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THE INPIM E-NEWSLETTER May 18, 2007; Number 64 http://www.inpim.org ihussain@inpim.org
Welcome to the INPIM E-Newsletter # 64 NEWS
Ø Declaration of INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference, Tehran, Iran (2-5 May 2007) Ø Pilot Projects for Drip Irrigation System Launched in Pakistan Ø Driving Change - The Bang Pakong River Basin Committee Experience, Thailand Ø Groundwater Banking Working in Idaho, USA Ø China Invests to Improve Dams and Drinking Water Ø UN-HABITAT Signs Partnership with Coca-Cola in India Ø International Community to Step Up Action On Water And Sanitation Agenda
DONORS’ LENDING AND SUPPORT FOR IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE PROJECTS
World Bank
Ø World Bank Project Seeks to Improve Agricultural Growth in Andhra Pradesh, India Ø World Bank Supports Water Reforms in Morocco Ø World Bank Supports New Water and Sanitation Programme in Honduras Ø World Bank Financing Improves Water and Sanitation Facilities for Low Income Residents in Ethiopia
Upcoming Regional and International Meets and Events
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 9th Cannes Water Symposium: Water and City 25-29 June 2007 Cannes, France Ø 4th Workshop and Short Intensive Course - Wetland Water 2-8 July 2007 Biebrza National Park, Poland 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 MELIA 1st Workshop: “Water Culture and Water Conflict in the Mediterranean Area” 22-26 November 2007 Tunisia Ø 33rd WEDC International Conference “Access to Sanitation and Safe Water: Global Partnerships and Local Actions” 7-11 April 2008 Accra, Ghana Ø Water Down Under 2008 15-18 April 2008 Adelaide, Australia
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Ø Sustaining Crop Water Productivity in Rice-Wheat Systems of South Asia: A Case Study from the Punjab, Pakistan Ø Water For Food, Water For Life Ø Groundwater Resources Sustainability Indicators
Fellowship and funding opportunitiesØ DELTA Scholarships Ø Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 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
Declaration of INPIM’s 10th International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and ICID’s 4th Asian Regional Conference, Tehran, Iran (2-5 May 2007)
The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), and the International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM), under their mandates to hold Regional Conferences and the International Seminars, respectively, jointly held the 4th Asian Regional Conference and the 10th International Seminar on “Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)” during May 2-5, 2007 in Tehran, Iran. This joint international event was organized and hosted by the Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID) – one of the active ICID’s National Chapters, and the INPIM. Over 900 experts, professionals, policy makers, planners, researchers, managers, donors, development partners and representatives from national, regional and international organizations from 40 countries participated in the event.
This global event provided an important forum to stakeholders for reporting and discussing issues, challenges and options for agricultural water management, specifically focusing on participatory approaches to irrigation management, sharing knowledge, experiences, lessons and promoting best practices and innovative ideas on PIM. The forum presented over 110 papers — covering a wide range of PIM aspects from a variety of situations — on the following three sub-themes:
(1) Review of participatory measures in Irrigation – that focused on success stories and experiences with implemented and proposed PIM frameworks and models,
(2) Required grounds and facilities for PIM – that discussed organizational reforms, legal frameworks and norms, socio-cultural and political grounds, and
(3) Support system for PIM sustainability – that critically looked into required policies and strategies, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and capacity building and training needs.
In the agricultural water sector, the importance of participatory approach to irrigation management is now widely recognized by governments, donors, agencies and other stakeholders. While PIM as a concept and approach has been in vogue for over two decades with varying degrees of successes, the fascinating and challenging debates on emerging PIM issues continue. As irrigation reforms progress, issues continue to emerge, alternative PIM models and frameworks continue to be experimented in diverse local environments, and PIM approaches continue to be evolved and refined. Importantly, as water becomes scarce and faces intense sectoral competition in most settings in the world, there is an increasing need to better use and manage each single drop of water. And the PIM approach to irrigation management assumes greater than ever significance in such settings. In view of this, more than 60 countries have embarked upon PIM reforms aimed at improving irrigation management and making irrigation systems sustainable. These countries represent some 80 percent of global irrigated area.
