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THE INPIM E-NEWSLETTER February-March, 2007; Number 62 http://www.inpim.org ihussain@inpim.org
Welcome to the INPIM E-Newsletter # 62 NEWS
Ø INPIM organizes a “Workshop on Sustainability of FWUAs in NWFP” in Peshawar, in Collaboration with Partners Ø INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference in Tehran, Iran Ø ADB’s Water Financing Program 2006-2010 More Investments for Increased Capacity in Pakistan Ø ADB VP Calls for Strong Leadership, Better Governance on Water Management Ø ADB Funds Water Quality Study in West Tarum Canal Ø UNESCO and Italy Sign an Agreement on Transfer of UN World Water Assessment Programme Secretariat to Perugia Ø Private Sector Initiatives to Enhance Land and Water Productivity in Pakistan Ø Coping with Water Scarcity, the Theme for World Water Day 2007 Ø Rising Population Puts Pressure on Water Supply
DONORS’ LENDING AND SUPPORT FOR IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE PROJECTS
World Bank
Ø World Bank’s Project to Restore Traditional Water-Bodies and Improve Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management in Tamil Nadu, India Ø World Bank Approves US$37 Million for Provincial Agricultural Development in Argentina Ø World Bank Announces New Interim Strategy and Approves Us$28 Million to Enhance Economic Governance and Improve Water and Sanitation in Haiti
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Ø ADB Strengthening Traditional Water User Groups in Aceh Ø ADB, UN-HABITAT Doubles Grant Levels to Raise Water Investments for Urban Poor
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
Ø IADB Technical Cooperation will Support Program to Improve Efficiency of Rio de Janeiro State Water and Sewerage Company Ø IADB Approved US$240 million Loan for Water Infrastructure in Northern Provinces of Argentina
African Development Bank (AfDB) Ø ADF approves US$ 25 Million Loan for Dam and Agricultural Rehabilitation in Mozambique Ø AfDB approves US$ 20.86 Million for Rural Water and Sanitation Project in Niger Ø ADF Approves US$ 118 Million Grant for Protection of Basic Services in Ethiopia
Upcoming Regional and International Meets and Events
Ø International Congress on River Basin Management 22-24 March 2007 Antalya, Turkey Ø INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference 2-5 May 2007 Tehran, Iran Ø Water Financing Programme Conference in Viet Nam 14-16 March 2007 Ha Long, Viet Nam Ø 11th International Water Technology Conference (IWTC-2007) 15-18 March 2007 Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Ø South Asia Water Research Conference 21-22 March 2007 Hyderabad, India Ø Conference on ‘Paying for Sustainable Water Infrastructure: Innovations for the 21st Century’ 21-23 March 2007 Atlanta, Georgia, United States Ø MEDA WATER International Conference on Sustainable Water Management 21-24 March 2007 Tunis, Tunisia Ø World Water Day 22 March 2007 FAO HQ, Rome, Italy Ø Climate Change and Hydrology Congress 27-28 March 2007 Lyon, France Ø 9th International Symposium and Exhibition ‘Pure Water of Russia – 2007’ 17-20 April 2007 Yekaterinburg, Russia Ø 8th IWA United Kingdom Young Water Professionals Conference 18-20 April 2007 Guildford, United Kingdom Ø 2nd International EWA Conference ‘Waters in Protected Areas’ 25-27 April 2007 Dubrovnik, Croatia Ø 7th International IWA Symposium on Systems Analysis and Integrated Assessment in Water Management (Watermatex 2007) 7-9 May 2007 Washington DC, United States Ø International Conference on Water Management and Technology Applications in Developing Countries 14-16 May 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Ø Second SEAWUN Convention on Management Capacity Building and Performance Improvements for South East Asian Water Utilities 14-16 May 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Ø World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2007 15-19 May 2007 Tampa, Florida, United States Ø River Basin Management 2007 Conference 23-25 May 2007 Kos, Greece Ø International Conference: ‘Collaborating in Africa: New Approaches in the Water Sector’ 24-25 May 2007 Gatineau, Quebec, Canada Ø 7th International Symposium on the Conservation of Monuments in the Mediterranean Basin ‘Water and Cultural Heritage’ 6-9 June 2007 Orleans, France Ø Groundwater Management in the Danube River Basin and other Large River Basins Conference 7-9 June 2007 Belgrade, Serbia Ø World Canals Conference 2007 13-15 June 2007 Liverpool, United Kingdom Ø 5th IWHA Conference ‘Pasts and Futures of Water’ 13-17 June 2007 Tampere, Finland Ø World Water Week in Stockholm 2007 ‘Progress and Prospects on Water – Striving for Sustainability in a Changing World’ 12-18 August 2007 Stockholm, Sweden Ø 2nd IASTED International Conference on Water Resources Management (WRM 2007) 20-22 August 2007 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Ø International Conference on Sustainable Development and Management of Water Resources in Palestine 25-28 August 2007 Amman, Jordan Ø Third International Conference on Climate and Water 3-6 September 2007 Helsinki, Finland Ø 3rd International Yellow River Forum on Sustainable Water Resources Management and Delta Ecosystem Maintenance 16-19 October 2007 Dongying City, Shandong Province, China Ø HELP - Local Solutions to Global Water Problems : Lessons from the South 4-9 November 2007 Pretoria, South Africa Ø Water Down Under 2008 15-18 April 2008 Adelaide, Australia
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Ø Proceedings of the INPIM’s Ninth International Seminar on PIM Ø Governance as a Trialogue (2007) Ø Inter-Basin Water Transfer: Case Studies from Australia, United States, Canada, China and India (2007) Ø More Crop Per Drop: Revisiting a research paradigm (2007) Ø Groundwater Resources Sustainability Indicators (2007) Ø Closing the Gender Gap : Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Project (2007)
