E Newsletter 76
THE INPIM E-NEWSLETTER
June 13, 2008; Number 76
http://www.inpim.org
e-newsletter@inpim.org
Welcome to the INPIM E-Newsletter # 76
NEWS
Ø Austria Contributes $5 Million to Multi-Donor Water Fund.
Ø Philippines Prepare River Management Roadmap.
Ø India-Nepal Cooperation in Water Resources to Strengthen Ties.
Ø Nigeria: Jigawa Invests N150m in Water Improvement.
Ø Rwanda Becomes the Seventh Country to Be Joining the Global Water Partnership.
Ø Water Shortages Looming in MEA.
Ø Six Rivers Lose 1.88 MAF Annually: Irrigation Water in Punjab, NWFP
Ø Waimanalo Farmers Ordered to Cut Water Use.
Ø Yemen - Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project.
Ø Australia to Invest AUS$12.9bn in 10-Year Water Program.
DONORS’ LENDING AND SUPPORT FOR IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE PROJECTS
World Bank
Ø World Bank Provides US$5m to China for Implementation of Irrigation Water Improvement, Agriculture Intensification and Climate Change Projects.
Ø World Bank Administered GPOBA Grants of US$5.25 million to Improve Access to Water Services in Urban and Peri urban Areas of Cameroon
Upcoming Regional and International Meets and Events
Ø Singapore International Water Week 2008: Water Convention
23-27 June 2008
Singapore
Ø Groundwater and Climate in Africa - An International Conference
25-28 June 2008
Kampala, Uganda
Ø 10th International Drainage Workshop of ICID Working Group on Drainage
06-11 July 2008
Helsinki, Finland
Ø World Water Week in Stockholm
17-23 August 2008
Stockholm, Sweden
Ø IV International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management
15-18 October 2008
Thessaloniki, Greece
Ø International Convention on Water Resources Development and Management
23-26 October 2008
BITS Pilani Rajasthan, India
Ø 13th World Water Congress
01-04 September 2008
Montpellier, France
Ø Africa Water Resources Management 2008 (AfricaWRM 2008)
8-10 September 2008
Gaborone, Botswana
Ø WaterTech Central Asia: Central Asian International Water Technology Exhibition & Conference
16-18 September 2008
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Ø ICID’s 20th International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage
13-19 October 2008
Lahore, Pakistan
Ø International Symposium on Multiple-Use Water Services
04-06 November 2008
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Ø Good Practices for Estimating Reliable Willingness-to-Pay Values in the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector
Ø Water Engineering in Ancient Civilizations5000 years of History
Ø Changing or Transferring an Existing Water Right
Fellowship and funding opportunities
Ø University of Groningen PhD Fellowship
Ø Amsterdam Merit Scholarships
Ø Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program
CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAININGS
Ø Applied Groundwater Modelling
16 June-4 July 2008
DELFT, The Netherlands
Ø Managing Organizations and Change
16 June-4 July 2008
DELFT, The Netherlands
Ø Public Private Partnerships in the Water Sector
07-25 July 2008
DELFT, The Netherlands
Ø "2008 Integrated Water Resources Management Advanced International Training Programme"
11 August-2
September 2008 (Sweden)
17-28 November 2008 (Lao PDR)
Ø Spate Irrigation and Water Management under Drought and Water Scarcity
10-21 September 2008
UNESCO-IHE
DETAILS
NEWS
Austria Contributes $5 Million to Multi-Donor Water Fund.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES: The Government of Austria has agreed to contribute $5 million to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Water Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF), helping to provide safe drinking water and sanitation services in remote and impoverished areas of the Asia and Pacific region.
Austria joins Australia and Norway in the multi-donor fund that provides resources to ADB’s Water Financing Program 2006–2010. The Program focuses on the delivery of substantial investment, reform, and capacity development in three key areas – rural water services, urban water services, and river basin water management. Contributions to the Facility are directed primarily toward demonstration projects and support activities.
“By supporting the WFPF, our development partners directly help to improve the lives of millions of people and make a significant contribution for achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” said Karen Decker, ADB’s Senior Financing Partnerships Specialist. “The WFPF strengthens partnerships in the water sector among governments, donors, civil society, and the private sector at the project and country levels.” ADB approved the establishment of the WFPF in December 2006 to mobilize additional resources from development partners for the Water Financing Program. Resources from partners under the WFPF are provided through project-specific loans, grants or guarantees under framework agreements negotiated with each financing partner, pooled grants through the Facility’s trust fund component, and other forms of assistance.
