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ADB Regional Journalist Workshop on Water Issues in Asia
Meeting Report
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ADB's Regional Journalist Workshop on Water Issues in Asia showcased the work of Asian journalists, strengthened the journalists' network in the region and renewed journalists' commitments to increase awareness of water issues among Asians.
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SPOTLIGHT
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION
A key component of the ADB Water Awareness Program has been the series of workshops held in Asian cities to help journalists focus on water issues and to establish a journalist network.
With 13 national workshops having taken place since the first regional workshop was held in February 2003, this regional workshop was an important tool in consolidating the awareness building work which has been done to date. The workshop also opened up opportunities for greater networking and sharing of experiences between different Asian countries and promoting the Asia Water Wire - an online news group of the over 400 Asian journalists now part of the media network, who write about water issues and advocate water reforms in the region.
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WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS
The workshop started with the Water Voices Film 'Saving Cambodia's Great Lake' which received very positive feedback. Some workshop session highlights were:
| Session Title |
Highlights |
| Integrated Water Resources Management in Asia |
- Apichart Anukularmphai of the Global Water Partnership, Thailand, discussed how IWRM relates to the Millennium Development Goals and the path Thailand has taken to achieve the3 MDGs.
- Ramon Alikpala of the National Water Resources Board, the Philippines, provided an overview of the Medium Term Philippine Plan (2004-2010) for managing water resources, outlined the challenges of governance and the need to separate policy making and regulation.
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| Water and Agriculture |
- Ganesh Pangare, of the World Water Institute, advocated the importance of Participatory Irrigation Management and outlined some examples of Asian countries where it is taking place.
- Dr. Wasan Jompakdee from Chiang Mai University provided a hydrological overview of the Ping Watershed in Northern Thailand, the competing demands on its watershed and how water conservation and effective irrigation techniques are making agricultural practices more efficient.
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| Urban Water Supply: Meeting the Millennium Development Goal Targets |
- Sherisa Nuesa of Manila Water provided an overview of the lessons the company had learned in its nine years of supplying water and sanitation to Metro Manila. This included the importance of an effective and transparent regulatory framework, the importance of operations flexibility and good governance and the need to engage with all stakeholders.
- Dr. Chea Visoth of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, Cambodia, explained how the PPWSA had expanded coverage in Phnom Penh and reduced non-revenue water. He put much of the credit down to good management, strong leadership and clear policies, roles and regulations.
- The session dispelled some of the misinformation around private sector involvement in Asia's water utilities and outlined the importance of leadership, good governance and operational flexibility.
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| Water and Floods |
- Ian Fox of ADB cited the 2004 floods in Bangladesh, the Red River in Hanoi and flooding in the lower Mekong River region to argue for the need to get back to basics in flood management, recognize some of the benefits of flooding, involve the poor in decisions and transfer risk decisions to individuals.
- Ainun Nishat, Bangladesh Country Representative for the World Conservation Union (IUCN), introduced the concept of flood management aimed at reducing the harmful effects of flooding while creating an environment for enhanced economic activity. He examined both structural and non-structural options for flood management, the importance of planning and the 11 guiding principles of a flood management strategy.
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| Rural Water Supply and Sanitation |
- Joe Madiath, Executive Director of Gram Vikas in India, outlined the success of the organization, one of the largest in the state of Orissa, which managed to equip 211 villages with toilets, bath rooms, and three taps for each household.
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| The 4th World Water Forum and Asia Water Wire |
- Tim Cullen of ADB provided journalists with an overview of the Fourth World Water Forum taking place in Mexico in March 2006.
- Johanna Son, head of the InterPress Service Asia Pacific, provided an overview of the Asia Water Wire, what has been achieved to date and requested more contributors.
- Journalists also had the opportunity to watch the latest ADB Water Voices film on China's water resources.
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PARTICIPANTS' OBSERVATIONS AND FEEDBACK
A comprehensive evaluation form was handed out to all participants to obtain feedback about the workshop. The following are some of the journalists' responses.
- All journalist respondents said that they were likely to write more about water issues as a result of the workshop and had increased their understanding of water issues.
- Most journalists said that they benefited a lot from being able to discuss water issues with journalists from other countries.
- The case studies discussed at the workshop could be replicated in the journalists' own country.
- Most journalists said that they would welcome the adoption of a more interactive approach at the workshop.
- Most journalists said that they would like to have heard from more ADB speakers and discussed projects financed by the ADB.
- Most journalists said that they were very satisfied with the written/multimedia products that were handed out at the workshop.
- Journalists were asked to cite the circulation of their media outlets. While some did not reply and others were freelancers, those answered pointed to a total circulation of readers/viewers of well over 1.5 million.
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PARTICIPANTS
Twenty-four (24) journalists from 11 countries participated in the workshop. View the list of participants.
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NEXT STEPS
Some of the proposed short-term follow-up activities include:
- sourcing media coverage
- supplying journalists with further information and photos in developing stories
- sharing contact details between journalists who attended the workshops
- adding journalist contact details to the ADB 'Water for All' email newsletter.
Proposed long-term follow-up activities are:
- More proactive and more operations oriented media workshops to be held in the few countries not covered by the previous media workshops. Gaps include the Pacific Islands, the Philippines and Sri-Lanka
- Follow-up media workshops in large countries to engage with local language media directly related to projects (e.g. in India) and more single-issued workshops, involving not only the media but also other stakeholders
- Visits to ADB project sites by journalists in the network to help commence the successor plans for the Water Awareness Program.
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