#24

March 2003, Number 24

In This Issue:

NEWS:

1. The Proceedings of the Workshop on Holistic Benchmarking in the Irrigation and Drainage Sector Are Published

2. Holistic Benchmarking (HBM) in the Irrigation and Drainage Sector Toolkit Soon to be Completed

3. Recommended Reading: Water Rights and Empowerment by Rutgerd Boelens & Paul Hoogendam (eds)

INPIM ACTIVITIES:

4. INPIM Prepares to Launch a Capacity Building Training Program on Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Reform

5. Executive Director Attends the World Bank's Water Week 2003

UPCOMING EVENTS:

6. International Workshop on Capacity Building in Irrigation and Drainage, 16 September 2003, Monpellier, France

7. Success Factors in Self-Financing Local Water Management, 20 March 2003, Kyoto, Japan

8. Second International Conference on Wadi Hydrology, 1-4 July 2003, Amman, Jordan

9. Global Public Goods Network (gpgNet) E-discussion Forum on "The Public and Private Dimensions of the Global Water Challenge," 10 to 24 March 2003

1. The Proceedings of the Workshop on Holistic Benchmarking in the Irrigation and Drainage Sector Soon Are Published

The "Workshop of Holistic Benchmarking in the Irrigation and Drainage Sector: The Way Forward; Widening and Strengthening Partnerships" was held on May 9 2002. This event brought together some of the world's foremost experts on irrigation and drainage to discuss benchmarking which has emerged as one of the hot topics in irrigation this decade.

This workshop was divided into 3 sessions: first session focused on the concepts of benchmarking, the second session on technical indicators such as the IPTRID guidelines, rapid appraisal, and report cards, while the third session highlighted the experiences of some projects with benchmarking. This workshop was attended by irrigation experts from both inside the bank as well as staff from irrigation agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consulting firms.

The proceedings contain the workshop minutes, list of participants, copies of presentation slides, and the papers delivered at the workshop.

For more information please visit the World Bank Group's website at www.worldbank.org .

2. Holistic Benchmarking (HBM) in the Irrigation and Drainage Sector Toolkit Soon to be Completed

The Holistic Benchmarking Toolkit is soon to be completed and added to the World Bank website. This toolkit contains documents which define HBM and identify its major components.

Also included in this toolkit is a Benchmarking Manual which was created to provide individuals that are interested in HBM with an understanding of the its basic concepts, a review of important documents on the subject, and help them begin the benchmarking process.

The reference documents to be included in the toolkit will be basic documents such as the IPTRID Benchmarking Guidelines, the documents which support the Report Card Protocol (CSS) such as a Farmers Survey Form, and case studies of the Australian, Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, and French experience with benchmarking.

For more information please visit the World Bank Group's website at www.worldbank.org .

3. Recommended Reading: Water Rights and Empowerment by Rutgerd Boelens & Paul Hoogendam (eds)

The Theme

Water management is a complex activity, laced with contradictions. Water uses compete and water users constantly vie for increased control over water, all the while needing to co-operate if they are to use it at all. This occurs in contexts of legal pluralism, were multiple normative systems interact, contradict or reinforce each other. To avoid intractable conflicts among the co-users of a water source or irrigation system, it is crucial for these users to clearly define their management principles and strategies. Generally, 'water rights' are the backbone of such strategies in peasant and indigenous systems. These rights define their access to water and to the decision-making arena, and specify their obligations regarding system maintenance and organizational roles and responsibilities.

Fundamentally, a water right is a social relationship and an expression of power. It involves access to a valuable resource, but also a relationship of inclusion and exclusion, and control over decision-making. Water management practices in the Andes show that unequal power and inequalities in the prevailing normative systems prevent successful collective co-operation. At the same time, they make it clear that the struggle for access to water, under collective control, may result in greater equity in its distribution and strengthen the position of less powerful stakeholders.

The authors of this book use these insights to integrate and elaborate analytical concepts that make it possible to better understand the relationship among 'water rights', 'collective action' and 'empowerment' - to understand the local contents of water rights, how they are acquired, the dynamics of their production and reproduction, and the strategic uses of water rights in social action. They seek to contribute to the development of methodological proposals that strengthen local water control and empower peasant and indigenous communities.

From the Contents

Chapter 1: Water rights and collective action in community irrigation

Chapter 2: Cultural politics and local resistance in highland irrigation development

Chapter 3: Materialising rights: Hydraulic property in the extension and rehabilitation of two irrigation systems in Bolivia

Chapter 4: Water rights and strengthening users´ organisations: the art of negotiating.

Chapter 5: Gender dimensions of water control in Andean irrigation

Chapter 6: Water rights and watersheds. Managing multiple water uses and strengthening stakeholder platforms

Chapter 7: Recipes and resistance. Peasants´ rights building and empowerment in the Licto Irrigation System, Ecuador.