The Event Declaration
Taking note of discussions, deliberations and recommendations of the stakeholders, the Event:
1. Reaffirms the critical importance of irrigation for enhancing productivity, employment, farm incomes and food security – promoting agricultural and economic growth and reducing poverty. It is recognized that the positive impacts of irrigation can be substantially increased through interventions that address issues related to inequities in land and water distribution, water allocation within and across sectors, maintenance and management of irrigation infrastructure, access to improved production technologies and agricultural support measures – with greater emphasis on pro-poor approach to such interventions.
2. Recognizes that there are enormous challenges and complex set of issues facing irrigation sector – from basin level to watercourse and field levels – but so are the opportunities. The forum emphasizes the need for reengaging in the sector and calls for increased investments from both public and private sources not only for expanding irrigation, where needed, but also for reforming and modernizing existing irrigation systems – with focus on right kind of investments with sound institutions that deliver larger benefits to the poor.
3. Recognizes that PIM is now a widely accepted approach and its implementation is a worldwide phenomenon; there is a general consensus on the need for further promoting, strengthening and expanding PIM reforms in irrigation sector across countries; and in many countries PIM is becoming a central component of irrigation/water policies.
4. Highlights that PIM approach delivers a number of positive outcomes and impacts for stakeholders, including the following: (a) empowers farmers, (b) leads to better system maintenance and service, (c) reduces cost of irrigation to the government, (d) improves productivity and profitability of agriculture and water use, and (e) leads to innovations in irrigation management and agriculture in general. However, the magnitude of such outcomes and impacts and the degree of PIM reform success and sustainability have varied across settings and have depended on a number of factors such as clarity and strength of institutional and legal framework, higher level political will and local level leadership, financial and technical resources, access to support services, incentive system, capacity building and training etc. Understanding these and other facilitating or constraining factors (institutional, financial, socio-economic, agricultural and hydrological) is important for further strengthening and expanding PIM reforms.
5. Suggests that efforts being made in promoting PIM reforms should be continued and further strengthened, greater emphasis is needed on ensuring equity in sharing benefits of PIM reforms and sustainability of such benefits – under the pro-poor framework. The stakeholders call for broadening the framework of PIM from simple ‘transfer’ to an instrument of ‘restructuring’ the water sector for improving its performance, ensuring equitable water access and allowing transition to a sustainable and integrated management and use of water resources. It is suggested that PIM approach can provide an important mechanism and venue for tackling water resources management issues.
6. Emphasizes the need for greater attention during post-intervention phase of PIM reforms, especially on the following areas:
a. Support Services (long term support in consultation with farmers/ users while avoiding increasing dependency). b. Monitoring and Evaluation (multi-perspective and participatory approach with emphasis on a third party/private sector based on a set of robust indicators). c. Capacity Development (substantial and prolonged capacity development at the level of policy environment, institutional strengthening and individual development). d. System of Incentives to promote performance and innovation. e. Financial Strength (WUAs resource mobilization and revenue generation capacity).
7. Points out that so far PIM reforms have focused on ‘downstream’ side of reforms, that is, on establishing and strengthening WUAs, and only little attention has been paid to ‘upstream side’, that is, on reforming public irrigation agencies. For success of PIM reforms, reforming public irrigation agency is as important as establishing WUAs. There is a need to clearly define new roles and responsibilities of the public irrigation agency, and its capacity needs to be developed to enable it to adapt to its new roles.
8. Encourages action research on PIM reforms through pilot testing within a framework for learning and scaling up. Pilot experiments may be necessary to clarify modalities and generate support for innovation and for creating a common vision for developing a national strategy. Pilot activities for PIM should be continued even when PIM reforms are under full implementation, because they can tackle additional aspects of reforms requiring experimentation, especially for “second generation” issues, such as WUA federations, innovations in irrigation financing, charging and cost recovery, multi-functionality of WUAs, technology transfer through WUAs, asset management in transferred schemes, agency personnel changes, and development of private sector support services.
9. Re-iterates the importance of building capacity, promoting collaborations and partnerships across stakeholders at various levels; and promoting the exchange of information, knowledge, best practices and lessons learned on PIM reforms.
10. Calls upon national governments, local, regional and international donors, development banks and partners to take facilitating role in promoting PIM reforms, help mobilize financial and technical resources from public and private sources, and provide required assistance to relevant organizations involved in promoting and strengthening PIM reforms.
11. Thanks the Government of I.R. of Iran, ICID, INPIM, IRNCID, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture for their contributions and support in organizing the event; and other partners (including WB, FAO, IWMI) for this support for the event.
