Events

Image and Content Courtesy: MSSRF & GGA

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) along with The Grameen Gyaan Abhiyan (GGA) is organising a workshop on climate literacy and in building sustainable food and water security systems on 2^ndand 3^rd of September 2009 in National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi.

The two day workshop aims at taking a comprehensive view of the impact of Climate Change on agriculture, natural resources, biodiversity and livelihoods and developing science and action-research based strategies and mechanisms for adaptation and mitigation. Enhancing resilience (coping capacity) is a major goal. The guidelines resulting from this workshop would be integrated in the training and capacity building of the community organizations and individuals through Gyan Choupals / telecentres and Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy (NVA) Fellows. The traditional knowledge and ecological prudence of the rural and tribal communities will be blended with modern science and technology based strategies.

MSSRF & GGA invites one and all to kindly share inputs of materials available in the public domain / or any initiative taken by your organization, also it would grateful if you could kindly share your views in 1 or 2 pages on or before August 20, 2009 for preparing a workshop publication.

This deals with the proceedings of the first stakeholder meeting held under the STRIVER project for the Tungabhadra River Basin. The meeting involved representatives from different stakeholder groups like the Irrigation Departments and Command Area Development Agencies (CADAs), Forest Department, Pollution Control Board, Fisheries Department, NGOs and civil society groups from the Tungabhadra basin, representatives of Water User Associations and farmers. Only the representation from industries was lacking in this meeting.

Image and Content Courtesy: IWA & AWA

The 5^th International Water Association (IWA) conference on the Efficient Use and Management of Urban Water is being held in Sydney Australia from 25^th to 28^th October 2009. Titled Efficient 2009

IWA invites all to participate in the premier international conference on the efficient use and management of urban water. The aim of the 5th international conference on efficient use and management of water in urban areas is to provide a forum for the exchange of the most recent ideas, techniques and experience in all areas of water management that could contribute to more efficient and sustainable use of water.

Image and Content Courtesy: United Nations

On behalf of the Organizing and Scientific Committee,the United Nations is pleased to invite you to participate at the 3rd World Climate Conference (WCC-3 2009). The conference is scheduled from 31 August - 4 September 2009 at the International Conference Center London, United Kingdom. Conference Theme is: "Climate prediction and information for decision-making: focusing on scientific advances in seasonal to interannual timescales, taking into account multi-decadal prediction". The WCC-3 2009 steering Committee welcomes Scientists, climate service providers, High-level policy-makers, Global business leaders,Decision-makers from the public and private sectors, Green visionaries, Academia, IO's and NGO's, Professionals in relevant fields, Women and Youth Organizations, Development Groups, Governmental Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Community Development Organizations, Donor Agencies and Individuals working in the related field to participate and submit papers and proposals for presentation at the interactive sessions and workshops. Papers should broadly explore the conference theme. The presentations may be completed research, research in-progress or case studies, especially those reflecting innovative Green building practice. Generally the presentations will consist of a panel of three or four presenters with similar topics. Each presenter will speak for ten minutes and after all presentations are completed the floor will be opened for questions and discussions.

Image and Content Courtesy: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India Guest Post by: K J Joy, Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India (Forum to be brief) is happy to invite you to the “The Mullaperiyar conflict: Meeting to understand issues and explore a common ground” to be held on 4th August 2009 between 4 to 8 pm at Constitutional Club, New Delhi. The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India is a collaborative effort of many organisations and individuals in the country working on water and especially on water conflicts. The Forum’s work is guided by a Steering Committee and Advisory Committee consisting of some of the important names in the water sector in the country. The Forum began its work in 2004-05 and in the initial couple of years the main focus was to understand different types of conflicts in the country and took up extensive documentation of conflicts across the country. The cases have now been published as a book by Routledge, “Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in the Making”. Presently the Forum is engaged more in activities that can help in resolving conflicts or making them more tractable through scientific studies and dialogue amongst the conflicting parties. The Forum has also taken the initiative to set up two groups of experts to work on two important issues related to water conflicts in the country, namely, 1) water allocations for livelihood needs and ecosystem needs; and 2) the legal-institutional framework for conflict resolution. The Forum aims to take up these issues for wider discussion and debate so that certain degree of social consensus can be built around these two critical issues. Some of the Forum partners are also engaged in active conflict resolution in their respective states. The Forum does believe that with scientific inputs and a spirit of cooperation and dialogue amongst the conflicting parties most of the conflicts around water can be resolved. It is in this spirit that the Forum has taken the initiative to organize this meeting on the Mullaperiyar conflict.

