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THE INPIM E-NEWSLETTER April 15, 2007; Number 63 http://www.inpim.org ihussain@inpim.org
Welcome to the INPIM E-Newsletter # 63 NEWS
Ø Regional Workshop to Exchange Experiences on Water Users Associations in Romania Ø Scaling Up Agricultural Water Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ouagadougou, Call for Action (28 March 2007) Ø Elections of INPIM Nepal Chapter Executive Committee Ø National Federation of Irrigation Water Users Association Nepal (NFIWUAN) Ø World Bank Calls for Investments in Water Infrastructure & Better Governance Ø Meeting the Global Water Challenge Ø Coping With Scarce Water in the Middle East and North Africa Ø Better Crops, Higher Incomes for Farmers in India’s Karnataka Watershed Ø Irrigation Efficiency gives a Boost to Tanzanian Farmers Ø Preparations Underway for Major Water Summit Ø Dutch Association of Water Boards Launches International Projects Ø FAO Supports Water-Soil-Crop Arsenic Remediation and Management Strategies in Bangladesh Ø ADB and Singapore Working Together to Address Asia's Urban Water Crisis
DONORS’ LENDING AND SUPPORT FOR IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE PROJECTS
World Bank
Ø World Bank Provides Further Grant Support to Help Improve Irrigation Infrastructure in Afghanistan Ø World Bank Approves US$194.8 Million to Support Safety Net Program and Basic Infrastructure Services in Colombia Ø World Bank Supports Water Supply Infrastructure Improvement Project in St. Lucia Ø World Bank Helps Clean Up China’s Pearl River Ø World Bank Approves US$154.5 Million to Support Poorest People in Western Kenya
Upcoming Regional and International Meets and Events
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 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
7th
World General Assembly of the International Network of Basin
Organizations Debrecen, Hungary Ø World Canals Conference 2007 13-15 June 2007 Liverpool, United Kingdom Ø ‘Water for a Changing World - Enhancing Local Knowledge and Capacity’ Symposium 13-15 June 2007 Delft, The Netherlands 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 International Workshop on ‘Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Systems’ 10-11 September 2007 Munich, Germany 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 Special Issue of Irrigation and Drainage (Volume 56, Number 2-3, April-July 2007): Irrigation and Poverty Alleviation: Pro-poor Intervention Strategies in Irrigated Agriculture Ø Where the Land is Greener - Case Studies and Analysis of Soils and Water Conservation Initiatives Worldwide (2007) Ø How IWRM will Contribute to Achieving the MDGs (2007) Ø Partnerships in the Water and Sanitation Sector (2007) Ø The United Nations GEMS/Water Programme’s Water Quality Outlook (2007) Fellowship and funding opportunitiesØ NFP Fellowships for PhD Studies Ø DELTA Scholarships Ø IFAD Internship Program Ø ADB’s Internship and Research Fellowship Programs capacity building and trainings
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 International Training Course on Qanats - A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integrating Traditional Knowledge with Modern Development 1- 4 July 2007 Yazd, Iran Ø Watershed and River Basin Management 9-27 July 2007 DELFT, The Netherlands Ø Public Private Partnerships in the Water Sector 9-27 July 2007 DELFT, The Netherlands Ø Water Quality Control in Water Supply 01-12 October DELFT, The Netherlands
DETAILS
NEWS
INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference in Tehran, Iran
INPIM’s Tenth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) will be held in Tehran, Iran from 2 to 5 May 2007. The seminar will be conducted jointly with ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference in collaboration with the Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID) – one of the active Chapters of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). The event would provide a great opportunity to all concerned irrigation professionals, scientists, engineers, specialists, and interested participants to exchange ideas and experiences relevant to PIM. The seminar will be held in Iran Summit Hall situated at the beautiful foot-hills of Alborz mountain range.
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
Regional Workshop to Exchange Experiences on Water Users Associations in Romania
A Regional Workshop to Exchange Experiences on Water Users Associations is being organized by the World Bank from 4-7 June 2007 in Romania. INPIM will facilitate the workshop in collaboration with WBI and other partners. The participating countries of the workshop are Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, and Romania (and possibly also Bosnia and Croatia).
More details about the workshop will be provided in the next e-newsletter.
Scaling Up Agricultural Water Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ouagadougou, Call for Action (28 March 2007)
Over 130 experts and managers from 32[1] African countries and their development partners met in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from 26-28 March 2007 to promote Agricultural Water Development (AWD), strategic planning and investment preparation in order to revitalize interest in AW investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. The meeting was convened by five development partners – AfDB, FAO, IFAD, IWMI and World Bank – at the occasion of the completion of a report “Investment in Agricultural Water for Poverty Reduction and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa” as part of the Collaborative Program on AWD. The meeting was hosted by ARID[2].
A Daunting Poverty Reduction Challenge Although the world as a whole is roughly on track to do so, Sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely on present trends to reach Target 1 of the MDGs – i.e. to halve, by 2015, the number of people living on less than $1 a day. Indeed, if nothing changes, the absolute numbers of poor in the region will continue to increase and by 2015 close to half the world’s poor will live in this region.