To date, WFPF actual and intended commitments include $19.8 million from The Netherlands, about $32 million equivalent from Australia, about $5.5 million equivalent from Norway, and $5 million from Austria.
(Source: Asian Development Bank, www.adb.org)
Philippines Prepares River Management Roadmap.
MANILA, (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX).The River Basin Control Office (RBCO) is spearheading preparation of a road map for Philippine rivers. This road map aims to establish the general direction on how we can manage our rivers, RBCO Executive Director Vicente Tuddao Jr. said. He noted river management is urgent as these water bodies are reeling from pollution that domestic, industrial and agro-forestry sources generate.
With economic development, river conditions tend to worsen so we must address such, he said. National Water Resources Board, Laguna Lake Development Authority, Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, non-government organization Sagip Pasig Movement as well as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are helping RBCO to develop the map. Tuddao said RBCO and its partners already identified for the roadmap eight strategies that are expected to advance governments vision for Philippine rivers.
These strategies are the ecosystem management approach, investment inflow, land use zoning, effective river administration, database management system, institutional arrangements for financing and partnerships, socio-cultural and economic viability of action taken as well as consistency of measures with existing laws. Were envisioning our rivers to be safe, clean and able to meet needs of people working collectively for a balanced eco-system, Tuddao noted.
Last week, RBCO and its partners met to refine the roadmaps draft outline prepared in March this year.
DENRs Environment Management Bureau (EMB) prioritized monitoring of 19 rivers for compliance by 2010 with Department Administrative Order 90-34 water quality criteria. The priority sites are Marikina, San Juan, Paranaque and Pasig rivers in National Capital Region (NCR); Cordillera Administrative Regions Balili River; Region 3s Meycauayan, Marilao and Bocaue rivers; Region 4As Imus and Ylang-ylang rivers; Region 4Bs Mogpog and Calapan rivers; Region 5s Anayan, Malaguit and Pinique rivers; Region 6s Iloilo River; Region 7s Luyang and Sapangdaku rivers as well as Region 10s Cagayan de Oro River. Most priority rivers located in urbanized areas of NCR and Region 3 show poor water quality and continue to exhibit deteriorating DO levels, EMB said in its 2001-2005 National Water Quality Status Report released last year. EMB said dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the priority rivers must rise 30 percent from what these were during the agencys monitoring in 2003. Oxygen is measured in its dissolved form as DO which cannot sustain aquatic life if its level dips below five milligrams per liter (mg/L), EMB noted.
EMB attributed plunging DO levels to domestic and industrial waste discharges from communities and industrial sites near water bodies. The report said DO level in Bulacan provinces Marilao River plunged 62 percent from 2.6 percent (2003) to one percent (2005). Other priority rivers where DO levels dipped to less than five mg/L in 2005 were Marikina River, San Juan River, Paranaque River, Pasig River, Meycauayan River, Bocaue River and Calapan River.
( Source: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news)
India-Nepal Cooperation in Water Resources to Strengthen Ties.
Patna, India and Nepal should join hands to improve management of shared water resources for strengthening people-to-people relations, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his views. The two countries share immense water resources, which if properly harnessed, could wipe out poverty, boost economic growth and employment and lead to a more egalitarian society, he said in his inaugural speech at a two-day seminar on “Emerging Trends in India-Nepal Relations”.
Bihar, which shares nearly 700 kms of open, porous border with Nepal, is hit almost every year by floods due to river water flows from the neighbouring country.
“India-Nepal cooperation in the water resources offers a multitude of benefits to the people across the border. The annual destruction of life and properties due to floods will be reversed,” he said. Nitish Kumar said that the two neighbours can join hands to create irrigation facilities, moderate floods, generate hydro-electricity and provide navigation facilities to landlocked Nepal.
“India-Nepal cooperation is of paramount importance for the optimum utilisation of water and overall development of the region,” he said. Nitish Kumar also said that three important projects including the Sapta Kosi high dam, Kamla reservoir project and Bagmati reservoir need mutual cooperation. ”There is some progress at the government level in extension of embankments on some of the rivers flowing from Nepal into India,” he said.
Nitish Kumar said Nepal needs India’s investments in water resources development as well as expertise and hydro-electric market. India-Nepal agreements on the Kosi and Gandak projects provide the precedence for future endeavours and joint ventures by the two countries, according to the chief minister. “Our development cooperation engagement with Nepal has emerged as a cornerstone of India -Nepal relations. The importance of this cooperation grows even more now as Nepal enters a historic phase of new nation-building based on inclusive democracy, peace and stability. A strong, stable and peaceful Nepal is in India’s interest,” he said.
