RSS Feeds
Solving Conflicts Through Water Rights?
Dolora Nepomuceno is Managing Water Conflicts in a Philippine Lake Basin
The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) may be the Philippines’ only functioning chartered basin organization but it has already made considerable contributions to improving water rights in the country. As Assistant General Manager of LLDA, Ms. Nepomuceno introduces innovative approaches and market-based instruments for managing water resources, addressing conflicts, and conveying water rights.
Nguyen Thai Lai is Addressing Water Rights in Viet Nam
Two of the critical water issues Viet Nam currently faces are ensuring sustainable development of water resources, and conveying legal access rights to the people. Under Dr. Lai’s leadership and in consultation with key stakeholders, the Department of Water Resources Management has recently designed a water licensing approach that aims to resolve both.
TopIrrigation Water Rights: Options for Pro-Poor Reform
Water rights reform is like Pandora’s box-both good and bad could come out of it. It may allow the poor to protect their rights to use water, but it may also enable large water users to secure their interests at a high cost to the poor. Fortunately, Asian experience reveals many opportunities for pro-poor interventions.
Solving Freshwater Conflicts in Laguna de Bay
With over 10 million people living and working in its watershed, Laguna de Bay in the Philippines is a hotbed for conflicts on water allocation and use. Through participation and innovation, the Laguna Lake Development Authority has so far managed to address these conflicts. But will their strategies continue to work against the increasingly complex demands on the lake’s resources?
Sharing Water in Viet Nam
Viet Nam is committed to establishing clear rights to access water. But this is a highly complex task, often undertaken with little information about current demands for the multiple uses of water. Through a consultative and iterative process, Viet Nam has taken initial steps toward creating an overall framework for sharing water under its National Water Resources Strategy.
ADB at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress
ADB will reaffirm its commitment to environmental conservation at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17-25 November 2004. ADB’s participation covers a wide array of activities, including a presentation on wetlands protection and integrated water resources management. ADB President Tadao Chino will deliver the keynote speech at the World Conservation Forum Closing Plenary on 20 November.
Model Terms of Reference on Water Supply and Sanitation
ADB has recently developed model terms of reference (TOR) designed to guide water professionals in undertaking diagnostic city water assessments, and for planning and options analysis for the preparation of water supply and sanitation projects. Comments are welcome on the TOR for city diagnostic water assessment and urban sanitation and wastewater management investments.
Network of Asian River Basin Organization (NARBO) benchmarking program off to a good start
NARBO members met to select indicators for benchmarking the performance of river basin organizations in the region. A consultation workshop is scheduled on 29-30 November.
South East Asia Water Utilities Network (SEAWUN) kicks off its benchmarking program
SEAWUN has begun benchmarking the performance of approximately 45 water utilities from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Results and analysis are expected by January 2005.
Testing audience impact in poor communities
Volume 14 for the Water for All Publication Series, Water Voices Documentaries: Testing Audience Impact in Poor Communities, is now available online. It analyzes the documetaries’ impact on the audience, and the behavioral changes that follow.
Setting an agenda for change
Volume 15 for the Water for All Publication Series, Setting an Agenda for Change: Setting the Rules and Finding the Money, is now available online. It features discussions during ADB Water Week 2004 and highlights the resulting change agenda for ADB.
Wider audience for Water Voices documentary series
The Water Voices Documentary Series will soon be seen in more countries in Asia and the Pacific region. Eleven Asia-Pacific broadcasters agreed to televise this 7-part series featuring local community solutions to water problems, and 12 more are currently processing agreements with ADB.
Funds reallocated to improve water supply in Jaipur, Rajasthan
Reallocating US$60 million from the ongoing Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project will soon give Jaipur, capital city of Rajasthan, India, a new water supply system. Jaipur’s current water system is almost entirely dependent on increasingly scarce and polluted groundwater.