Eighty-five percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s poor live in the rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Agricultural growth is therefore clearly key to alleviating poverty and to driving economic growth. Yet Agriculture in the region remains a largely subsistence activity, production has not kept pace with population growth, food security has declined, the household income required to afford more bought-in food has not been generated and the numbers of malnourished people are consequently rising. Rainfall variability adversely affects rainfed production, and this is likely to become aggravated by climate change.
Investment in agricultural water can contribute to agricultural growth and reduce poverty directly by: (a) permitting intensification and diversification and hence increased farm outputs and incomes; (b) increasing agricultural employment and wages; and (c) reducing local food prices and hence improving real net incomes. It can also reduce poverty indirectly via increased rural and urban employment as a result of multiplier effects on growth in rural and urban non-farm economies.
Untapped Potential Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural water remains underdeveloped: there are only 9 million ha of land under water management in the region today, representing just 5% of the total cultivated area – by far the lowest proportion of any region in the world. Water withdrawals for agriculture are less than 3% of total renewable resources, and although a number of basins are currently experiencing, or are approaching, water scarcity this is mainly because of a lack of adequate water storage, institutional management capacity and transboundary organizations following integrated water resources management (IWRM) approaches, rather than absolute scarcity.
One of the reasons for underdevelopment of the sector is that there has in the past been a lack of strategic vision linking agricultural water development to poverty reduction and growth. Even though most poverty reduction strategies are predicated on agricultural growth, agricultural water development has generally not been seen as a vehicle for achieving this; consequently it has had a low profile in PRSPs.
The Meeting i) Aware that agricultural water development in sub-Saharan Africa can only make an important contribution to poverty reduction and growth when investments are profitable at the farm level, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sustainable; ii) Realizing that, while there is a potential for a five-fold expansion of the irrigated area, the constraints to this development are mainly economic and institutional; iii) Noting also that a range of low-cost rainwater management technologies (rainwater harvesting, soil moisture conservation, etc.) and potential is available for stabilizing and increasing the crop yields and farmer incomes in rainfed agriculture; iv) Acknowledging that investment in agricultural water is not on its own sufficient to ensure optimal yields, productivity and incomes but needs to be part of a market-driven comprehensive package (research, technical, economic, trade, institutional) that enables farmers to maximize productivity and profitability; v) Recognizing that organizational arrangements for project design, implementation and management are more efficient when they reflect the comparative advantages of the public sector, farmers, NGOs and the private sector; vi) Realizing that agricultural water development investments should be designed in such a way that they address all stakeholders (including the poor and women), ensuring that all parties benefit to their mutual advantage, and that socio-economic benefits are maximized whilst negative environmental and health impacts are minimized; vii) Appreciating that appropriate institutional reforms that give priority to farmer empowerment enhance the performance of agricultural water development and its contribution to sustainable agricultural growth and poverty reduction, but that they need to be accompanied by effective capacity building; viii) Regretting the absence of an action oriented strategy for agricultural water development in some countries, their incoherent implementation in others, as well as the existence of trade and non-trade barriers; ix) Taking note of past experience from agricultural water development and cognizant of the lessons learned;
Recommends that i) The Governments of Sub-Saharan African countries and their development partners should promote national agricultural water development strategies that recognize (a) the potential contribution of agricultural water to poverty reduction and growth, (b) the imperatives of farm level profitability and economic viability, and, (c) the need for a conducive institutional environment; ii) The Governments of Sub-Saharan African countries and their development partners should increase investment in agricultural water development and institutional reforms in accordance with the Maputo Declaration of the African Ministers of Agriculture, including reforms to macro-economic policies, legal frameworks and organizations for agricultural water. This may involve integrating or better coordinating the responsibilities of government organizations for infrastructure development with those for irrigated farming and enhanced aid harmonization; developing the instruments needed for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs); making transparent the role of farmers in cost sharing and in operation and maintenance whilst building capacities for farmer organizations, public agencies and professional regional and national organizations (such as ARID), the establishment of which should be promoted in other Africa sub-regions. iii) The Governments of Sub-Saharan African countries and their development partners should invest only in viable and sustainable projects and should design for maximum profitability, poverty reduction and growth by avoiding long-term and unsustainable subsidies, by providing agricultural water as part of a comprehensive development package that is linked to markets, by promoting effective inter-regional trade, by ensuring that the proposed management arrangements are sustainable, and by inclusively targeting the poor and women, whilst minimizing negative environmental and health impacts.
Elections of INPIM Nepal Chapter Executive Committee
INPIM’s Nepal Chapter has recently elected its Executive Committee in a meeting held on 4 April 2007 followed by one day workshop organized by the Chapter. Following are the elected members of this new Executive Committee:
Congratulations to the new Executive Committee and many thanks to the members of previous Executive Committee of INPIM’s Nepal Chapter, especially Mr. Sharada Prasad Sharma, President, Mr. Tika Ram Dahal, Vice-President and other members.