Kumar said India was undertaking projects for development of over 1,500 km of road network that would provide easy access to the east-west highway from border regions. Similarly, a proposed project for cross-border rail links at five locations along the border will boost cross-border linkages and promote trade and commerce.
Hisila Yami, a senior Maoist leader and minister for physical planning and works in the outgoing government, is leading a 45-member Nepalese delegation at the seminar. Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh, former foreign secretary Shyam Saran and Nepal’s ambassador to India Durgesh Mansingh are among the participants.
(Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/india-nepal)
Nigeria: Jigawa Invests N150m in Water Improvement.
Alhaji Salisu Mahmud, the Jigawa state Commissioner for Water Resources has disclosed that the State Government is investing heavily in water related projects with the sole aim of improving the standard of living of the people of the state. Mahmud who was speaking at commissioning of the office of the Jigawa state Integrated Water Resources Management Committee in Dutse, disclosed that this dedication informs the government's commitment to the Hadejia Jama-are Komadugu Yobe Basin trust fund.
To this end, he disclosed that the State Government has contributed the sum of N150 million to the Basin Trust Fund, in order to improve the livelihood of the people living along the River basin in the State. The Commissioner noted that Jigawa State Government has been actively collaborating and cooperating in the management of water resources in Hadejia Jama-are Komadugu Yobe Basin through participation in the Governors summit and meeting all its counterpart funding obligations at all times. He also explained that his ministry is cooperating with the State Integrated Water Resources Management Committee in the area of sustainable development through enhanced water and land resources development.
Mahmud disclosed that his ministry has commenced consultations with a view to reviewing the state's water policy for a sustainable water resources management and development pointing out that the committee was crucial to make the policy all encompassing and all inclusive. He charged the committee to collaborate, cooperate and advice on technical issues that will enhance the water resources management in the state stressing that water is always crucial whether it is for domestic use or is a source of livelihood.
(Source: http://www.allafrica.com/stories)
Rwanda Becomes the Seventh Country to Be Joining the Global Water Partnership.
Global water partnership GWP is a group of countries around the world striving to ensure proper use of water and management of its resources. All countries of Eastern Africa face similar severe water constraints in GWP whereby they are plagued by deforestation and poor agricultural practices leading to reduced retention periods, surface runoffs and soil cover losses. Conflicts over water are increasing as the population level becomes the main cause of morbidity in all the countries in the region, where poor sanitation complex health problems are seen to effect both the urban and rural environments.
Therefore in the quest to see to it that such hazards that have seen per capita income in the region fall drastically and are not checked and at the same time sustainable livelihoods cannot be guaranteed the Rwanda water partnership was established. During the launching of Rwanda water partner Simon Thuo the Regional Coordinator of Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa (GWP-EnA), said that Rwanda's entry would foster integrated water resources with an aim to ensure the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in the East African Region.
He went on to say that Rwanda now joining GWP is an important milestone as it has become the seventh to enter the partnership under the grouping of member countries in the Eastern Africa region which include amongst others Burundi , Ethiopia , Eritrea , Kenya , Uganda and Sudan. Officiating the launch, Bikoro Munyanganizi said that Rwanda was indeed privileged to have a regional contribution on sustainability of water management. He called on the private sector and regional partners to work together to develop a framework of working together and promised total government commitment and support for the success of Rwanda water partnership.
The minister also urged the civil society in the country to work together as a team for sustainable socio-economic and political development.
Simon Thou explained to focus how this partnership will benefit Rwanda where he said that it will enable GWP to promote the concept and implementation of integrated water resources management as a vital approach to managing water resources in Rwanda. He also noted that GWP EnA will facilitate Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), water policy and strategy development at the country and regional levels, where IWRM program and tools will be provided in response to Rwanda's needs.
Liliane Sandra Kent made a presentation on water sources in Rwanda where she said that water supply is 40 and 8.15 lpcd in urban and rural areas respectively although it should be 90 and 20 lpcd. On sanitation she pointed out that sanitation coverage is 56 and 42% in urban and rural areas respectively. "Irrigation has not yet been well developed and so far it is only practiced in marshlands plus there is high hydro potential in the country but only 4% of it is exploited," said Liliane Sandra Kent. She went on to say that IWRM is still a new concept in RWANDA which has not yet been well understood by every involved stakeholder, although it is being adopted and applied gradually.
