Country News - India

Books

Participatory Irrigation Management : Paradigm for 21st Century (in 2 volumes). edited by L.K.Joshi and Rakesh Hooja and published by Rawat Publishers, Jaipur, India.

In order to promote Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) in India, the Union Ministry of Water Resources organized a series of National Conferences on PIM over the last couple of years. The 3rd National Conference was held in Delhi in 1997 and the 4th in Hyderabad in 1999. Many thought provoking papers were presented in these conferences. ``Participatory Irrigation Management : Paradigm for 21st century" edited by L.K. Joshi and Rakesh Hooja is a 2 volume book incorporating some of the papers selected from out of those presented at the 3rd and 4th National Conference on PIM.

The book is divided into 3 sections. Conceptual and Perspective Approaches (8 papers), All India and Multistate Overviews (4 papers), State level Experiments (11 papers) and contributors include Norman Uphoff, Ruth Meinzen - Dick, Peter Mollinga, Rakesh Hooja, K.V. Raju, Ashok Gulati, Anil Shah, J. Raymond Peter, Jeffrey Brewer, Niranjan Pant, R. Shakhtivedivel, Clarence Maloney and others. For more information about the book contact IndiaNPIM office.

Activities

• Gujarat PIM Policy Advocacy Meeting

• In March 2000, IndiaNPIM along with Development Support Centre organized a meeting on ``Participatory Irrigation Management in Gujarat : Scaling up with Sustainability" with senior ministers and officials of the Government of Gujarat.

• Consultation on PIM in Madhya Pradesh

• IndiaNPIM has been active with other groups in preparing a pro-poor National Water Policy for India.

• IndiaNPIM did a short term consultancy for the Indo Canada Environment Facility, New Dlehi. The consultancy was the ``Performance Assessment of the Programme ``Management of Environment by Rural Communities (MERC)" of Aga Khan Foundation, India.

• The library of IndiaNPIM has been computerized.

• IndiaNPIM has recently initiated a project to bring out a directory of researchers/NGOs/Institutions and others working in the area of Irrigation in India.

• Proceedings of the Fourth National Conference on PIM held at Hyderabad.

The fourth National Conference on PIM was held at Hyderabad from January 19 to 23, 1999. IndiaNPIM has published the proceedings of this conference. Anyone interested in procuring a copy of the proceedings can write in to IndiaNPIM office.

• Attitude and Behavioural Change for PIM: A Workshop Report.

IndiaNPIM had organized a Training of Trainers for Attitude and Behavioural Change for Implementation of PIM. The workshop report has just been printed. Copies of this workshop report are available at IndiaNPIM office.

Country News (continued)

Jordan

The Irrigation Advisory Service in Jordan is recommending the implementation of a PIM program to benefit both farmers and organizations. Three pilot projects were chosen to implement the PIM program. Many general meetings have been held with all the farmers in the areas. The farmers accept and welcome the ides, and have begun choosing representatives.

Part of Development Area 19 (DA19), called Al-Zor, consisting of 40 farm units, was selected as a pilot area to implement farmers participatory irrigation water project within the middle Jordan valley. In the Southern Ghor Mountains, part of Development Area 44 called Khaneizra Area, consisting of 55 farm units, was also chosen as a pilot area.

Also part of DA 27 (P16 pumping station) was selected as a the pilot area, consisting of 94 farm units, and receives water from P16 pumping station to implement farmers participatory irrigation water project within the South Jordan Valley (Karamah). A meeting with all farmers in these areas was held (some farmers own or lease more than one farm unit). A primary agreement about the participation in the project was taken from all of them. They elected representatives. A meeting between the representatives and the Jordan Valley Authority was arranged.

For more information contact:

Nayef Seder
Head of Irrigation Advisory Services
jva2@nic.net.jo
http://www.nic.net.jo

Pakistan

On April 10, 2000, farmer organizations in southern Punjab signed the historic Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) Agreement. This was the first transfer in Pakistan and a landmark in the irrigation management history of Pakistan.

The government of Pakistan has been introducing institutional restructuring in the irrigation and drainage sector with the aim of increasing farmer's participation in system management. Pilot experiments on farmer organizations (FOs) at distributary level were initiated in early 1995.

In the province of Punjab, the On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) Department and International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) undertook institutional reform experiments on three distributaries with financial assistance from the World Bank and the Royal Netherlands Government. The transfer agreement was signed by FOs of the Sirjawah and Bhukan distributaries (organized by OFWM) and the Hakra 4-R distributary (organized by IIMI) in southern Punjab. Officials from OFWM, INPIM, and IIMI facilitated the negotiations on IMT.

After the IMT agreement, government staff were completely withdrawn from distributaries where FOs were created. The FOs are responsible for complete operation and maintenance (O&M) of the systems and assessment and collection of the irrigation fee through their own hired staff.

The key representatives of these FOs are also members of INPIM. The formation of the Farmer Organization of Harkra 4-R represents a very large pilot experiment. Hakra 4-R is composed of 124 watercourse level associations, with nearly 4,500 members who cultivate an area of 43,801 acres.

The irrigation departments of all the four provinces of Pakistan have been converted into Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authorities (PIDAs). PIDAs now want to conduct experiments in forming FOs at the large canal command level. Recently, PIDAs have inaugurated Areas Water Boards (AWBs) to start these pilot tests at selected main canals in each of four provinces.