Forwarded to the Portal by: WinrockWater Yahoo Group Image and Content Courtesy: IWA Congress The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition is a high-profile international event attracting thousands of water professionals and organizations from across the globe. It is a biennial event organised by the International Water Association and previously hosted by Vienna, Beijing, Marrakech, Melbourne, Berlin and Paris. Montreal will be hosting the upcoming session from the 19^th to 24^th of September 2010. The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, the Associations main biennial event, is a valuable and unique opportunity for the community of world-leading water professionals to meet, exchange ideas, explore the state of the art and debate the key issues underlying the science and practice of water. It is also where the entire water community congregates and in particular IWA specialist groups showcase their work and plan for future activities.

The conference was held in Bangalore on 30th June 2009 at the ITC Windsor. With cities expanding, the need for drinking water is exponentially increasing. The municipal systems are stressed to breaking limits and more and more people are turning to bottled water. And this is the case not only in urban but in rural areas as well. Today, the bottled water industry is at 1000 crores and is visualised to expand more! In this context the Confederation of Indian Industries organised a seminar on the Packaged Water Industry on 30th June, 2009 to discuss the scope of the market, the standards of quality and the methods of disposing the waste produced due to the industry. The source for most of the drinking water in our country remains ground water. This contributes to 80% of drinking water in rural areas and 50% in urban areas. However, claimed Mr. T.M. Hunse, Regional Director of the Central Ground Water Board, the excessive usage of Groundwater is the direct cause of dry wells and the depleting levels of groundwater in the country. However, the need for bottled water cannot be denied. Despite conflicts between communities and bottled water plants, many of the country’s poor are at the mercy of the municipal supplies which are erratic and unreliable, he said. Bottled water provides an alternative way to access clean and healthy water. At the same time, it absolves the government of its duty and ends up leaving farmers high and dry. He placed full responsibility on the bottled water plants to ensure people safe water (especially when the groundwater is polluted) and work towards conscientiously using the existing groundwater supply in an egalitarian manner.

SAWAS (South Asian Water Studies) calls for papers on longer-term perspectives on water governance and management (reform) in India. The papers should not exceed 5000 words (including references and footnotes). We are inviting original, well argued and accessibly written analyses of water sector reform experiences, assessments of future developments, discussion of dilemmas and contradictions, accounts of policy processes and policy instruments, etc.

Papers are to be submitted to Dr Daphne Gondhalekhar at ZEF, Bonn (daphneg@mit.edu) not later than September 30, 2009. Papers will be peer reviewed. Accepted (and eventually revised) papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of SAWAS (South Asian Water Studies)

For more information on the broad thematic aimed at, please download the Information Click here

Image and Content Courtesy: Excella Orbit

Excella Orbit, a division of Sambodhi Research & Communications Pvt. Ltd. is conducting a bouquet of trainings during the month of July, August & September, 2009 and January-March, 2010

July 28-31, 2009 - Basic & Advanced Analysis using SPSS, Hyderabad August 10-13, 2009 - Basic & Advanced Analysis using SPSS, New Delhi August 25-28, 2009 - Design & Development of Management Information System, New Delhi

The Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD) Society is a not-for-profit organisation working in the field of decentralised basic need services across India. Decentralised solutions for wastewater treatment, water and energy supply, solid waste management and urban sanitation planning are successfully promoted for the past ten years.

CDD aims to create a knowledge base for up-scaling decentralised basic need services through its capacity building approach. CDD Society, in partnership with Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA), Germany and Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (RGRHCL) is organising a 6 days training programme on decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) from 17^th August to 22^nd August, 2009 in Bangalore. The training aims to impart skills required for planning, implementing and managing DEWATS to the participants.