On 16-17 June 2009 the CGIAR Science Council in cooperation with CG secretariat, Alliance of the CG centers, Global Fund for Agricultural Research (GFAR) and Wageningen University, Netherlands held
the CGIAR Science Forum 2009 in Wageningen, Netherlands. The key goal of the forum was to discuss with all the concerned stakeholders including NARS partners how to reposition CG’s research with regard to global challenges (financial, food security, energy, climate change, environmental degradation etc.). The focus was to propose research agenda for future with more emphasis on innovative science, which can bring the impact and propose effective collaboration, linkages and partnerships to bring more efficiency in research.
IWMI was represented by the researchers from across its regional offices including Nadia Manning (Ethiopia), Hannah Jaenicke (IWMI, Crops for Future), Keraita Bernard (Ghana office), Didier Orange (IWMI SEA), Dr. Eline Boelee (Senior researcher, Water and health, Regional Office for Nile Basin and East Africa) and Jusipbek Kazbekov from IWMI-Central Asia.
It was a 2-day event. 1st day discussed research that is still at the advanced research stage, but has potential to deliver significant impact in 15 years and beyond. 2nd day considered a 5-10 year timeframe. Both focus on promising research that requires further investment and essential partnerships to deliver impact.
In his overall reflections on the event Jusipbek Kazbekov (IWMI-Central Asia) told that he got an impression that agriculture was back on big agenda with water looming high as one of the limiting factors. So, more research will be required, where IWMI’s role will be crucial. Concluding his reflections, Jusip told that it was his first time to take part in such a big event where researchers think globally, “That’s where you get an idea of CG’s role, scale and weight. Working always locally one feels like lacking that bigger exposure and perspective. So, cross-regional exchange of young specialists both within IWMI and between CG Centers could be very useful to allow more global exposure and thinking”.
CAWater-Info - a web-based knowledge portal for water, land and environmental issues in the Aral Sea basin countries of Central Asia funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by SIC ICWC jointly with the UNECE and UNEP/GRID-
Arendal – tracks and posts regular updates of major news and events on water and environmental issues occurring in the countries of the region. Following is a digest of major news headlines posted in April and May with links to the CAWater-Info portal for more details:
COLOMBO: M.S. Swaminathan, father of the Indian Green revolution and eminent
agricultural scientist, arrived here on Monday on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to participate
in an international conference and have informal talks with Ministers and officials in the
island nation on how the war-affected people could be helped in livelihood aspects in
farming and fisheries sectors.
On Tuesday, he would deliver the keynote address at a national conference on Water, Food Security and Climate Change in Sri Lanka organised by the International Water
Management Institute (IWMI) on the theme, “Building Sustainable Water Security
Systems.”
More information on the Water for Food Conference which has started today in Colombo (Sri Lanka) and will be held until 11th June, 2009 can be available at http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/NationalConference
The IWRM-Ferghana project held two major meetings in Khujand, Tajikistan and Osh, Kyrgyzstan on May 20, on May 22, 2009, respectively, to create a common vision among a whole range of international projects and donor organizations involved in the reforming and development of local water management.
The main objectives of the meetings were:
Introduce the IWRM-Ferghana project to others
Get familiar with other similar projects
Create wider awareness about our major approaches
Reach consensus on the promotion of IWRM approaches and ideas
Identify development perspectives
Develop and coordinate strategies for further cooperation
Apart from regional and national project staff including those representing respective Ministries the events were participated the representatives of projects funded by UNDP, ACTED, USAID and many others.
Dr. Herath Manthrithilake, Head of IWMI-CA and Co-director of IWRM-FV project welcomed everybody and briefly explained the objectives of the meeting. Given a multitude of water management projects implemented in each country it was pointed out that some coordination between them would serve in many ways and help develop a common vision towards approaches and interventions at different levels of water management.
Every project representative was given an opportunity to introduce themselves and their activities and experiences to all those present and suggest the ways of coordination in the future.
Overall, everybody was in favor of coordination between all such projects particularly with regard to the availability of basic information such as about the location of project areas, activities undertaken, etc. They all agreed to a Coordination Council that would mediate timely collection and sharing of information between and for the benefit of all such projects.
The actions as suggested to enable such coordination include:
Develop the Statute to create the Coordination Council specifying mission, functions and obligations of the Council and regulate overall activities
Produce mailing list consisting of all involved international projects and other stakeholders
Organize cluster meetings by different thematics identified by members
Create a database with available information from projects
Create a website and place there all necessary information
On 15 May, 2009 the IWRM-Ferghana project organized a Water festival in Aravan district of Osh province, Kyrgyzstan. Themed “Water for life: towards judicious use of water resources in the region” the event was meant to create general awareness among the younger generation about the water getting more scarce and the need for conservation.
