The British Government's Department for International Development (DFID) has recently completed a listing of past research outputs generated under their Knowledge and Research Programme from 1990 to 2001.

The catalogue can be browsed at:

http://www.dfid-kar-water.net/w5outputs/

A total of 48 different outputs are listed under the following headings:

Large scale irrigation
Small scale irrigation
Buried pipelines
Gender issues in irrigation
Irrigation and the environment
Software
Multi-media

The outputs address issues as they influence irrigation and water management
in the developing world.

The site provides brief, single page summaries of the outputs and in the majority of cases the full output can be downloaded. Order details are provided for those outputs that are not available electronically. Where downloading over the internet may prove expensive or time consuming the
material can be provided on a CD which may be requested from: w5outputs@hrwallingford.co.uk

2. China Approves World's Largest Irrigation Project by Ben Townley, Sustainable Development International

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

China is to go ahead with the world's largest irrigation project, pumping water from the south of the country to the dry north.

Three north-south aqueducts will pump 12.6 trillion gallons of water from the Yangtze River, with water reaching Beijing and other key northern cities by 2010.

However, the first phase of the project, which will pump water to the Shandong province, should be complete by 2005.
The project is expected to ease the current demand for water in northern cities, as well as in industrial and grain growing regions and will have a total cost of £15 billion.

Ben Townley
This article can be found at http://www.sustdev.org/industry.news/2002/27.11.02-1.shtm

3. Freshwater Crisis: Water for People in Competition with Water for Nature

An ever-growing human demand on water for irrigation, industry, and municipal use is radically diminishing and damaging natural habitats, reports World Watch magazine [1]. Humans already use 54% of the planet's available freshwater from rivers, lakes, streams, and shallow aquifers. By 2025, the human share could rise to more than 70%. While "serious water initiatives" were launched at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, "not one of them addressed the water needs of ecosystems". The human demand for water has been particularly devastating for wetlands and related habitats. Globally, the world has lost half of its wetlands, mostly in the last fifty years. The global value of freshwater wetlands including related riverine and lake systems has been estimated to be nearly US$ 5 trillion (EUR 4.6 trillion) a year, based on their value as flood regulators, waste treatment plants, wildlife habitats, suppliers of fish and recreation areas.

Web address: Worldwatch Institute - Freshwater Ecosystems, http://www.worldwatch.org/topics/freshwater.html ; IUCN Water & Nature Initiative, http://www.iucn.org/themes/wani/index.html ; WWF Living Waters Programme, http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater

[1] Hinrichsen, D. (2003). A human thirst. World Watch magazine, vol. 16, no. 1. http://www.worldwatch.org/mag/

Contact: Janet Abramovitz, Senior Researcher, Worldwatch Institute, mailto:jabramovitz@worldwatch.org (Worldwatch Institute, 30 Dec 2002, http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/20021230.html )

This article was originally published in Source Weekly No. 3-4, 27 January 2003 electronic newsletter of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. Visit the Source website at: http://www.irc.nl/source . To join the WSSCC, contact mailto:wsscc@who.int .

4. Wastewater Treatment: Water-Lettuce Pond Effluent for Irrigation Reuse

A hybrid system combining facultative ponds with macrophyte (Pistia stratiotes or water-lettuce) ponds can deliver effluent of suitable quality to irrigate market gardens in West and Central Africa. This is one of the conclusions from research undertaken in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso [1]. Currently most effluent for irrigation reuse comes from activated sludge treatment plants and is of poor quality. The development of water-lettuce ponds has been hampered by suspected links with increased risk of malaria, although the study did not find that this correlation was significant. Water-lettuce ponds showed better COD and BOD5 removal rates (75% and 85%) than activated sludge plants (30% and 60%). Water lettuce-based systems conserved 40-80% of the ammonium, which is beneficial for irrigation reuse. Both facultative ponds and water-lettuce based systems produced similar high faecal coliform removal rates - a reduction of three logarithmic units after three weeks. If space is a limiting factor, the depth of the water lettuce pond can be increased beyond the recommended 70 cm.

[1] Kone, D. (2002). Epuration des eaux usées par lagunage à microphytes et à macrophytes en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre : état des lieux, performances épuratoires et critères de dimensionnement. (Thesis / Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; no. 2653). Lausanne, Switzerland, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. xv, 170 p. : 35 fig., 39 tab. http://lbewww.epfl.ch/LBE/W3_E/PUBL_E/These_E/These_2653_Doulaye_Kone_E.htm

Contact: Dr. Doulaye Koné, Swiss Institute of Technology EPFL-Lausanne, Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology (LBE), mailto:doulaye.kone@epfl.ch , http://Doulaye-Kone.ifrance.com /

An initiative of the International Water Association (IWA) launched at the first IWA "Leading Edge" conference on Sustainability which took place in Nov 2002. The focus is on Integrated Water Management, in particular, in urban contexts. At present the site contains a list of conference papers, notes on the conference outcome and an overview paper.

