6. 2nd International Conference on Irrigation and Drainage: Water for a Sustainable World: Limited Supplies and Expanding Demands, 12 to 15 May 2003, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

7. International Congress: Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems, New York, 29 June - 3 July 2003

8. E- Conference on Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa, 13 Jan - 21 Feb 2003

1. Project: Capacity Building for Irrigation and Drainage

To date little study has been done on the capacity building initiatives in irrigation and drainage that currently exist. In response to this, Alterra-ILRI: International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement in partnership with FAO-Land and Water Development Division and others have created a project called Capacity Building for Irrigation and Drainage to meet this need.

The aim of this project is to develop an analytical model for capacity building. At the end of the project more will be known about what works in capacity building, what does not work, and why.

For more information, please contact:

Catharien Terwisscha van Scheltinga
Phone: +31 (0)317 495 578
e-mail: c.t.h.m.terwisscha.van.scheltinga@alterra.wag-ur.nl

http://www.alterra-research.nl/pls/portal30/docs/folder/ILRI/ILRI/index.html

Source: Capnet website: http://www.cap-net.org/shownewsdetail.php?NEID=103&checkpageid=1

2. The World Bank Publishes a Quarterly Newsletter on Benchmarking

Recently the World Bank began a quarterly newsletter titled "Benchmarking In Irrigation and Drainage." The purpose of this newsletter is to keep irrigation and drainage stakeholders informed of important activities in the Holistic Benchmarking Initiative and promote exchange of views among the readership of the newsletter.

To receive the newsletters by e-mail please contact Mrs. Pamela Khumbha at pkhumbha@worldbank.org .

For downloads visit: http://www-esd.worldbank.org/bnwpp/index.jsp?display=main&Item=7 .

3. The Salt of the Earth: Hazardous for Food Production - An Article by the FAO

Irrigation produces much of the world's food, but about a tenth of the world's irrigated land has been damaged by salt. This has become a profound threat to food security.

Although only 17 percent of all cropland is currently irrigated, it provides 40 percent of the world's food. Some regions have scope for much more irrigation, especially small-scale schemes. But much existing irrigated land is threatened by salinization -- a build-up of salts in the soil. This lowers yields and can damage the land beyond economic repair. Salinization is reducing the world's irrigated area by 1-2 percent every year, hitting hardest in the arid and semi-arid regions.

"No one is really certain of the figures, but it seems that at least 8 percent of the world's irrigated land is affected," says FAO water expert Julián Martínez Beltrán. "In the arid and semi-arid regions, it's somewhere around 25 percent."

To read the entire article visit http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsummit/english/newsroom/focus/focus1.htm

4. UN Launches International Year for Freshwater

On 12 Dec 2002 the United Nations (UN) launched the International Year of Freshwater (IYFW) at its headquarters in New York. UNESCO and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs are coordinating the year's events, meant to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and managing freshwater. The IYFW will reassert the UN's Millennium Declaration Goal on Water and the sanitation goal set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which aim to halve the proportion of people without access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2015. A main event will be the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto with the presentation of the UN´s World Water Development Report. UNESCO has appointed HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, as Special Envoy for Water during the IYFW. Prince Talal is president of AGFUND (Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations). AGFUND has contributed to 27 water projects worth US$ 30 million (EUR 29,2 million).

Web address: Official IYFW 2003 site, http://www.wateryear2003.org ; UN Works for Freshwater - IYFW 2003, http://www.un.org/works/sustainable/freshwater.html ; Wasser 2003 - official Swiss IYFW site: http://www.wasser2003.ch

Contact: UNESCO, France, mailto:wateryear2003@unesco.org ;
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, USA, mailto:wateryear2003@un.org
(UNESCO, 10 Dec 2002, http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-106e.shtml ; UNESCO, 12 Dec 2002, http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-108e.shtml )

Article by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and the Source web site: http://www.irc.nl/source. Originally Published in the Source Water and Sanitation Weekly, Issue No. 50-52, 23 December 2002.