Chapter 8: Design and water rights: small scale irrigation experiences in Oruro, Bolivia

Chapter 9: Local norms and competition for water in Aymara and Atacama communities (Northern Chile)

Chapter 10: Re-negotiation of water rights in the ancient irrigation system of Urcuquí, Ecuador

Chapter 11: The battlefield of water rights. Rule-making and empowerment in the arena of conflicting normative frameworks - irrigation development in Ceceles, Ecuador.

Chapter 12: The Yapa. Water rights, power and empowerment

Authors

Frédéric Apollin, Lily Beccar, Rutgerd Boelens, Milka Castro-Lucic, Washington Claure, Bernita Doornbos, Axel Dourojeanni, Alfredo Durán, Paul H. Gelles, Gerben Gerbrandy, Zulema Gutiérrez, Jan Hendriks, Paul Hoogendam, Margreet Zwarteveen.

Ordering Information

English edition: "Water Rights and Empowerment" (256p., $27 USD)
Published by Van Gorcum Publishers
P.O. Box 43, NL-9400 AA Assen, The Netherlands
Phone 31 592 37955 / Fax 31 592 379552
E-mail: assen@vangorcum.nl  WWW: http://www.vangorcum.nl
For orders in the U.S.A. and Canada: Books International Inc.,
P.O. Box 605, HERNDON VA 22070, U.S.A., Phone 703 661 1500/ Fax 703 661 1501
Spanish edition: "Derechos de Agua y Acción Colectiva"
Published by Instituto de Estudios Peruanos
Horacio Urteaga 694, Lima 11, Peru.
FAX (5-11) 332-6173 E-mail: postmaster@iep.org.pe

4. INPIM Prepares to Launch a Capacity Building Training Program on Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Reform

We are planning to implement a training program titled Capacity Building Program in Participatory Irrigation Management and Irrigation Reform (CBP). The program will aim at improving the capacity of those working in the field of irrigation management to use participatory management methods as a part of irrigation reform. The CBP will achieve its stated objectives by offering an in-depth, rigorous set of courses to professionals in the irrigation sector who are themselves involved in the management of an irrigation sector and /or are involved in the reform of an irrigation system. In order to maximize the impact of the course, the material will be presented using the training of trainers' method. This will teach course participants how to transfer the skills they acquire to their colleagues in the field of irrigation management, thereby increasing the impact of the courses.

The World Bank Institute, FAO, Comisión del Agua (CNA) of Mexico, National Water Users Association of Mexico (ANUR), National Association of Irrigation Specialists (ANEI), and IMTA will partner with INPIM for this program. This program will run over 5 years, starting September of this year. For information on this program will follow later.

5. Executive Director Attends the World Bank's Water Week 2003

J. Raymond Peter, Executive Director of INPIM attended this year's Water Week at the World Bank. The theme of the event this year was "Water & Development" and featured sessions such as Irrigation and Food Security, Towards a Multidisciplinary and Integrated Approach to Drainage, Irrigation Reform in South Asia, Economic and Social Assessment of Water Management in Irrigation, Water User Associations, Irrigation in Africa, and Unaccounted for Water.

Raymond Peter delivered a presentation on WUAs in Andhra Pradesh, India during the session titled "Water User Associations."

During the event the "Water Resources Sector Strategy: Strategic Directions for World Bank Engagement" was released. It can be downloaded by visiting http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/essdext.nsf/18ByDocName/StrategyTheNewWorldBankWaterResourcesSectorStrategy

6. International Workshop on Capacity Building in Irrigation and Drainage, 16 September 2003, Monpellier, France

The ICID working group on capacity building, training and education, in association with FAO and other agencies including INPIM is holding a one-day workshop to focus on issues of capacity building for irrigation, drainage, and flood control.

Objectives

To highlight the important role of capacity building in the irrigation and drainage sector and to bring together agencies, institutions and individuals to review and address the following issues:

" Why is capacity building important?
" What is the present "state of art" with respect to capacity building for the sector?
" What approaches are currently being used and what are the issues and challenges arising from them?
" What new approaches in capacity building are needed to address future changes in the sector?
" What roles can agencies such as ICID and FAO play in supporting and promoting effective capacity building within the sector?

Topics

The workshop will take the form of working sessions addressing questions based on keynote papers from leading agencies and invited individuals. The output of the workshop will be a series of recommendations on the way ahead for capacity building in the sector which will be published together with the workshop's keynote papers. The papers presented during the workshop will be on the following topics:

" concepts, issues, and challenges of capacity building in the irrigation and drainage sector,
" institution building of local organizations and associations in managing water resources,
" strengthening water agencies in providing effective support and monitoring services in water resources management and irrigation development,
" training and education in irrigation and drainage, including the role of training institutes, inventory of training programs available, and review of training manuals, and
" monitoring and measuring the impact of capacity building and training.