The festival was participated by about 400 school children from Aravan district, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Processing Industry of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Osh Basin Water Management Organization, the Governor of Aravan District and representatives of Water Users Associations.
The school kids some time before the event were asked to use their best imagination and creative skills to artistically express themselves in relation to water conservation and the various ways and means that water can be saved or its pollution reduced through posters, songs, poems and drama performance.
A jury panel consisting of the representatives of district administration and water users associations was made up to assess the performances and award those most succesfull ones with special prizes.
The 2nd round of consultations on the key aspects of the Transition to IWRM Concept for pilot trans-boundary small rivers (TSRs) and the basic steps for its implementation were held from 4 to 8 May, 2009 with the working groups representing the key stakeholders at each corresponding part of two pilot TSRs – Khojabakirgan and Shahimardan. The consultations were held separately for each working group and respective TSR area with the Kyrgyz side of the Khojabakirgan River consulted on 4 and 5 May in the settlement of Kulunda (Kyrgyzstan), their Tajik counterparts on May 5 in the town of Chkalovsk (Tajikistan), the Uzbek side of the Shahimardan river on 7 May in the city of Ferghana (Uzbekistan) and their Kyrgyz counterparts on 8 May in the town of Kadamjay (Kyrgyzstan).
The format of each consultation event was two-fold comprising:
1) Action planning by each respective working group with facilitation from the project staff regarding what to establish, under what name, with what steps, within what timeframes and by whom with the following three major institutions in mind:
a unified operation and maintenance service unit similar to pilot Canal Management Organizations under the project
a public platform comprising all water users and other stakeholders both agricultural and non-agricultural similar to the Unions of Water Users under the project
a system-wide joint governance body at each TSR zone involving public and government representatives similar to Canal Water Committees under the project.
2) Presentation of the above action plans by the members of the Working Group themselves to a wider audience of major stakeholders for feedback, improvement and endorsement.
Overall, as a result of these consultation and action planning events the following is hoped to be shortly achieved in the water management of each TSR zone:
Governance and management functions will be effectively separated
Water users will be more empowered to take part in and influence decision making through their organization and representatives
Water management at small rivers will be based on joint decisions that would take into account the interests of both water users and the government
Operation, maintenance and financing of river system infrastructure will be more targeted and effective.
Agricultural Innovation System for Agricultural Development in Central Asia
During 5-8 April, 2009 in the whereabouts of the lake Issyk-kul in Kyrgyzstan, IWMI-Central Asia and SIC-ICWC represented by Dr. Jusipbek Kazbekov and Dr. Shukhrat Mukhamedjanov, respectively, on behalf of their new SDC-funded Water Productivity Improvement (WPI) Project took part in technical consultations themed “Enabling the Agricultural Innovation System for Agricultural Development in Central Asia”. The event was jointly organized by the Training, Advisory and Innovation Centre (TAIC) of Kyrgyzstan, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) in collaboration with the Central Asia and Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutes (CACAARI) and the International Center for Agricultural in Dry Land Areas (ICARDA).
Forty representatives of agricultural research, advisory services, farmer organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sector and ministries in charge of agriculture from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, as well as various international agencies and institutions such as EU TACIS, FAO, GFAR, Helvetas, UNDP, ICARDA, IWMI and SIC ICWC attended the workshop to discuss a new concept in agricultural development that would effectively use information and communication technologies (ICT).
The goal of the consultation workshop was to share knowledge on using ICTs to improve linkages between agricultural research institutes, advisory services, decision makers, farmers and business in the Central Asian and Caucasus region and build a common understanding of challenges for all actors in agricultural development aiming to improve food security, income and livelihoods of agricultural producers.
The workshop was successful in bringing a range of experiences and expertise from around the globe and the region to exchange and discuss new concepts in agricultural development. A number of recommendations were made regarding institutional, infrastructural, human resources and financial aspects of promoting the use of new ICTs to support agricultural development in the region. It was concluded that improving communication and collaboration among all stakeholders both public and private, at national and regional levels, is essential for meeting the current and future challenges of agriculture and that it is modern ICTs that are well placed to facilitate the process. Finally the workshop participants thrashed out a range of intervention ideas to this end and made an action plan aiming to implement and follow-up at regional level the use of modern ICTs for agricultural development in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
CAWater-Info - a web-based knowledge portal for water, land and environmental issues in the Aral Sea basin countries of Central Asia funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by SIC ICWC jointly with the UNECE and UNEP/GRID-
Arendal – tracks and posts regular updates of major news and events on water and environmental issues occurring in the countries of the region. Following is a digest of major news headlines posted in March with links to the CAWater-Info portal for more details:
Two joint consultation workshops were held within the IWRM-Ferghana project involving operational water management staff from both sides of the two trans-boundary small rivers (TSRs) of Shahimardansay and Khojabakirgansay.