Fellowship and funding opportunitiesØ Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) Ø Joint Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme Ø ADB’s Internship and Research Fellowship Programs capacity building and trainings
Ø Short Course on Service Oriented Management of Irrigation Systems (SOMIS)10-28 April, 2007 UNESCO-IHE, DELFT, The Netherlands Ø Water & Environmental Law and Institutions01 May -18 May 2007 UNESCO-IHE, DELFT, The Netherlands Ø International Course on Ecohydrological Approaches to Wise Use, Restoration, Management and Conservation of Wetlands 5-9 June 2007 Trebon, Czech Republic Ø Participatory Watershed Management 11 June – 6 July 2007 Thailand Ø Applied Groundwater Modelling 18 June-06 July 2007 UNESCO-IHE, DELFT, The Netherlands Ø Public Private Partnerships in the Water Sector 9-27 July 2007 DELFT, The Netherlands
DETAILS
NEWS
INPIM organizes a “Workshop on Sustainability of FWUAs in NWFP” in Peshawar, in Collaboration with Partners
A workshop on ‘Sustainability of FWUAs in NWFP’ was held in InterConn hotel in Peshawar from 14-16 February. This workshop was a part of NWFP On-farm Water Management (OFWM) project, implemented with funding from the Word Bank, NWFP Government and contributions from farmers. The project implementation was initiated in August 2001, and with 9 months extension, the project is planned to be closed in March 2007. The main objective of the project was to reduce poverty through increased agricultural production and farm incomes – by (i) improving the reliability, efficiency and equity of available irrigation water distribution, (ii) increasing on-farm water use efficiency, and (iii) enhancing long term financial sustainability of irrigation systems by supporting the government’s efforts to sustaining farmer organizations. In addition to improving the physical infrastructure, the project involved formation of Farmers’ Organizations (FOs) and Federations of Water User Associations (FWUAs) on selected distributaries and local/minor/civil canal irrigation systems, respectively.
The project covered an area of 0.23 million hectares in NWFP and 22,400 hectares in FATA. It involved improvement/rehabilitation of 53 irrigation schemes, formation and registration of 47 FWUAs (39 in NWFP and 8 in FATA), and establishment of 6 farmers organizations in NWFP.
Unlike public canal systems/distributaries, civil canal irrigation systems are owned, managed and operated by local farmers/ communities. These systems make important contributions to the food security and incomes of local people and offer tremendous scope to improving their livelihoods.
The main objective of the workshop was to seek inputs and recommendations from the stakeholders on how the registered FWUAs can be made more functional, strong and sustainable in the long term (after completion of the project). The workshop provided an open forum for participants to discuss the important issues.
Among other things, the workshop participants discussed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to FWUAs, with focus on following aspects:
Ø Institutional, organizational, legal aspects (also including organizational development and linkages, rules of business, operating procedures, roles, responsibilities, accountability, conflict resolution mechanisms and system of incentives/penalties) Ø Financial aspects (budgets/cost/income, abiana assessment/ collection/ spending, cost sharing aspects, systems of incentives/penalties/rewards)
Ø Management, system maintenance, technical aspects (including system operations, water distribution, service delivery, system maintenance/repair and rehabilitation). Ø Linkages with public-private sector entities, Ø Support Services (legal/institutional, technical/technological, income generating activities) Ø Capacity building aspects (CB needs, areas of skill development)
In his address, Dr. Intizar Hussain, Executive Director, International Networks on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM) welcomed all participants in the workshop, and highlighted the importance of the issues facing civil canals and the importance of this workshop.
During the workshop, the following key points were noted:
1. The project has initiated an important positive change in civil canal systems 2. While some achievements have been made, some more work remains to be done in order to reap the full benefits from the project’s investments, however, more formal evaluation is needed 3. There are gaps that need to be filled and issues that need to be addressed. There are opportunities (& scope) to enhance the benefits of reforms that have been initiated 4. There is a strong interest of stakeholders in the project works, strengthening of newly formed FWUAs, and for follow up actions in the form of phase II of project 5. Important lessons have been learnt under this project which should be incorporated for future projects on civil canals 6. Investments in irrigation systems and reforms will generate greater benefits if other allied agriculture activities are also incorporated
In his address Mr. Sher Afzal, Director General, On-Farm Water Management, NWFP encouraged the farmers to express their viewpoints regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the project so that these suggestions can be incorporated while framing and designing similar projects in future. He also assured the farmers that OFWM department will continue to support farmers in these areas on priority basis.