Speaking on the constraints and gaps for the efficient use and management of our water sources she remarked that the Legislation Framework for the regulation of the water sector is not sufficient for the proper management of the water resources and that the country still lacks a water law. She added that the institutional framework for the coordination of water resources management as well as the mechanisms for the monitoring and assessment is weak (REMA, RBS).
In this regard Liliane Sandra Kent also noted that the data regarding water resources are insufficient and incomplete and also that water consumption in Rwanda is still far below the minimum allowable consumption. She also pointed out that lack of community awareness on sustainable development is leading to the misuse of available resources, and that the participation of women in water infrastructures management is insufficient. At the end of the presentation Liliane Sandra Kent spoke on some recommendations that could be used to ensure efficient use of our water resources, where she said that the level of collaboration among all stakeholders involved in the water sector needs to be increased and that people need to be sensitize on the sustainable development.
Another recommendation she mentioned was that women need to be encouraged to participate in decision making in the water sector.
At the end of this presentation participants called for the need of a new model of water management which they said should include other issues like air pollution and water and peace practice systems.
(Source: http://www.allafrica.com/stories)
Water Shortages Looming in MEA.
The amount of water per person in Middle East will be
decreased to a half by 2050. The World Bank has warned
that overuse of water resources in the Middle East has
put the region at the risk of serious water shortages.
According to a report from the bank, the amount of water
available per person in the Middle East, one of the
world's most arid regions, will halve by 2050. However,
the World Bank said that the crisis can be avoided if
the regional governments tackle water waste, build more
efficient networks and reduce water use. Mr Julia
Bucknall natural resource management specialist at the
World Bank said that "We have simply got to reduce the
amount of water used, especially in agriculture which
accounts for 85% of the total. If we plan for the
future, it is a lot simpler than crisis management
further down the line.
Declining water quality has already decreased gross
domestic product in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt by around
1% and almost 3% in Iran.
(Source: http://steelguru.com/news)
Six Rivers Lose 1.88 MAF Annually: Irrigation Water in Punjab, NWFP.
At a time when the country’s agricultural production is being hampered by less availability of irrigation water, six rivers in the Barani areas of the Punjab and NWFP are losing 1.88 million acre feet (MAF) of water on annual basis, an official study says. Merely, 0.22 MAF is currently being tapped across a total basin area of 22,307 square kilometers, comprising the rivers of Soan, Haro, Reshi, Bunha, Kahan and Kanshi, according to statistics compiled by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
However, the ADB has agreed to finance community water
storage and irrigated agriculture project, which has
been proposed by the governments of
Punjab
and NWFP, to contribute to sustained long-term social
and economic development and reduced drought
vulnerability in
Punjab’s Potohar region and barani areas of NWFP. The
total cost of the project is estimated at $103.36
million. ADB’s share in total project cost would amount
to 72.6 per cent, while the government and beneficiary
shares would amount to 25.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent,
respectively.
With a vast untapped potential both provincial
governments are pursuing small dam development with
Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) financing.
However, while a commitment to small dam development at
the level of the government is there, the programmes do
not extend beyond securing funds from the PSDP and
construction of dams, the ADB noted. Though the absence
of a productive section of the population that has
sought its main source of livelihood off-farm due to the
arid conditions of barani, agriculture has played a big
role in holding back the anticipated benefits in
agriculture from investment in the sub-sector,
unarticulated policy, institutional dynamics and
capacity compound to keep the potential of these small
dams dormant, the study pointed out.
Devoid of participatory planning, involvement and
inclusion of other stakeholders and direct
beneficiaries, and in the absence of a dedicated
irrigated agriculture advisory and support services with
a well-thought out strategy to work as an initial
catalyst, water remains unutilised for remunerative
agriculture once the dam is built. From a sample of 28
dams, 60 per cent of the dams were able to develop only
20 per cent to 40 per cent of their command area. On the
rest of the dams, on an average, 87 per cent of the
planned area could be developed. Since 1961, a total of
41 small dams have been constructed in the rain-fed
areas of the Potohar Plateau in the Punjab Province, 12
of which were financed through the ADB under the Small
Dams Project during 1986 to 1993.
Nine dams are currently under different stages of
construction. Out of the dams under construction, four
are in Chakwal, three in Jhelum and one each in
Rawalpindi and Attock. Similarly, since 1962, 15 small
dams have been built and are operational in the NWFP,
five of them under ADB funding of the Drought Emergency
Relief Assistance programme, and one exclusively for
municipal water supplies in Karak. In both provinces
there is a marked contrast between the irrigated and
non-irrigated/barani areas. In Punjab, these barani
areas mainly lie in the Potohar Plateau between the
Indus
and
Jhelum
rivers that covers an area of 2.2 million hectares of
which one million hectares are under rain-fed
agriculture. There are around 2,600 villages having
population of 4.2 million, and these people generally
have far more limited opportunities for productive
agriculture and the livelihoods it supports than the
farmers in the irrigated areas.