INPIM’s Nepal Chapter organized a workshop at Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal on 5 April 2007, in which about 50 participants were present. It was also attended by the Secretary and Director General of Department of Irrigation (DoI). Three very useful presentations were made on ‘Evolution of PIM in Nepal and opportunities for INPIM activities’ by Dr. Khem Raj Sharma, ‘Governance and PIM: a reflection’ by Mr. Ram Prasad Bhandari and “Lahore INPIM meeting and looking forward for INPIM Nepal’ by Dr. Umesh Nath Parajuli. The basic objective of the workshop was to obtain stakeholders inputs in the INPIM’s Nepal Chapter’s future plan of activities. The Executive Director of INPIM Dr. Intizar Hussain also attended the event.
The workshop was followed by visits to Nao Beshi Nepal Beshi irrigation system in Karre district and office of NFIWUAN.
National Federation of Irrigation Water Users Association, Nepal (NFIWUAN) (Note: This section is based on the documents provided by the NFIWUAN)
National Federation of Irrigation Water Users Association Nepal (NFIWUAN) is a national level and autonomous umbrella institution of irrigation water users within the country. The aim of the Federation is to unite all the irrigation water users (Farmer’s managed irrigation/ Agency managed irrigation system) throughout the country. NFIWUAN represents the voice of irrigation water users’ within the country to protect and safeguard the rights of irrigators. The vision of the Federation is to strengthen capacity of the irrigation water user’s committee with the community at the local level. NFIWUAN so far has established 66 district chapters located at the district level. The Federation has affiliated total number of 2139 irrigation water user’s committee of the country.
The establishment of NFIWUAN was supported by INPIM and the Department of Irrigation and the Federation was registered on 12 July 1999 in District Administration Office at Katmandu under the Association Registration Act 2034 with the recommendation of Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Water Resources. Mr. Ram Prasad Mehta is the Acting President of the Newly Elected Executive Committee of NFIWUAN.
Objectives of NFIWUAN
Ø To develop leadership in irrigation water users by establishing co-ordination with concerned agencies of Government of Nepal and water user’ associations. Ø To educate the irrigation water users about water resources related law, policy and legislation. Ø To ensure the water users association for active involvement in pursuance of the Participatory irrigation development policy of Government of Nepal. Ø To identify the constraints in the agriculture and irrigation sectors and take necessary measures to increase agricultural production. Ø To identify and extend sustainable irrigation system through effective participation of water users associations in the management and maintenance of all sorts of irrigation channels and trends. Ø To encourage water users associations in the multiple use of water resources. Ø To develop the federation as one of the key representatives of all those using water resources at micro and macro level and impart necessary advice and recommendations to Government of Nepal and other concerned agencies on the formulation, reformation and implementation of policy, plans and programs. Ø To organize training, seminars, workshops and interaction programs on irrigation related themes. Ø To conduct research and studies on the role of water users associations in the effective management of water resources and publish articles relevant to them.
Role of NFIWUAN
Ø The federation safeguards the rights and interests of the irrigation users. Ø It ensures the active participation of the irrigation water users in the operation, maintenance and decision in the irrigation system. Ø The federation actively involves in minimizing/ eliminating the disputes in the irrigation system. Ø It establishes a conducive environment in the irrigation water users committee at the community level throughout the country and incorporates their experiences and knowledge for the water resources management and development. Ø The federation regularly conducts meetings, seminars, talk programs, conferences and focus group discussions related to irrigation and water resource management and development. Ø It regularly conducts training at the national level and local level in order to strengthen the capacity of the irrigation users. Ø It conducts studies and research related to irrigation system, management and development as well as fresh water resources development and management. Ø The federation co-ordinates network with Government, NGOs, INGOs AND Stakeholders having minimum common objectives in a view of the conservation and utilization of water resources. Ø The federation insights necessary suggestions and recommendations for the long term Government irrigation policy, regulation in order to meet the objectives of the irrigation users and the federation.
Policy and Program of NFIWUAN
Ø Office management and operation of central NFIWUAN and District Committees. Ø District wise Inventory of Water Users Associations. Ø Group formation of water user and making their By Laws. Ø District wise Interaction Program. Ø Organizational Development, Extension and Strengthen Program of WUAs. Ø Irrigation Water Users Awareness Program. Ø Gender Equity and Women Leadership Development Program. Ø Leadership and Upliftment Program for Disadvantaged Group. Ø Training Trainers program. Ø District Council and General Assembly. Ø Legal Awareness and Advocacy Program on Irrigation Policy and Regulation. Ø Water Measurement and Management Program. Ø Resource Identification and Management Program. Ø User motivation for collection of Irrigation Service Fee (ISF). Ø Participatory Program on Maintenance of Irrigation Infrastructure. Ø Poverty alleviation program. Ø Accessibility of disadvantaged group over Irrigation Facility. Ø Partnership with Stakeholders. Ø &n | |||||||||||||||||||