Mr. Hayat Ullah Khan, Team Leader DHV briefed the participants regarding the background and achievements of the project. He informed them that in spite of several initial problems, major targets of the projects have been achieved. He told that 47 FWUAs and 6 FOs have been formed and registered under this project and more than 21 schemes had been completed while rest are near to completion.
Farmer representatives Mr. Nobat Khan from Mardan, Mr. Inaam Ullah Khan from Peshawar, Major (R) Muhammad Sharif and Haji Muhammad Ashraf from Bannu presented the view points of the farmers after an open forum discussion of the participants. They were of the view that these organizations are still young so these should continue to be supported to make them viable and sustainable.
During the discussions, it was noted that the project has made following achievements:
i) Mobilization of communities, formation, registration, trainings and capacity building of FWUAs. ii) Establishment of new community forums and development of social capital iii) Empowerment of farmers and their representatives iv) There is significant scope for developing FWUAs into strong organizations- due to strong leadership and fertile ground for cooperation v) There is a strong interest and motivation of FWUAs leaders to make these institutions strong and effective vi) With some additional support, effective linkages FWUAs can be developed into strong self supporting institutions to address irrigation and agricultural problems
Further, the participants highlighted the need for the following in order to make FWUAs strong and effective institutions:
Ø Clarity in legal status-roles, responsibilities, authorities, Ø Representation of FWUAs at higher level, agency patronage Ø Involvement of FWUAs in designing, planning and execution of physical/construction works Ø Development and strengthening of FWUAs as multi functional institutions Ø Promotion of linkages with public and private sectors Ø Development of incentive system for FWUAs office bearers Ø Promotion of interactions across FWUAs, FOs Ø Development of an inventory and database of civil canals in NWFP Ø Expansion of the system reforms / improvements initiative in other systems Ø Introduce a fair, equitable, simple, cost effective and modern system of water charges/abiana determination, assessment and collection in civil canals
The workshop concluded with the following key points:
1. The ongoing project may be termed as first phase and there is strong demand from stakeholders for second phase. 2. Stakeholders consider establishment of upper level institutions or body for FWUAs representation at higher level as an important step for sustainability of FWUAs. 3. Data, information and knowledge base should be strengthened
In his keynote address Mr. Khalid Waqar Chamkani, Member of Provincial Assembly, assured the farmers that their problems be properly addressed and their suggestions will be given due consideration. He admired the efforts of INPIM, OFWM, DHV and World Bank for execution of project and holding a successful workshop in which farmers from various parts of the province are brought together to share knowledge and experiences
In his address in the closing ceremony of the Workshop on 16 February, Mr. Arbab Shahrukh, Secretary Agriculture, NWFP, appreciated the partners for holding this workshop and emphasized that strengthening of FWUAs and empowerment of farmers, farmers’ access to necessary inputs and services are important for uplifting agriculture and increasing productivity in the sector.
Mr. Yousaf Khattak, Director General On-Farm Water Management and Mr. Amirullah Khan, the Project Director thanked the partners and participants of the workshop for their valuable contributions to this important workshop.
Further details of the workshop findings and recommendations will be provided in the next newslwtter.
INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference in Tehran, Iran
INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference will be held in Tehran from 2-5 May, 2007 and will be hosted by the Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID), ICID & INPIM. All interested participants and the members of ICID, INPIM and other national, regional and international organizations are welcome to exchange ideas, experiences, new technologies and innovations, as well as, share benefits from new research and development by deliberating on various aspects of PIM.
The main theme and sub-themes of the event are as follow:
1. A Review on Participatory Measures in Irrigation · Implemented and proposed processes (frameworks, methods and indices). · Success stories on implemented projects.
2. Required Grounds and Facilities for PIM Formation · Organizational reforms. · Cultural, social and political grounds. · Legal frameworks and norms.
3. Support System for PIM Sustainability · Policies and strategies. · Capacity building, training and extension. · Monitoring and evaluation.
For Details Contact:
Email:
irncid@gmail.com
ADB’s Water Financing Program 2006-2010 More Investments for Increased Capacity in Pakistan
While there is consensus about the critical need for increasing investment in Pakistan, there are issues across four provinces over the allocation of water resources that must be overcome for substantive progress. But even with these challenges, Pakistan has laid out the welcome mat for ADB’s new Water Financing Program (WFP).
Water Investment Barriers
The country has a long history of developing its infrastructure for water resources management, and is home to the largest contiguous irrigation system in the world. Irrigated land is responsible for about 80% of agricultural production. Agriculture represents 25% of Pakistan’s gross domestic product, employs over 50% of the rural labor force, and provides 60%–70% of exports. The Indus River canal system not only supplies agricultural water but is also a primary source of rural, municipal, and industrial supply.
Clearly, water resources are vital to Pakistan’s economic well-being, and their improved management is vital to poverty reduction. There has been a longstanding call for better water resources management to exploit fully water’s producti | |||||||||||||||||||