5. Fourth Forum on Decentralization of Water Management, 3 -5 February 2003, Cairo, Egypt

The scarcity of water resources in the Middle East and North Africa region, in addition to the arid climatic conditions and worsening pollution increase the need for Water Demand Management (WDM). The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is supporting WDM through a series of Water Demand Management Forums on four topics: Wastewater Reuse, Water Valuation, Public-Private partnerships and Decentralization of water management.

The Fourth Forum on Decentralization of Water Management will be held on the 3 - 5 February 2003 in Cairo, Egypt. This Forum is aimed at decision makers from the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. Donor representatives will also attend.

The Forum will take place over three days. The first day will be devoted to discussions on three case studies: Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. The second day is devoted to regional discussions and smaller working groups whose main areas of focus will be institutional, financial, social and environmental aspects. The third day will included the final session which will focus on the recommendations that the workshops came up with.

For more information visit http://www.idrc.ca/waterdemand/docs/english/dec_frm.shtml .

6. 2nd International Conference on Irrigation and Drainage: Water for a Sustainable World: Limited Supplies and Expanding Demands, 12 to 15 May 2003, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Participants will include engineers, environmental and social scientists, managers, attorneys and economists representing academia, consulting firms, water districts and government agencies.

Organizers: United States Committee on Irrigation and Drainage
Contact Name: Stephens, Larry
E-mail: stephens@uscid.org
URL: http://www.uscid.org/03prelim.html

7. International Congress: Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems, New York, 29 June - 3 July 2003

The Congress' scope is international, with the purpose to attract and benefit participants from around the world. The structure is for three tracks around which individual sessions will be planned and the entire Congress will be arranged: (1) Science and Technology; (2) Policy and Management; and (3) Education and Outreach.

The objectives of the Congress will be:(1) to report relevant research on the conflicts and opportunities for collaboration between agriculture and other land uses of water supply catchments on the one hand and public water supply systems on the other;(2) to disseminate information on the state-of-the-art experiences and best management practices in managing water supply catchments;and (3) to establish and support extension and outreach activities to the water-using public by national and international organizations.

Contact Information
Peter E. Black
+ 1(315) 470-6571
pebchair@esf.edu (or ruthanna@bestweb.net )
http://www.awra.org/meetings/NewYork2003/index.html

8. E- Conference on Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa, 13 Jan - 21 Feb 2003

The African Region and the Agricultural & Rural Development Department of the World Bank have organized and International E-Conference on Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The key question for which the e-conference will seek an answer is why investment in irrigation in sub Saharan Africa, a proven investment in other regions of the world, has been so low, and particularly irrigation for small holders? The e-conference should focus on identifying the issues which help us answer this question. Why is donor support to irrigation declining? Have falling global cereal prices blinded donors to the returns on irrigation investments? Is irrigation the wrong choice for sub Saharan Africa? If it is the right choice, what are the factors which could attract financing agencies in the public and private sectors? What are the appropriate institutional and technological options for social and environmental sustainable development? How could the necessary resources mobilize? The questions are many so we look forward to a fruitful online discussion.

The conference will take place over six weeks, beginning on January 13, 2003. It will be structured into three sessions of two weeks each. The first session (January 13-24) will focus on the bigger picture issues of the role of irrigation in sub Saharan Africa: does SSA need (more) irrigation? The second session (January 27-February 7) will focus on why irrigation investments in SSA are declining, and why sub Saharan Africa missed out on these investments in the past. Based on the debate in the first two sessions, the conference moderator will identify the core issues for action and conference participants will map out an agenda for action in the third session (February 10-21). At the beginning of each session, some core questions will be shared to initiate discussion. Background papers will also be posted before the start of the conference on this site. The conference language will be English.

To register and for more information visit http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/essdext.nsf/26ByDocName/IrrigationandDrainagee-ConferenceIrrigationinSub-SaharanAfrica

Created by INPIM
Last modified 19-03-2004 12:49 PM

This Document was created on Tue, January 20, 2004 by INPIM.
Last modified on Fri, March 19, 2004.