Chinese irrigation systems and interact with farmers. A half-day site seeing visit to the Great wall was also part of the seminar package. For details visit the INPIM website at http://www.inpim.org .

INPIM Conducts Board of Directors Meeting in China

INPIM held its latest Board meeting on April 25, 2002 under the Chairmanship of Salah Darghouth. Among the key issues discussed were INPIM's strategies for the future and strengthening of country chapters. Presently INPIM has country chapters in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Albania. The Board has also decided to conduct the seventh international seminar in Albania.

First of Topic Pages Added to the INPIM Website

A page on the topic of poverty and irrigation has been added to the INPIM website. It is the first in series of 6 pages on specific topics in irrigation that will be added to the site over the next year. To view this page, connect to http://www.inpim.org/Topic_Page/topic_page.html .

INPIM Participates in the National Workshop on PIM at Tirana, Albania

INPIM participated in the one day workshop on participatory irrigation management in Tirana, Albania. The Workshop was inaugurated by the Minister Agriculture and organized by the Project Management Unit, Albania. Over 200 participants attended the workshop representing farmers, WUA presidents, and project staff. Albania is one of the active country chapters of INPIM. The PMU has been actively involved in supporting peoples' institutions in the highly deteriorated irrigation systems following the collapse of the communist regime under the first and second irrigation rehabilitation project with World Bank Assistance. To date Albania has more than 400 WUAs and 21 federated WUAs, constituted under the "Irrigation Code and Regulation for Water User Associations". WUAs are formed on a hydraulic basis and may comprise several villages or communes. Ylli Dedja, Member on the Board of Directors, INPIM is undoubtedly the champion of PIM in Albania. The INPIM Board meeting held in April 2002 at Beijing has decided to hold the seventh international seminar on participatory irrigation management in Albania.

FAO-INPIM International E-mail Conference on Irrigation Management Transfer on CD

FAO has created a CD-ROM on the International E-mail Conference on Irrigation Management Transfer held during 2001. This CD ROM contains the conference proceedings, the list of participants, the conference overview paper titled "Irrigation Management Transfer: Sharing Lessons from the Global Experience", IMT Country Profiles, IMT Case Studies, Legislative Case Studies, and a list of suggested readings.

The CD will soon be available for purchase from the FAO. If you are interested in purchasing it, please visit http://www.fao.org/landandwater/lwdms.htm and request CD ROM #17 of the Land and Water Digital Media Series.

A limited number of CDs will be available to INPIM members only through the INPIM Secretariat starting August 2002. For a copy please send a request to Josiane Georges at coordinator@inpim.org

Workshop on Benchmarking

The World Bank and the Bank Netherlands Water Partnership Program launched a two day workshop on "Benchmarking" at the World Bank on 8th and 9th of May 2002. The bank and IPTRID have developed a benchmarking tool kit. Guidelines for benchmarking could be downloaded from the IPTRID site http://www.iptrid.org

Benchmarking enables comparison performance through a set of social and technical indicators within and among projects at the state, national and international level. The various elements of the benchmarking toolkit include a rapid system appraisal, technical performance indicators, and social indicators through a system of report cards. The benchmarking process has been launched on a pilot basis in Mexico and India. Several countries have expressed their keen interest in participating in the benchmarking project. For further details you may contact fgonzalez@worldbank.org

Training program on Integrated Water Resources Management

The World Bank Institute is organizing a three day training program on Integrated Water Resources Management at Washington 8-12 July 2002. The course is targeted at mid-level professionals entrusted with water policy design and implementation. The course enhances the participants' capacity to analyze, formulate, and implement reforms leading to sustainable water resources management. For details contact vpossey@worldbank.org Phone 202-473-6395; Fax 202-679-0977/0978

18th Congress of the International Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, July 21-28, 2002, Montreal, Canada

The 18th Congress and the 53rd International executive council meeting of the international commission on Irrigation and Drainage will be held in Montreal, Canada from 21st - 28th July 2002. The theme of the congress is "Food production under conditions of water scarcity, increasing population, and environmental pressure." The theme reflects the challenges that lie ahead. For more details on the congress please visit http://www.icid.org or CANCID website at: http://www.cancid.org.