ADB preparing project to develop irrigation and water resources in Afghanistan
ADB has approved a grant package totaling $1.96 million to boost integrated water resources management and irrigated agricultural development in Afghanistan. The grant will improve water management at all levels, from farm level to river basin, and rehabilitate, modernize and develop new irrigation services.
New cycle of poverty reduction projects in ADB’s 2005-2006 program for Uzbekistan
ADB’s new program in Uzbekistan will prioritize projects with greatest impact on poverty reduction. Three loans totaling $95 million are planned for 2005, among them the Kashkadarya and Navoi Rural Water Supply Project. The two provinces were selected because half of the villages do not have safe and reliable water supply and sanitation services.
Bangladesh: Water and Sanitation Initiative for the Urban Poor
A local NGO pioneers an effective scheme to bring clean water to Dhaka's slums.
Philippines: Rationalizing Tariff for Private Water Utilities under the National Water Resources Board
A pilot activity is underway to strengthen the government's capacity in tariff setting and review, monitoring of financial performance of water operators, and economic regulation.
Thailand: Empowering People-One River Basin at a Time
Thailand facilitates the establishment of river basin committees and is re-structuring agencies to promote integrated water resources management.
Fostering Participation - Water Management by Local Communities
Poor People have a right to water. This right can be exercised in their active participation in development of water resources and services.
How the Poor Suffer
Millions of the world’s poor use less water, directly and indirectly, but depend upon its resources for their livelihoods far more than the rest of us. It is the difficulties in accessing water that is frequently a major factor determining their level of poverty.
Should the Poor Pay for Water in Asia’s Cities?
How is it that water, which is so useful that life is impossible without it, has such a low price; while diamonds, which are quite unnecessary, have such a high price?
Water and the International Agenda From Dublin to Kyoto
Water is everybody’s business.
Water and Poverty
Water for poverty alleviation means giving poor people access to, and control over, water. Access to water means sharing control. Sharing control implies a seat at the table. This is the underlying obligation of making water everybody’s business.
- Past Experience and Future Challenges (November 2004)
- An Agenda for Change (November 2004)
- ERD Policy Brief No. 32: The Primacy of Reforms in the Emergence of People's Republic of China and India (November 2004)
- Water Voices Documentaries: Testing Audience Impact in Poor Communities (October 2004)
- Technical Assistance Report: PRC- Implementation of the National Strategy for Soil and Water Conservation (October 2004)
- Project Completion Report: Manila Southwater Distribution Project (October 2004)
- Small Piped Water Networks: Helping Local Entrepreneurs to Invest (September 2004)
| 8-10 November | 2nd IWA Leading-Edge Conference on Sustainability (LES2004)
(Sydney, Australia) This conference will focus on sustainability in water-limited environments and will be revisited every second year. |
| 9-12 November | 1st National Salinity and Engineering Conference (Burswood International Resort, Perth, Western Australia) The conference plans to bring together scientists, engineers, managers, landowners and farmers to share the current understanding of the salinity problems of land and water. |
| 17-19 November | International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management in Changing Environment of the Monsoon Region (Colombo, Sri Lanka) The conference aims to bring together knowledge related to water cycle behaviour at catchment and regional scales in monsoon Asia. |
| 17-25 November | 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress (Bangkok, Thailand) The World Conservation Congress is a forum for exchanging knowledge on how best to conserve nature. It takes place every three to four years and provides unique networking opportunities for governments, organizations, and individuals. |
| 21-25 November | International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Cities As Catchments (WSUD 2004) (Adelaide, South Australia) The conference will explore changes made in urban water planning and management that are compatible with greater sustainability. |
| 29-30 November | NARBO Benchmarking Program - NARBO Members Consultation (Jakarta, Indonesia) This consultation will focus on designing a full program for river basin organizations performance benchmarking for NARBO members. |
You have received this electronic newsletter because of your registered interest in water and development issues.
Water for All News is produced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide current information to developing member countries, 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
Disclaimer
ADB 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, will 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.