The purpose of the workshops was for the both sides of the two rivers to present and jointly discuss their water use plans for the upcoming 2009 cropping season as well identify and clarify a range of other issues and situations representing their common interest that would urge both sides of the rivers to meet each other on a regular basis to exchange information, discuss any issues, both chronic and emerging, and take required actions and measures in a collaborative manner.
Both sides of each TSR presented their respective water use plans for 2009 to the other side and answered questions regarding the specifics of each others water use planning practices.
This was then followed by group activities where all the participants split into two groups by country. Each national group effectively comprised 7 to 9 members making their contributions to the topics and issues discussed throughout the event. In particular, the groups were invited to do the following:
Individually assess current water use planning at each corresponding side of the TSR with focus on the factors thought most important when making water use plans;
Identify major steps and dates in water use planning
Take stock of all the situations when both sides seek contact with each other throughout the year;
Decide whether both sides need regular communications with each other and if so jointly plan the frequency and representations of such meetings for the 2009 cropping season.
Considering all issues including those with regard to water use planning and the situations when both sides seek contacts with each other, both sides came to the conclusion that they would be better off if they met each other on a regular basis.
Following the group analysis and discussions, both sides at each trans-boundary river agreed to initiate a Joint Working Group to promote regular communication, coordination and exchange of information with regard to planning and implementing water use at each respective side of the river as well as discussing other important issues of common interest. It was agreed that the Group will meet in most critical time periods throughout the year.
These workshops were held as part of a common strategy prepared by the IWRM-Ferghana project and the key stakeholders from both sides of the two small rivers aiming to establish a Joint River Commission to better serve the needs and interests of the whole basin.
The annual planning workshops for two SDC-funded projects – Integrated Water Resources Management in the Ferghana Valley (IWRM-Ferghana) and Water Productivity Improvement at Plot Level (WPI-PL) project - took place as scheduled on February 24 and 25 (Click on the screen below to view and listen, in Russian, to a summarized account of the proceedings of the IWRM-Ferghana project workshop including the project’s overview filmed and produced by Konstantin Mosin from IWMI-Central Asia).
Both events were participated by more than 40 people representing three project countries – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as SDC (donor), IWMI and Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (SIC-ICWC) (project implementers).
During each planning workshop the participants reviewed and discussed the results of the year passed and the proposed yearly plan of operations for 2009 for each project.
The Steering Committees for both projects met on February 25 having approved the respective Annual Progress Reports for 2008 and the Yearly Plans of Operations (YPO) for 2009.
With regard to WPI-PL the progress and outcomes of the project’s inception phase were acknowledged. It was noted that the project will build on existing agronomic knowledge of National Partners (Disseminators) that they have from their previous experience and will focus on water knowledge aiming to convey the solid and adapted training and extension materials related to the water productivity improvement at plot level to the farmers.
A series of annual stakeholder and steering committee meetings for SDC-funded projects that IWMI is involved
in Central Asia are scheduled to be held later this month in Tashkent. The dates for each particular meeting are as follows:
February 24, 2008 - Annual Stakeholder Meeting for the IWRM-Ferghana Project
February 25, 2008 - Steering Committee Meeting for the IWRM-Ferghana Project
February 26, 2008 - Steering Committee Meeting for Water Productivity Improvement Project
These meetings will be preceded by a thorough water sector monitoring mission led by SDC’s water sector consultant Chris Morger who will be closely looking into the progress of the agency’s all water projects in the region including the above two implemented by IWMI-Central Asia in association with its major regional partner Scientific Information center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (SIC ICWC).
CAWater-Info - a web-based knowledge portal for water, land and environmental issues in the Aral Sea basin countries of Central Asia funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by SIC ICWC jointly with the UNECE and UNEP/GRID-
Arendal – tracks and posts regular updates of major news and events on water and environmental issues occurring in the countries of the region. Following is a digest of major news headlines posted in January with links to the CAWater-Info portal for more details:
Visitors from a total of 63 countries from across the world have visited our website since January last year. Below is the ranking of our major web site visitors by country of origin.
More than 50% of all visitors come from the top six countries comprising Uzbekistan (14%), USA (11%), Australia (10%), Germany (7%), UK (5%) and India (5%). Six other countries account for yet another 20% of all visitors. The remaining 30% of all website hits are evenly generated by a multitude of 51 countries from across the globe.
By parts of the world, most hits come from Asia (over 40%), followed by Europe (30%), Americas (15%), Australia (10%), with Africa (5%) bringing up the rear.