Participation for Global Action & Change: Connecting practitioners, communities, networks, and organizations, July 29-August 2, 2002, University of Guelph, Canada

The conference theme "Participation for Global Action & Change Participation," has its roots in social transformation based on collective reflection and action. Over the decades, participation has been seen as essential for the sustainable implementation and management of development projects. Participation is now gaining currency as a means for global action and change. In a world facing the challenges and contradictions of globalization and an increasingly crowded development agenda, it is time for us to come together in order to learn from one another's experiences, share best practices and lessons learned, and turn our collective thought and energy to the power of participation as a vehicle for social, political, and economic change. This conference will be an opportunity to build a global movement in participation.
The Participatory Development (PD) Forum is pleased to invite you to explore participation for global action and change as you connect with other practitioners, communities, networks, and organizations. There is a wealth of experience being accumulated by those who practice participation as a guiding principle for development engagement. This three-day conference will bring together actors, activists, and shapers of the global development agenda to offer all participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding and practice of participation.

The conference is designed to enhance and facilitate mutual learning and exploration of important issues shaping our lives and the lives of those with whom we work. Connecting with one another will allow us to share insights and skills, forge linkages between and within the global north and south, assess opportunities and constraints for people's participation, build our capacity to shape globalization, and influence the development agenda. For more information on this conference visit the following URL: http://pdforum.org/.

Enhancing Natural Resources and Livelihoods Globally through Community-Based Resource Management November 6 - 9, 2002

Community-Based Resource Management (CBRM) builds on the wisdom, social resiliency and cultural integrity of local communities in the way they make a living from the land, the water and the air that surrounds them. At this time of widespread ecological degradation and depletion of natural resources, it is imperative to assemble some of the leading CBRM practitioners to describe successes, develop even more effective strategies and strengthen global co-operation. To this end, the Centre for Community-Based Management, a joint initiative of the Coady International Institute and the Extension Department at St. Francis Xavier University, will bring together CBRM practitioners from around the globe in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada for a Learning and Innovations Institute.

Discussions will focus on: successes and challenges of communities managing their own resources; emerging CBRM models; communities learning from and sharing with each other and effectively participating in global networks; and communities furthering CBRM not only as a strategy for economically and environmentally sustainable resource management, but also as a strategy for achieving positive social change.

The Learning and Innovations Institute, November 6th - 9th, is designed to coincide with the delivery of a three-week certificate in CBRM offered by the Coady International Institute. Beginning on November 11th, the certificate program will give participants an opportunity to continue their examination of CBRM principles, elements and tools to be applied in their local contexts.

The 3-day forum will attract experienced CBRM practitioners and academics from both the North and the South, including First Nations participants. It will also be open to Coady staff and students, the Extension Department, other interested faculty, and members of the public. Individuals enrolled in the Certificate Program in CBRM will be required to participate in the Institute. Participants will leave the Institute with new insights into their successes and challenges. They will teach, learn and inspire others. Collectively, participants will reflect upon and anticipate macro level changes in the global community that affect the practice of CBRM locally, and develop strategies to be proactive rather than reactive in the face of these changes. Participants will also analyze their role and that of their organization in using CBRM as a force for positive change. Finally, participants will begin to plan actions that collaboratively broaden the impact of CBRM best practices toward protecting the world's natural resources, ensuring their sustainable use by people and communities dependent upon them for their livelihood.

The agenda of the Institute will be divided into the following four stages which directly reflect the objectives of the Institute.
1. Critically reflecting upon CBRM experiences and sharing best practices.

2. Articulating emerging and macro-level challenges to CBRM.

3. Identifying initiatives to develop CBRM as a discipline and as a force for change.

4. Action planning to broaden the impact of CBRM best practices through collaborative efforts.

Participants
The Institute participants will be CBRM practitioners and thinkers representing a variety of organizations including communities, NGOs and research institutions. The participants, through their fieldwork, will be knowledgeable of best practices in CBRM and, through their own networks, will have the ability to engage communities in the action plan(s) developed during the Institute in their home countries.

Registration
$150 Canadian or $100 US.
The registration fee does not include meals or accommodations.

For more information contact:

Pauline MacIntosh
Extension Department
St. Francis Xavier University
PO Box 5000
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Canada B2G 2W5
Phone: 902.867.5130
Fax: 902.867.2486
E-mail: pmacinto@stfx.ca

Created by INPIM
Last modified 03-03-2004 06:04 PM

This Document was created on Tue, January 20, 2004 by INPIM.
Last modified on Wed, March 03, 2004.