In
NWFP 800,000 hectares of cultivable land is not
irrigated. Barani agriculture in the Punjab represents
about 20 per cent of the cultivated area, whereas in
NWFP this is about 59 per cent. Rains are very erratic
and a major portion is received during the monsoon
months in July-August. Characteristics related to barani
farming system are low cropping intensities and lower
yields compared to irrigated agriculture due to mainly
poor soil and water management, lack of access to
services, modern inputs and production technologies, and
a large number of unviable and below subsistence land
holding sizes, the study said.
Both NWFP and the
Punjab
are pursuing a small dam development programme to
harvest waters from river basins in their respective
rain-fed areas. Similar to the
Indus Basin canal systems, the small dams are mainly
conceived to supply water to agriculture. However,
unlike the Indus Basin canal system where the water
mostly originates in neighboring countries or comes from
snow melt in the Himalayas, water for the small dams in
barani areas is harvested from relatively close
proximity.
Through small dam projects the provinces ensure that runoff generated within catchments that lie in their territorial jurisdictions is not lost and is stored. While a rationale for water resource development to meet the needs of a growing population and to support a growing economy clearly exists for barani areas, utilization of small dams constructed in the past 40 years to add value to agriculture has not been adequate. Assumptions about transfer to remunerative irrigated agriculture, with hitherto unavailable water provided through small dams, have not proven correct. By and large farmers continue to practice rain-fed agriculture with conjunctive use of reservoir irrigation water rather than growing crops under an irrigation regime and commensurate cultural practices. Barani farmers in both NWFP and Potohar generally produce subsistence crops (wheat), along with some cash crops and fodder. A large proportion of their household income comes from off- farm sources.
In on-farm activities their primary concern is livestock which is mainly tended by women who do not migrate with the men for work and stay at home.
(Source: http://www.dawn.com/2008/04/19/nat.htm)
Waimanalo Farmers Ordered to Cut Water Use.
Lower-than-average rainfall is affecting 85 Waimanalo farmers who will be under mandatory conservation orders that began yesterday. The reservoir that supplies the state Department of Agriculture's irrigation system for the Waimanalo farmers is low already, officials said, even though winter is usually the rainy season. Typically, an order to conserve water is issued in the summer after months of little or no rain, said Brian Kau, administrator of the Department of Agriculture's Resource Management Division. But rainfall so far this year in Waimanalo is already 36 percent below normal, he said. The Waimanalo farmers are being asked to use 20 percent less water.
"It's a precautionary measure at the request of our water users," Kau said. "The farmers wanted to take a more cautious approach to ensure that they had the maximum opportunity to make the water last." Statewide, about 650 farmers tap into the state's irrigation systems.
(Source:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll)
Yemen - Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project.
Task Team Leader: Satoru Ueda
Estimated Board Date: July 1, 2008
Sector: Irrigation and drainage (68%); Sub-national government administration
(20%); Central government administration (12%)
Theme: Water resource management (P); Rural policies and institutions (S); Participation and civic engagement (S)
Project Objectives
The Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project (GSCP) is designed to address the critical groundwater problem in Yemen. The problem of unsustainable groundwater extraction has been caused by the rapid spread of groundwater irrigation, combined with dwindling rates of recharge. The root cause is weak management framework ill adapted to ensuring sustainable extraction levels, efficient water use, and watersheds protection. The objective of the GSCP are to conserve water in farming areas, especially groundwater, improve recharge and protect watersheds by: (i) improving water use efficiency and increasing farmer returns to water, so creating the conditions that would allow farmers to reduce pumping of groundwater from aquifers towards sustainable levels; (ii) increasing surface and groundwater availability through watershed management and groundwater recharge by supporting the rehabilitation of small to medium spate irrigation schemes, bank protection works, water harvesting structures, and the rehabilitation of terraces and other soil and water conservation investments; and (iii) supporting a groundwater management framework and institutions that will have the incentive and capacity to manage local water resources in a sustainable manner. The envisaged additional financing of US$15 million is to "scale up" the ongoing project. There will be no change in the objectives, components, activities, or geographical area of intervention, from those of the original project design.