The preparatory meeting of the International network on Water and Ecosystems in Paddy Fields was held by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries at Tokyo on 3-4 Feb 2004. INPIM's ED participated in the 2 day workshop. INWEPF is being formed to highlight the significance of the multifunctional roles of paddy cultivation - a theme which was highlighted by the Japanese Government at the Third World Water Forum held last year. Following the recommendations of the Ministerial recommendations, INWEPF proposes to focus on the countries in Asian Monsoon Region and later focus on other paddy consuming or producing countries. A number of International Organizations such as the World Bank, ADB, FAO, INPIM, IRRI and ICID participated at the meeting in addition to representatives from Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Japan. INWEPF proposes to conduct virtual meetings on the lines of the forum, where participants will have the freedom to select the topic and start on a discussion threa d. Three components have been identified at the meetings which are Research, Policy Framework and International Cooperation. A steering committee meeting is expected to be held later this year. The Government of Japan has agreed to support INWEPF for the first two years.

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2. Pilot Project on Farmer Networks in South India

INPIM launches a Pilot Project on Farmer's Network in three South Indian States. The project envisages Networking of farmers, establishing a communication structure, capacity building and define and undertake water sector reform initiatives and strategies. Key to the activities of the network is documentation of developments by WUAs, writing up of papers by farmers, publication of a newsletter, state and regional workshops. The initiative is the first of its kind and is being experimented on a pilot basis in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. WUA Presidents will have the opportunity to interact as a group share experiences, organize study tours, and build up capacity for policy dialogue and awareness in issues relating to integrated water resource management. The initiative is being coordinated by Jala Spandana, the south India Farmers Society for Water Management, Bangalore and SaciWATERs, Hyderabad.

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3. Nepal INPIM holds its executive committee meeting:

Nepal INPIM conducted its executive committee meeting in February 2004. A Talk Program on the concept of PIM, the INPIM objectives and the planned activities of the INPIM Nepal was organized on February 13 in the Department of Irrigation (DOI) Conference Hall. After a brief presentation extensive discussions where held where the participants suggested wide range of applied research and networking activities. INPIM Nepal is a registered non profit with the Government of Nepal and operates from the Department of Irrigation Nepal. It has been partially funded through a Ford Grant.

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4. Mismanagement of India's Water Reserves Threatens Economic Growth and Public Health - Researchers Warn - press release by IWMI Anand - Gujarat, India. 17th February 2004 - Despite optimism over India's economic growth researchers from the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program warn that the mismanagement of vital natural resources such as groundwater - could seriously hinder the countries' pace of development. Over the next two decades approximately 25% of India's grain harvest could be under threat due to the over-exploitation of groundwater supplies. Groundwater currently irrigates a total area of well over 35 million hectares, sustaining 60% of the countries' irrigated land. Over extraction of groundwater and declining water tables are also causing alarming levels of fluoride to build up in water sources, posing a serious health threat to vulnerable populations. Research shows that while more affluent farmers have increased their wealth by drawing down groundwater tables, the health costs from rising levels of fluorosis have been disproportionately borne by the rural poor. 6600 predominantly tribal people from 20 villages in Southern Rajasthan villages were surveyed and it was found that 20% of men and 30% of women in the 30-46 year age group suffered from skeletal fluorosis of varying severity. These findings will be discussed along with more than 50 new pieces of research on key water management issues in India at the 3rd Annual IWMI-Tata Partners' Workshop being held from the 17th to 19th February in Anand, Gujarat. Further details of the press release can be read at http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/iwmi-tata/index.asp?nc=8119&id=946&msid=101

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5. 2004 - International Year of Rice

FAO's Director-General, Jacques Diouf, recently launched the United Nations International Year of Rice (IYR), to be celebrated in 2004. IYR will promote improved production and access to this vital food crop, which feeds more than half the world's population. Background available here, see also the IYR 2004 website... A number of events are proposed to be launched by FAO.

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EVENTS:

1. World Bank Water Week Feb 24-26

The World Bank Water week will be held from Feb 24-26 this year at Washington DC. The focus this year in the irrigation sector is on driving the political economy of reform and financing Infrastructure apart from a session on improving the sustainability of irrigation and drainage and the Agriculture water management investment source book.

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2. NFIWUAN to hold the Second National Conference in Janakpur

The National Federation of Water Users Association of Nepal proposes to hold the second National conference in Janakpur from March 2 to March 7. The Nepal Chapter of INPIM is expected to play an active role at the Conference. NFIWUAN has been actively networking in over 450 water user associations in Nepal. The federation has been instrumental in articulating issues relating to the WUAs and the irrigation sector in general with the Department of Irrigation and the Government.

