Water

Upstream, Downstream
The Mae Ping River is one of Thailand's important rivers. It flows 569 km long through Chiang Mai city and provides the surrounding rural countryside with much needed water for irrigation of rice paddies, gardens and crops.

But conflicts over water use between upstream and downstream communities on the Ping River have intensified and even escalated into violence in recent decades. How can the competing demands for water be balanced?

Through the Upper Ping River Basin Committee, stakeholders have found a way to share and protect this vital river system. Their story was captured in ADB's video documentary series, Water Voices.

View video clip of Upstream, Downstream. View other video clips from the Water Voices Documentary Series.

Water Champion:
Wasan Jompakdee on Sharing the Ping River
Assistant Professor Dr. Wasan Jompakdee, Vice Dean of Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Engineering, believes that IWRM is the modern term for people respecting and living in harmony with nature.

Dr. Wasan promotes the management of rivers, lakes, groundwater, and river basins in an integrated manner. As member of the Upper Ping River Basin Committee, he has contributed to the successful resolution of several conflicts in water resource uses in the Ping River.

In an interview with ADB, Dr. Wasan talks about how IWRM is implemented in the Ping River, what factors contributed to some of its successes, and what challenges still lay ahead.

Read the interviews of other Water Champions.

Network of Asian River Basin Organizations:
Promoting IWRM in River Basins
IWRM needs partnerships for actions. And such partnerships need support through knowledge sharing and capacity building.

The Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO) was established in late 2003 to share knowledge and build capacity for IWRM in river basins throughout Asia. Forty-three institutions have committed themselves to undertaking NARBO's plans for 2004-2005.

NARBO will conduct its initial capacity building activity on 26 July -6 August 2004. The training course is designed to strengthen river basin committees and enable water professionals in the region to integrate IWRM concepts into the planning process.

Promoting Leadership and Decision Making:
ADB at the Malaysian Water Week
The move to formulate national IWRM and water efficiency plans by 2005 offers a wide range of benefits, but this is just the beginning of a long-term process to implement IWRM. This was the message of Tetsuro Miyazato, ADB's Senior Water Resources Specialist, in his keynote address at the 9th Consulting Partners Meeting of the Global Water Partnership/ Malaysian Water Week earlier this month.

Miyazato stressed that if IWRM is to be institutionalized in the future, it is more crucial to pay attention to the processes involved and learn from them. IWRM requires openness to learning, a paradigm shift from controlling the river to understanding how it wants to be managed, and the ability to decide between action and non-action.

Actions designed to integrate the management of land, water and related resources have been undertaken in various parts of the region. Some have already yielded economic, social and environmental benefits, while others continue to strive for results.

Read some of the interventions or approaches undertaken in the region.

View more >>

• Regional Cooperation
• Southeast Asia Water Utilities Network- SEAWUN
• Water for All Site Map
• Water Operations
• National Water Sector Apex Bodies

View more >>

You have received this monthly electronic newsletter because of your registered interest in water and development issues.

Subscribe / Unsubscribe

Water for All News is produced by the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Water Awareness Program to provide current information to developing member governments, professionals, researchers, private sector, civil society, academe, and their counterparts in the donor community who are interested in water sector issues that affect the pace of development.

For comments or more information contact: water@adb.org

The Asian Development Bank provides the information contained in this newsletter and links to its web site solely as a resource. While ADB tries to provide high quality content on its web site, it does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of this information and therefore will not be liable in any capacity for damages or losses to the user that may result from the use of this information. ADB and its affiliate offices, likewise, shall not be responsible for any errors, omissions or inadvertent alterations that may occur in the disclosure of content in this newsletter or on its web site.