Venue and Date

The workshop will be hold in Montpellier, France on the 16th September 2003 during the 54th meeting of the International Executive Council on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). It is part of the activities of the ICID Working Group on "Capacity Building, Training, and Education."

For more information contact:
Water Management Group
Land and Water Development Division
Food and Agriculture Organization
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome 00100

Tel: +39 06 570 53818
Fax:+39 06 570 56275
E-mail: watermanagement@fao.org

7. Success Factors in Self-Financing Local Water Management, 20 March 2003, Kyoto, Japan

At World Water Forum III the Dutch Association of Water Boards, together with the Netherlands Water Boards Bank, UNESCO-IHE and the Netherlands Water Partnership will be presenting the example of self-financing by water boards in the Netherlands. As part of the theme on Financing Water Infrastructure, this particular session focuses on building blocks for development of self-financing mechanisms. The session is accompanied by a publication involving a number of international case studies that will be available at the session.

Speakers will include the Director General and the President of the Dutch Association of Water Boards, who respectively will discuss the organization of decentralized water management and self-financing mechanisms. The chairman of the Management Board of the Dutch Bank of Water Boards will explain the crucial role his organization plays in local water management. Reflections on the subject of this session will be offered by Mr. Mochammad Amron, Secretary of the Directorate- General of Water Resources in Indonesia, Mr. Yehia Abdel Aziz, Director of the Water Board project in Egypt, and Mr. Mike Mueller, Director General of the Department for Water, Agriculture and Forestry in South Africa.

The session will be held on Thursday March 20, 9.30-11.30 in the Kyoto Takaragaike Prince Hotel, Gold Room and will be chaired by Mr. William Cosgrove, Vice-President of the World Water Council.

For further information, contact Astrid Janssen of the Netherlands Water Partnership: <mailto:a.janssen@nwp.nl >.

Originally published in the European Water Management News of 26 February 2003. http://www.ewaonline.de

8. Second International Conference on Wadi Hydrology, 1-4 July 2003, Amman, Jordan

Within the framework of the UN Fresh Water Year Activities lead by UNESCO and in cooperation with UNESCO-IHP Programme, the UNESCO/EOLSS Chair on Wadi Hydrology (University of Jordan), the National IHP committee and the UNESCO Office in Cairo will organize this conference.

The Themes of the Conference are:
Watershed management systems; Modeling of surface and groundwater in wadi systems; Artificial recharge of groundwater; Water harvesting in wadi systems; Water assessment and monitoring; Integrated water resources management in arid regions; Water and ecosystems in wadis; Policy and legislative issues in the wadi systems; Traditional practices and knowledge of water management in wadi systems; Public awareness and capacity building in wadi systems

You are kindly invited to submit an abstract for this conference along these themes before March 30, 2003.

For further information contact Dr. Muhammad Shatanawi at shatanaw@ju.edu.jo , or Dr. Radwan Al-Weshah at r.weshah@unesco.org .

Originally published in the European Water Management News of 26 February 2003. http://www.ewaonline.de

9. Global Public Goods Network (gpgNet) E-discussion Forum on "The Public and Private Dimensions of the Global Water Challenge," 10 to 24 March 2003

This discussion, continues the series of debates on global public goods, and now addresses the issue of water, given that the 3rd World Water Forum is being held in Japan from 16 - 23 March 2003.

gpgNet presents two viewpoints on governing water resources for participants in the e-discussion to consider:

A). Lyla Mehta (Sociologist and Research Fellow in the Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex, UK) on "Problems of Publicness and Access Rights: Perspectives from the Water Domain"

B). Hakan Tropp (Water Specialist in United Nations Development Programme, New York) on "Who owns the water? Do water rights come with obligations?"

The key question under discussion is "Water as economic good: The ONLY way to solve 'Access to Water' challenges and generate efficient water use?"

the discussion forum organizers welcome insights from those interested in global public goods more broadly as well as experts in water resources. A complete background note to support the discussion is available at http://www.gpgnet.net/topic02.php .

We also invite you to visit the website of global public goods Network (gpgNet) at http://www.gpgnet.net . gpgNet intends to serve researchers, policymakers, business and civil society as a platform for information exchange and discussion on issues concerning the theory, policy design and practice of providing global public goods.

You may subscribe to this forum by sending a blank email to subscribe-gpgnet-l@groups.undp.org  or by going to http://groups.undp.org/lyris.pl?join=gpgnet-l .