Pilot and Demonstration Activities
Big Reforms in Small Platforms
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Innovative ideas, technology, and methodologies can improve the delivery of water services and management of water resources. But they do not always guarantee successful results on the first try. ADB’s pilot and demonstration activities (PDAs) provide opportunities for testing and improving these ideas on a smaller scale. Since 2002, ADB has approved 31 PDAs and completed 19. This issue focuses on how PDAs have worked to improve water governance by promoting decentralized water management, improving awareness on critical water issues, and putting people participation into practice.
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Water Champion Sukontha Aekaraj on Resolving Conflicts Through Dialogue
“Genuine people participation is key to the operation of the Bang Pakong River Basin Committee,” says Sukontha Aekaraj of Thailand’s Department of Water Resources to explain what successes the Committee has achieved so far. But other factors claim equal importance—from the champion who catalyzes the Committee’s actions, to the policy that clearly defines its mandate. |
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Pilot and Demonstration Activities: Big Ideas Tested on a Smaller Scale
Pilot and demonstration activities (PDAs) offer local governments, communities, academic institutions, and nongovernment organizations a grant of up to $50,000 to test their ideas for water innovations at the local level. What kinds of innovations qualify for this limited grant, and how are they evaluated? Find out how you can transform your innovative ideas from theory into practice.
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Investing in Water Governance—Luxury or Priority?
Weak water governance is recognized as a strong contributor to today’s water crisis. Unfortunately, governance usually comes second to infrastructure in the battle for scarce resources. PDAs change this equation by funding governance-related reforms at the local level. Three recently concluded PDAs implemented at different river basins successfully improved water governance by promoting decentralized and participatory water management.
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People’s Republic of China: Changing Community Mindsets to Clean Rivers
For years, Nantai Island’s inland rivers served as a natural sewerage system to ever-growing urban communities. Solid waste and wastewater were dumped into the rivers, causing pollution and health problems. In 2006, with ADB’s assistance, the communities cleaned up the rivers and instituted measures to stop the dumping. Can they sustain this momentum?
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Thailand: Driving Change—The Bang Pakong River Basin Committee Experience
Navigating through all the industrial, urban, and agricultural uses and abuses in a river basin, and coming up with a sustainable plan for managing it, is not easy. But neither is it impossible. The Bang Pakong River Basin Committee has taken on this challenge, using constant dialogue with its stakeholders as strategy. The strategy works well with conflict resolution; how will it fare with basin planning?
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Viet Nam: Next Generation RBO—Preparing for a Hydropower Future
Viet Nam is gearing up for a future in hydropower, with 8 proposed hydropower projects in the Vu Gia-Thu Bon river basin in the next 10 years. Quang Nam province keeps a step ahead of the challenges raised by this development. Its strategy? A simple, practical, and replicable river basin organization that turned out to be more participatory and innovative than its predecessors.
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Indonesia: New PDA to establish Geographic Information System for Cimanuk River Basin
Managing Indonesia’s Cimanuk River Basin will soon be made easier with the establishment of the basin’s geographic information system (GIS) through an ADB pilot and demonstration activity. Once the GIS is established, decision makers can easily retrieve accurate information about the basin’s topography, simulate planned developments, and better manage the basin’s water resources.
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Singapore, ADB establish Asia Training and Research Initiative for Urban Management (ATRIUM)
Asian cities will have another resource for developing their capacities. ADB and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore established ATRIUM to promote knowledge-sharing in urban infrastructure and water management. A kick-off forum on urban water and environmental management with officials from the People’s Republic of China was held in March.
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Water utilities in South Asia to form network
South Asian utilities met in Islamabad, Pakistan on 23-24 April to establish the South Asian Water Utilities Network (SAWUN). In addition to discussing organizational aspects of the network, the utilities also designed a partnerships program with well-performing utilities to develop specific capacities. SAWUN is part of ADB and Global Water Partnership’s Water Operators Partnership Program.
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Cambodia, ADB renew commitment to save Tonle Sap Lake
One million people, whose livelihoods depend on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, will benefit from fresher development initiatives. At a forum on the Tonle Sap Initiative in March, ADB and the Government of Cambodia renewed their commitment to conserve the lake’s resources. Forum participants called for increased participation of affected communities and improved coordination of policies related to the Tonle Sap Basin.
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Sri Lanka and Viet Nam: Seeds of development empower rural communities
Farmers in Sri Lanka and Viet Nam got a better perspective of the importance of water supply when they ranked its benefits using seeds in a simple cost-benefit exercise called the Hundred Seeds tool. Information from the exercise revealed the community’s top priorities and will be used to design a more effective water supply project for the community.
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ADB confirms support for the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF)
The APWF gains momentum with a $1 million grant to support its activities, among them the Asia Pacific Water Summit in December and the new Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) publication. The APWF Steering Committee met in March to plan the Summit, and water experts are meeting this April to brainstorm on the AWDO. Visit the APWF website to join the water weblog discussions. |
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Pakistan: Islamabad Citizens Demand Better Pipe Maintenance
Water shortage is not the problem in Islamabad. It is too much water loss because of badly maintained pipes, causing muddy ponds on streets and low water pressure in household taps. Frustrated Islamabad citizens were prompted to demand immediate action. What solutions do they suggest to government to reduce the city’s water losses?
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India: Low-Cost Toilets Change the Face of Bhopal’s Slums
Improvements in Bhopal’s landscape are now more striking than ever as Satnami Nagar, one of the city’s slum areas, gets a much needed facelift. Efforts of local communities and an NGO prove fruitful—newly built toilets and tap stands in households and schools that allay the practice of open field defecation. Will nearby Shahin Nagar receive the same benefits?
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9-13 April
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NARBO Peer Review of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (Laguna, Philippines)
Four representatives from river basin organizations in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam assessed the performance of the Laguna Lake Development Authority and recommended improvements.
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23-24 April |
Conference on Establishing the South Asian Water Utilities Network—SAWUN (Islamabad, Pakistan)
The conference formally established SAWUN. Outputs included a set of elected officers, approved network business plan, and strategies for financially sustaining the network’s operations.
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25-27 April |
International Seminar on River and Development 2007 (Bali, Indonesia)
The seminar will enable local and regional participants to have a better understanding of river s and their environment, and share good practices and innovations on environmentally sound river development.
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14-16 May |
Second SEAWUN Convention on Management Capacity Building and Performance Improvements for South East Asian Water Utilities (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
To continue improving water supply and sanitation services, the South East Asian Water Utilities Network (SEAWUN) will hold its second convention on Management Capacity Building and Performance Improvements for Southeast Asian Utilities.
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29-31 May |
NARBO Workshop on Water Rights (Manila, Philippines)
NARBO’s upcoming workshop will explore the issues and challenges surrounding the application of water rights in Asian river basin organizations.
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29-31 May |
World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower (Antalya, Turkey)
The Congress will bring together key stakeholders to explore the opportunities for sustainable hydropower. The Congress will focus on Water, Energy and Climate Change, Progress and Innovation in Renewable Technologies, and Sustainability-Optimizing Outcomes.
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