Pilot Projects for Drip Irrigation System Launched in Pakistan
The Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has launched two-year pilot projects of drip irrigation in selected areas in the country for enhancing agriculture production, said official sources.
Driving Change - The Bang Pakong River Basin Committee Experience, Thailand
If there’s one truth the people along the Bang Pakong River Basin now believe, it’s that the piecemeal approach rarely works for the majority. They should know, too. For years, they watched how one group would solve their water problem only to the detriment of another group—usually downstream.
It’s a classic case of needing to see the forest through the trees—also known as Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). The new Bang Pakong River Basin Committee (BPRBC) found a way to do this, and with the private sector in an unusual, and sometimes uncomfortable but successful, role.
Just how did the Committee get everyone along a notoriously conflicted river to sit down and play nice?
Making Matters Worse, Before They Get Better
In the Bang Pakong River, solutions have not always lived up to their intentions, sometimes causing more conflict than resolution.
For example, in 1999, a barrage was built to keep out salt water. Its construction has been eroding the river bank and silting the water, though. And livelihoods have been drastically altered.
“We make Thai sweets instead of fishing,” says Chawee Boonprom, one of the many fishermen forced to take odd jobs now that the river is polluted. “It pays very little money, but it’s better than doing nothing.” Even cultural traditions have been affected.
“We have problems sailing our statue of Buddha along the river for people to pay tribute to,” says a local resident.
More conflict has surfaced about 60 kilometers up from the barrage, where a canal slide gate is being blamed for polluting water downstream and damaging aquaculture. The gate opens every November to drain the river, which dries the rice fields for harvesting. Lining the canal, though, is a number of paper companies that people suspect are dumping their wastes in the river and killing the fish downstream. In November 2006, more than 80 million baht worth of dead fish were carted off.
Seeing the Big Picture
A very necessary resource for the Thai people has become a very fragile one. The Bang Pakong encompasses four major provinces and supports many communities through agro forestry, irrigated crops, livestock, and fisheries. It is also home to many industries, among them paper factories, tanneries, and breweries.
Unfortunately, the basin has become threatened by water pollution, frequent flooding, salt water intrusion and conflicts among agricultural, industrial, and household users.
Conflicts over the different uses of the river have become more common with each day. Working piecemeal—roping in one set of stakeholders to resolve one burning issue at a given time—may produce a good solution. But, as the barrage experience proves, one solution may have unforeseen ripple effects, not all of them positive. This highlights the need to manage the basin’s resources in a more holistic manner.
With assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Bang Pakong River Basin Committee (BPRBC) decided to pursue integrated and participatory basin management.
Making Uniqueness Work
To get to the bottom of all the conflicts arising on the Bang Pakong, the ADB offered technical assistance to the Bang Pakong River Basin Committee. The project was designed to upgrade the Committees awareness on basin issues and IWRM. Working from there, the Committee planned a series of multistakeholder dialogues.
The success of these dialogues would be measured by their results, specifically, their ability to sustainably resolve conflicts for communities that would not adversely affect other communities.
In an unprecedented move, the Committee elected a chair from the private sector, Mr. Chamroon Suaydee, restaurant owner and president of the Pranchunburi Province Tourist Club. Bang Pakong is the only one among 29 basin committees in Thailand with a chair from the private sector.
At first, this didn’t work well for the Committee. Government representatives weren’t accustomed to ceding authority, and often refused to participate in the dialogues. On the other hand, this also seemed to be the magic wand for business and civil society representatives who, with their general distrust of centrally initiated projects, quickly jumped on board.
The chair persisted in bringing the different stakeholder groups for dialogues. “Chamroon mobilized his contacts in the private sector and civil society networks to get the dialogues started, and then brought the results to the government agencies, prompting them to take action,” says Sukontha Aekeraj, director of the Foreign Relations Division of the Department of Water Resources. Aekaraj manages the Committee’s project with ADB.
Today, Committee members from the private sector are active custodians of the basin, often working side by side with community groups to serve as watchdogs of large companies and industries perceived as potential polluters of the river.
Conflicts Meet Their Solutions
Eventually, the Bang Pakong dialogue involved all the different users of the river— government agencies, businesses and industries, non-government organizations, and community groups, such as fishermen and farmers.