Web address: http://www.iwahq.org.uk/template.cfm?name=sustainability

This article was originally published in Source Weekly No. 3-4, 27 January 2003 electronic newsletter of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. Visit the Source website at: http://www.irc.nl/source . To join the WSSCC, contact mailto:wsscc@who.int .

6. INPIM Executive Director Attends an IFPRI Water Rights Workshop

From 12 to 15 February J. Raymond Peter, Executive Director INPIM will attend the International Food Policy Research Institute's Water Rights Workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam. There he will participate in discussions on how water rights are dealt with in various countries. He will also provide information on the status of water rights in India.

7. INPIM Nepal Holds Elections and Drafts an Action Plan

In December the Nepal chapter of INPIM held elections in which new leadership was chosen. A two-year action plan has been developed by the chapter. They will be supporting the formation and helping to strengthen existing water users' associations in Nepal and will conduct training sessions to expand the leadership capacity of WUA members.

8. IndiaNPIM Prepares for the Third World Water Forum

IndiaNPIM will be conducting a session at the Third World Water Forum in March. The session is part of the "Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Basin Management" theme which will begin on Thursday, 20 March and will be held in the city of Shiga. The session is titled "Farmer Networks in Integrated Water Resource Management." In 2002 IndiaNPIM participated in the Virtual Water Forum in which they moderated a session of the same title.
IndiaNPIM is also planning to run a stall at the Water Expo during the forum.

9. INPIM Executive Director to Participate in the Third World Water Forum

J. Raymond Peter, Executive Director INPIM will be participating in a panel discussion at the Third World Water Forum. The session has been organized by the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation and will be held on Thursday, March 20.

10. Drought Forum - "Lessons from the Long Dry" - 24 February 2003 - Sydney, NSW

The NSW Drought Forum will address this vexed question of drought management, discussing and distilling lessons learnt, current drought policy and what policy changes are now needed. It will also address developments in climate science and how these are enabling leading land and water managers to keep ahead of droughts.

Presenting their views at the forum will be The NSW Drought Co-ordinator, Chair of the Wentworth Group of Scientists, climate experts, NSW Farmers Association, and The Farmhand Foundation.

The forum is be held on Monday 24 February 2003 from 2:30 to 7:30 pm at the Bellevue Room, North Sydney ANZAC (RSL) Club, Ernest St, cnr Miller St, Cammeray, NSW. It is being organised by the Eastern NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science & Technology (AIAST) and the cost of the forum will be $45 for AIAST members and $50 for non-members. An additional $10 will be charged for late registrations on the day. Cheques should be made payable to The "Eastern NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science & Technology" and sent to P.O. Box 438 Wahroonga 2076 NSW ASAP as spaces are limited. Please phone or email Roger Fitzsimmons (ph. 02 99430090) at aiastensw@optusnet.com.au for any queries.

11. International Conference on Poverty, Food, and Health, 1 - 4 July 2003, Lisbon, Portugal

This conference aims to encourage a wide range of papers, which will contribute to persuade the agenda and setting priorities of international agencies and policy makers to fight poverty, food insecurity and disease, through the emerging debate on these key themes: Poverty & Social Policy, Health, and Food Security.

Website: http://www.pfh2003.org

12. Less Than 30 Days Left Till the Third World Water Forum, 16 - 23 March 2003, Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, and Shinga)

The start date of the Third World Water Forum is quickly approaching. This event will bring together "people of diverse backgrounds from around the world… to encourage the sharing of experience with actions that have proven successful and to motivate a commitment to act now" to ensure continued water security for all people.

It is still possible to register for the forum by visiting: http://www.worldwaterforum.org /.

13. New Vacancies at the International Water Management Institute

The below are the currently available job vacancies and links to webpages containing detailed job descriptions:

1. DIRECTOR, GLOBAL RESEARCH DIVISION (COLOMBO, SRI LANKA)

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/Global_Res.htm

2. PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER/MALARIOLOGIST

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/PR_Malr.htm

3. RESEARCHER, WATER AND SOIL CHEMISTRY (BANGKOK, THAILAND)

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/R_Soil.htm

4. POST DOCTORAL SCIENTIST, WATER QUALITY (HYDERABAD, INDIA)

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/PD_Hyd.htm

5. POST DOCTORAL SCIENTIST, DATABASE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION (COLOMBO, SRI LANKA)

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/PD_DB.htm

6. AWARENESS CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR (COLOMBO, SRI LANKA)

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/campaign_coordinator.htm

7. RESEARCH MANAGER (LAHORE, PAKISTAN

http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/about/RM_lahore.htm

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.