Interfacing Poverty, Livelihood and Climate Change in Water Resources Development: Lessons in South Asia
May 4-6, 2009
Nepal, Kathmandu
The Fourth South Asia Water Research Conference was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Mr. Shanker Prasad Koirala, Secretary at Ministry of Water Resources, Government of Nepal. The inaugural session was chaired by Dr. Upendra Gautam, Chairman of Nepal Engineering College. Prof. Deepak Bhattarai, Principal of NEC, welcomed the participants and Dr. Dibya R. Kansakar, Project Director, Crossing Boundaries Project, set the stage by presenting the conference agenda. Mr. Dipak Gyawali, NWCF, delivered a key-note address. The inaugural programme was attended by the conference participants and invited guests from various government, academic and research agencies in Nepal. Dr. Upendra Gautam concluded the formal session with a closing remark, while Mr. P. B. Adiga, the IWRM program coordinator at NEC offered vote of thanks.
This research conference focused on ways and means of interfacing the issues relating to poverty, livelihood and climate change with water resources agenda in the South Asian context. The conference papers were organized under 5 sub-thematic sessions;
- Increasing access, equity and productivity of land and water to combat poverty and diversify livelihood opportunities
- Promoting multiple water-use systems while ensuring secured access and equity
- Land and water resources degradation and resulting threats to ecosystem services and livelihood
- Climate change and adaptation vis-à-vis poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement
- Reforms in policy and institutions to prepare for future
There were two additional sessions dedicated exclusively for the papers by SAWA fellows. A total of 26 research papers were presented in the conference, including the 5 papers by SAWA Fellows selected for presentations in the conference. The papers by SAWA Fellows were evaluated for the award of “Best SAWA Fellow Paper” by a jury consisting of Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, NEC, Mr. Ajay Dixit, NWCF, and Dr. Chanda Gurung Goodrich, SaciWATERs. This award carried a cash prize of US$ 150 and a citation. Ms. V. Veeralakshmi from CWR, Anna University, won this award for her paper entitled “Policy Adaptation to Changing Scenario in Chennai City Water Needs”, which was co-authored by N.K. Ambujam and K. Karunakaran (India).
At the concluding session, on May 6, 2009, Mr. Ajay Dixit, NWCF, highlighted the interdisciplinarity nature of water issues and presented ideas for future research endeavors in this sector. Dr. Dibya Kansakar highlighted the conference deliberations while Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, NEC, thanked everybody and closed the conference. The key-note paper by Mr. Dipak Gyawali and summing up of the conference papers and the ideas for ways forward in interdisciplinary research in water sector presented by Mr. Ajay Dixit were the highlights of the conference.
Co-organizers:
1. Nepal Engineering College
Changunaryan, Bhaktapur
P.O. Box 10210, Kathmandu, Nepal
2. Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF)
GPO Box 2221, Kathmandu, Nepal
With Support of:
South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs) Hyderabad, India