More than 20 workshops and consultations have been convened since the start of the project. Many of these helped stakeholders understand the Committee’s mandate and learn IWRM principles and practices. Majority of the sessions, however, focused on understanding specific conflicts in the river basin, and finding solutions. For such sessions, the Committee deliberately leaves the agenda open so that the stakeholders can raise the issues paramount to them. This bottom-up approach has earned the trust of local stakeholders, and gave the BPRBC much needed inputs in terms of data and solutions.
The Committee also pilot tested water use surveys in selected basin sub-districts. Not only did this strengthen its ability to undertake research about the people in the basin, but it also gave a voice to individual stakeholders. Data revealed a widespread misunderstanding over water issues at the community level. Despite that, the Committee now has a better understanding of what really drives water demand in the basin, and what development initiatives will be most useful in the coming years.
Life After Conflict
“The fact that the Committee gets the government sector, civil society, and communities to work together on a common project is already a big achievement,” says Aekaraj.
The Committee is not resting on its recent laurels, though. ADB financial assistance expired in July 2006, yet the Committee continues to pursue constant dialogue with stakeholders. It is also gearing up for work beyond conflict resolution, committee members are now polishing their knowledge on water allocation and basin planning so that they can expand the role of the Committee in the near future.
Groundwater Banking Working in Idaho, USA
Ground
water banking can work as long as the financial metaphor is
carried all the way to the formation of an open-market system to
govern the process.
Oregon has
been through a more-than-decade-long struggle to deal with too
much demand for a commodity, groundwater that has a finite
supply.
The first
permit issued through the program was issued in 2003. Court
challenges have followed, but the program has survived. As of
last year, 40 to 50 groundwater permits have been approved with
another 150 in the queue.
China will invest 29.65 billion Yuan ($3.85 billion) this year to reinforce dams and improve rural drinking water quality, Chinese media reported on Monday.
Among the total investment, 3.2 billion Yuan would be spent on the reinforcement of reservoir banks, the official Xinhua news agency said, quoting a senior official from the Ministry of Water Resources.
Chinese media has warned that thousands of reservoirs in need of repair are like "time bombs" threatening nearby villagers with floods in the event they burst their banks. "The investment will be put to deal with the problems that the common people care about the most," the report quoted the water resources official as saying.
More than 6 billion Yuan would be used to resolve issues concerning safe drinking water for rural residents, a problem that affects about 300 million people, the report said. Increasing industrial waste and sewage discharge, as well as heavy use of pesticides and fertilizer, has resulted in drinking water being contaminated in many parts of the countryside.
The investment also included money for a scheme to transfer water from the south of China to the parched north, the report said.
UN-HABITAT Signs Partnership with Coca-Cola in India
UN Under
Secretary General and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna
International Community to Step Up Action on Water and Sanitation Agenda
New commitments were expressed by donors, international development institutions and developing countries to tackle the water and sanitation crisis that affects the world’s poor. Over a billion people in developing countries lack access to a reliable water supply and half the population of developing countries are without proper sanitation.
This global response took shape during a special event held during the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings co-hosted by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The meeting brought together developed and developing country government representatives along with civil society leaders and development agencies to galvanize common action on access to clean water and sanitation.
A number of donors present committed to increase and improve support to countries to expand water and sanitation services, including: Ø Supporting those governments which already have plans in place and have committed to invest their own resources; Ø Helping countries without water and sanitation plans to prepare them; Ø Renewing commitment to the African Development Bank’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative. This provides a unique opportunity to harmonize, increase and improve donor support behind national plans; Ø Giving special treatment to those countries that, despite their needs, do not receive sufficient attention from donors. As a first step this will include, reporting shortfalls in their funding and agreeing who will do what. Ø Focusing on sanitation services and hygiene education. Both are cost-efficient and effective live savers. In addition, participants agreed to better coordinate their actions at a global level to deliver a greater impact on the ground, and identified some practical initiatives, such as: Ø A proposed annual global monitoring report prepared by UN Water and its members, to be launched with a special focus on sanitation in 2008, the year of sanitation. This will set out progress towards achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets; Ø Agreement that there should be one annual meeting to discuss this report and agree actions on it. The Stockholm World Water Week in August 2007 was identified as the venue at which these future annual meetings will be identified. Ø ‘Follow up’ to existing water action plans; and Ø A common approach on sanitation. World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, said:
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