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3. 2nd. Asian Regional Conference of ICID to be held in Australia, March 14-17,2004

2nd Asian Regional Conference, Maoma, Echuca, Australia, 14-17 March 2004. Theme : Irrigation in the total catchment management. Contact: Mr. John Mapson, Secretary/Treasurer, Australian National Committee, ICID (ANCID), Manager Water Services, Goulburn-Murray Water, P.O. Box 165, Tutura Vic 3616, Tel : +61 3 5833 5515, Fax : +61 3 5833 5502, E-Mail : johnmap@g-mwater.com.au, Website : http://www.icid2004.com/ ________________________________________________________________________

4. National Workshop on PIM to be organized Hanoi, Vietnam, March 30-April 2, 2004

A National Workshop on " How to Operationalise PIM" is being Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Asian Development Bank, The World Bank and INPIM. The aim of the workshop is to broaden the awareness on PIM to promote agricultural development and in view of the launch of major ADB and World Bank-financed irrigation sector projects (Second Red River Basin Sector Project, Phuoc Hoa Water Resources Project, Central Region Water Resources Project, VWRAP), it is important to define a viable approach to operationalizing PIM and to define a "roadmap for implementation" involving all levels of government from central to provincial and the water user organizations

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5. Seventh International Seminar, Tirana, Albania

The Seventh International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management will be held from June 13-18, in Tirana, Albania this year. Details of registration for the seminar will be put up on the new INPIM website (under construction) which will be launched shortly. You are requested to watch for further details on the INPIM website at http://www.inpim.org. The theme of the seminar is on "Enabling Environment for Sustainable and Productive Water User Associations". Participants will have an excellent opportunity in understanding the participation of WUAs in rehabilitation of the deteriorated irrigation schemes following the collapse of the communist regime in Albania. Rehabilitation in Albania is being carried out under the Irrigation and Rehabilitation project assisted by the World Bank. The Seminar sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank, is being organized by INPIM and the Irrigation and Drainage Project Management Unit, Albania. The last seminar (sixth) was successfully held i

n Beijing, China in April 2002 with over 180 participants representing 40 countries. This will be the Seventh Seminar, in the Seminar Series on Participatory Irrigation Management being conducted by INPIM jointly with the World Bank Institute. The overall purpose of the International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management is to stimulate policy dialogue on participatory irrigation management and irrigation reforms; to consolidate national experience in participatory approaches to irrigation management, learn from the experience of countries that have successfully adopted policies to transfer management of WUAs; identify policies best suited to national conditions; and, formulate country action plans. For further details you may contact J. Raymond Peter, Executive Director, INPIM at rpeter@inpim.org

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Book Reviews:

How design, management and policy affect the performance of irrigation projects RAP publication 2002/20, 156 pages

The growing disinterest of donor agencies and governments in irrigation infrastructure can have worrying consequences for global food security in the coming decades. Pointing out that a major reason for this is the poor performance of large-scale canal irrigation projects, the document, however, disagrees with the dominant view that there are only institutional and managerial problems in irrigation, emphasizing institutional and management reform for improving the efficiency of irrigation schemes. Instead, it singles out the relative neglect of design, technology and operational factors as a major explanation for the gap between the projected potential and actual performance of irrigation networks. "…the main constraints to modernization may be the still widespread denial of the importance of technology in irrigation performance, the strong resistance to change of the irrigation community and the limited expertise available to promote and apply modern concepts and design…," notes the study. "These obstacle s would not be overcome without recognition of the importance of technology in the performance of irrigation projects by all international and national organizations involved in the development of water resources and the internalization of modern design concepts in water resource development/irrigation policies of donor agencies," it concludes.

The document is a contribution to an emerging understanding that physical and institutional reforms of the irrigation sector should be combined, and that irrigation management transfer is not about transferring operation functions only but also governance to the irrigation users and a combination of the two at different levels.

In making its case, the document reviews the decades-old debate over the causes of inefficiency in irrigation projects, the role of multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank as well as country experiences from China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, North Africa, Pakistan, Sudan and the United States of America.

For more information, please contact Thierry Facon, water management officer at Thierry.Facon@fao.org

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The contents of the INPIM E-Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management or the opinions of INPIM leadership.

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For more information on INPIM please visit http://www.inpim.org.

The International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management 600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 340 Washington, DC 20003 USA

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Created by INPIM
Last modified 23-04-2004 11:47 AM

This Document was created on Fri, April 23, 2004 by INPIM.
Last modified on Fri, April 23, 2004.

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