In Punjab, OFWM and other national and international NGOs are involved in the social mobilization of farmers. The OFWM has undertaken social mobilization on 11 distributaries to form FOs in the selected Lower Chenab Main Canal East. In Sindh province, 13 such FOs have been created by IIMI in the area of the Nara Main Canal. In the other two provinces, the process of social mobilization has not yet started. The OFWM, IIMI, and INPIM will undertake the capacity building activities of FO and AWB officials in all the four provinces.

INPIM-Pakistan is particularly interested in raising awareness among FOs to prevent environmental, water, and land degradation. To help FOs address these issues, INPIM-Pakistan is preparing a proposal for financial support from the Dutch government.

At present, INPIM Pakistan has 245 registered members. The membership covers a broad cross-section of professionals and farmer members from government, NGOs, international and national research organizations, and FOs. A 10-member delegation from Pakistan, representing FOs, PIDA, and OFWM officials, participated in the Fifth International Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management held in Andhra Pradesh, India in December 1999. In Pakistan, INPIM organized three seminars to discuss the issues confronting participatory reform during the years 1996 and 1997. 

A national chapter of INPIM is being formed, and the registration process is in progress. In the coming months INPIM will pursue its registration as an international NGO. 

For more information, contact:

Waheed-uz-Zaman
Senior Irrigation Engineer &
Member Policy, Institution & Management Group
Pakistan National Program
International Irrigation Management Institute
12-KM Multan Road, Chowk Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore-Pakistan
Fax: (92-42) 5410054
Email: w.zaman@cgiar.org

Country News (continued)

Nepal

International Seminar On Challenges To FMIS Concludes

The Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) Promotion Trust organized a two-day international seminar on ``Challenges to FMIS" on 28-29 March 2000 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Sixty-five participants from Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal attended the seminar.

Dr. Prachanda Pradhan, Chairman of the Trust, initiated the seminar by introducing its theme. He explained the significance of FMIS as the national heritage of the country. He pointed out the challenges faced by the FMIS in the competing institutional environment, and the forward linkages required for the FMIS to sustainably evolve in such a situation.

Dr. Upendra Gautam, Vice-chairman of the Trust, highlighted on the activities of the Trust in the areas of establishment of a Trust fund, annual best practice FMIS award and training, dialogues on FMIS, small grant suporrted multi-dimensional research on FMIS, FMIS information-base, and publications on FMIS.

Dr. R.N. Vaidya, Member, National Planning Commission chaired the initiation part of the seminar. He dealt with the policy framework of irrigation development in Nepal. Eleven research papers were presented in the seminar. These included:

Irrigation technology and FMIS by Dr. Umesh Parajuli;

Small scale water resources development in Bangladesh by Dick Francs;

Role of gender in irrigation management by Shuku Pun;

Sedimentation process in the Nepalese rivers and its consequence in irrigation systems by Bhola Chatkuli;

Indigenous knowledge and practice by Lal Bahadur Pun;

Impact of government assistance on FMIS by Jaindra Bahadur Karki;

Donor's perception on FMIS by Achyut Man Singh;

Irrigation management transfer, an implementor's experience by Pushpa Raj Khanal;

Evaluation of rehabilitation assistance of FMIS a case study of the middle mountain region in Nepal by Kiran Dangol;

FMIS in Bhutan by Dr. Arend van Riessen;

External interventions and Conflicts in FMIS by Bishnu Upreti

The sessions were moderated by R.L.Kayastha, Director General, Department of Irrigation and S.P. Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, and Prof. Lucas Horst chaired the research paper presentation sessions. Dr. Prachanda Pradhan, Prof. Binayak Bhadra, Member, FMIS Promotion Trust, and Director of Programs, International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and Krishna Prasad Shah, International Water Management Institute.

The seminar deliberated on the challenges to FMIS in four compact groups. Each group dealt with a specific theme. The specified themes were technology, indigenous knowledge, gender, and external assistance. The group's findings and recommendations were presented in the plenary session of the seminar by the facilitator's of the respective group. Dr. Umesh Parajuli, Nasuruddin Ansari, Achyut Man Singh and Push Raj Khanal facilitated their respective group. The seminar deliberations and the groups' recommendations were summarized and presented in the plenary session by Dr. Umesh Parajuli, Niranjan Tamrakar and Pushpa Raj Khanal. The major recommendations of the seminar were tentatively summarized as follows:

Review and make improvement on the university curriculum to include knowledge, technology and practices of FMIS

External support agencies and actors should plan and design their assistance in a way that complement the self-governing andself-financing features and felt needs of FMIS.

Indigenous knowledge and practices of FMIS should be synthesized and widely disseminated.

Balanced gender role is an issue and its realization should be strongly supported by education and attitudinal changes.

Key-Note Speeches

Prof. Lucas Horst and Prof. Linden Vincent delivered keynote speech in the seminar. Prof. Horst's keynote speech theme was ``FMIS and technology"; and Prof. Vincent's was ``Contemporary issue on FMIS".

Honor Awards

The Trust honored Prof. Lucas Horst, Prof. Linden Vincent and Dr. Ujjwal Pradhan for their outstanding contribution in the areas of farmer-oriented research, human resources development, and continuous individual support for the promotion of FMIS cause.

The seminar was declared closed after a vote of thanks by Rajan Subedi, member-Secretary, FMIS Promotion Trust. The Trust has planned to publish the proceedings of the seminar. The participants of the seminar consider that the seminar will go a long way in guiding the concerned people and institutions in the following manner:

Research that is directly relevant to and consistent with the FMIS and its internal dynamism.

Identification and strengthening of linkages that are essential for the promotion of FMIS, and

Reform measures that need to be introduced in academic and professional education.

By Upendra Gautam
cmsug@cms.wlink.com.np