Welcome to the March 2008 edition of the IWC eBulletin.

In this Issue

1. Message from the CEO
2. IWC's Inaugural Students Commence 
3. Integrated Water Mangement Program Underway
4. Yellow River Fellows in Professional Development Program
5. New Staff: Agnese Middleton, Marketing and Communications Officer
6. NARBO Conference
7. Coming Up: Presentation at WICD
8. World Health Day to be Marked by Launch of Sanitation Publication
9. AWRF Presents in Barcelona - Participatory Modelling

I am happy to let you know that IWC has reached a significant milestone with our Masters program commencing for 2008. The lead up to Semester has been extremely busy for everyone, with the team preparing our new premises and finalising and producing teaching materials. The hard work has paid off and we are attracting the international professional students that we had hoped.

From my brief discussions with some of the eighteen students studying with us now, they are going to be a good cohort for IWC and will, I think, keep our teaching team on their toes!

I would like to thank and congratulate the teaching team and IWC staff for their hard work in getting to this point. Thanks also to the IWC Executive and Board for their continued support.  

We are breaking new ground here and it is exciting that our IWC vision has come to life. We now have real students learning how to tackle the challenges of integrated water management.

I hope the start of 2008 has been as exciting for you as it has been for us. 

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International WaterCentre last week kicked off its long awaited education programs, with Professor Paul Greenfield, IWC Chairman, joining IWC students and staff to launch the 2008 programs. Prof Greenfield, who is also the new Vice-Chancellor of The University of Queensland, welcomed the inaugural cohort of Masters and professional development fellows.

‘As the first group to undertake the IWC courses, you are the pioneers,’ he told the students. ‘In choosing to study integrated water management you have chosen to be part of a global solution.’

‘Water management will continue to be a serious issue for humanity into the future, and your generation will be faced with many challenges.’

Professor Greenfield encouraged students to make the most of their time at UQ. ‘You have an excellent team to support you at IWC, so take advantage of the resources available to you.’

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IWC students represent 8 different countries.

The Masters of Integrated Water Management Program (incorporating the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Integrated Water Management) has commenced week with a truly international cohort of students. The students come from 8 countries: Ecuador, Canada, France, Australia, China, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The students have an intensive semester of study ahead of them. Lectures will cover water governance and planning, water science, sustainability and development and project management, with case studies providing integration across the diverse disciplines involved in water resources management.

Dr Bruce Missingham and Kwame Mfwodo from Monash University, Dr Fran Sheldon from Griffith University and Associate Professor Paul Lant, Dr Helen Johnson and Mark Schubert from The University of Queensland are involved in the lecturing. Dr Peter Oliver, who has recently joined IWC as Senior Lecturer, and Danielle Pedi, tutor, are also teaching into the program and tackling that vitally important, but endlessly challenging, task of integration.

Dr Oliver is excited to be teaching such a committed and diverse group of professionals.  ‘This student group has such a fantastic mix of backgrounds and skills, and everyone is committed to being here, studying hard, but also having fun!’

Within the first week students have already gained a thorough introduction to the challenges and conflicts often present in water management through a field trip to Stradbroke Island

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Field trip to Stradbroke Island

The Professional Development Program for professionals from the Yellow River Conservancy Commission is well underway. Nine YRCC fellows arrived in January and have already made great progress adjusting to Australian living and a big study load.

The program aims to build the knowledge and skills of professionals through a combination of academic studies and experiential learning in the concepts and principles of integrated water management. It is an opportunity for Fellows to broaden their knowledge of IWRM whilst pursuing their particular areas of interest and expertise. The program consists of intensive English language training, non-award academic study, a study tour and industry placement.

Our Chinese colleagues are making the most of being in Australia and meeting various water experts. Their enthusiasm for learning is catchy, and classes often run overtime with questions and stimulating discussion. The most interesting discussion often revolves around the differences between Chinese and Australian water management approaches, and there is a great deal of learning on both sides.

The YRCC program is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

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'The four years with the Native American Scholars program at the Sanford School of Medicine gave me a lot of practical insights in recruiting a specific student market. I am keen to apply my skills and knowledge with the IWC Master's Program and I am really looking forward to working with such a great team of professionals!' commented Agnese.

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The 3rd Annual Meeting of the Network of Asian River Basin Organisations (NARBO) was held in Solo, Indonesia from 19 - 21 February. IWC was admitted as a Knowledge Partner Member during the meeting and is the second Australian member to join, with WWF being the other.

The Meeting was attended by the CEO, Mark Pascoe, and about 100 delegates from the Asia Region including Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Kazakhstan. The Asian Development Bank was also well represented. The host River Basin Organisation was Jasa Tirta I Corporation.

The Meeting included field trips, seminars and the AGM. Mark Pascoe attended a field trip to a small farming community in the catchment of the Solo River Basin where a workshop was held to explore the ‘bottom-up’ approaches to protecting and improving water quality in this ‘rain-fed’ agricultural area. Delegates were impressed by the strong community involvement and the governance structure of the village participation. Not only are women well engaged, but the village leaders are also involved in water management.

NARBO represents a growing network of River Basin Organisations and now has in excess of 60 RBO members with others such as the Yellow River Conservancy Commission set to become members.

One interesting development is a project which has piloted a benchmarking system for River Basin Organisations. The next stage of this benchmarking will see a rating structure developed by the River Basins organisations themselves.

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COMING UP: Presentations at WICD

The joint WaterAID – IWC publication, Sharing Experiences: Sustainable Sanitation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, will be launched on World Health Day. As a collection of case-studies from around the region, the publication focuses on what worked, what didn’t work and why, with the overall goal of facilitating knowledge exchange on practical application of low-cost sustainable sanitation in the region. 

Keep an eye on the IWC website for your own copy of the publication on the 7 April.

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Australian Research Facility researcher, Dr Terry Chan, will present a paper 'Participatory Approaches in Developing a Model to Assist Water Resource Management in a Catchment in the Solomon Islands' at the iEMSs 2008: International Congress on Environmental Modelling Software.

Jointly written with the AWRF team, the paper describes a participatory approach employed to develop a catchment model of the Kongulai catchment. The model will be used to assist managers identify risk and prioritise management actions.  The congress will be held from July 7-10, 2008 in Barcelona, Catalonia.

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IWC Contacts

For more information contact:
International WaterCentre
Phone +61 7 3221 1772
Fax +61 7 3221 1727
PO Box 15056, City East, Brisbane
Queensland 4002, Australia
admin@watercentre.org
www.watercentre.org