Bridging Workshop Series: Sustainable Management of Wastewater for Agricultural Production in Water-Scarce Countries 11-15 November 2007 |
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Initiative The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have launched the idea of a "Bridging Workshop Series" to bridge the knowledge gap between the advanced research institutions, including the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system, and young professionals from national agricultural research institutions (NARS). These workshops will guide young researchers towards the state-of-the-art of multi-disciplinary and cutting edge research, applying an open-space and open-mind environment where participants are mentored by experienced scientists, and encouraged to interact and ask all those questions they could never ask in conventional workshops. This initiative will involve lead international scientists and young and mid-career scientists of NARS in the exchange of information and experience. It is proposed to utilize the complementary skills available among the CGIAR centers and advanced research institutions to organize the 'Bridging Workshops'. The first 'Bridging Workshop' will be hosted by ICARDA and IWMI and address aspects relating to the safe use of wastewater in agriculture. The next 'Bridging Workshops' are planned for 2008 and 2009 and will address "The sustainable use of saline water" and "Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the basin scale". Each workshop will culminate in the development of proceedings and joint concept notes for collaborative research. Post-workshop and follow-up activities on proposals will enhance interaction among the participants and other researchers working on related aspects. The initiative is looking for donors interested in becoming official partners of the initiative or of individual workshops. Each workshop is budgeted at US$ 50,000 to sponsor mainly NARS participants and will be co-funded by ICARDA and IWMI. The First Knowledge Bridging Workshop - Background Given current demographic trends and future growth projections, as much as 60% of the global population is expected to suffer water scarcity, defined as annual freshwater availability of less than 1000 m3 per capita, by the year 2025. Although agriculture is the dominant user of water, the increasing competition for good-quality water among different water-use sectors in water scarce countries will reduce freshwater allocation to agriculture. The water taken away from agriculture in these countries will be diverted to household, municipal, and industrial activities. Since the use of freshwater for these activities generates wastewater, the volume of wastewater is expected to increase in the foreseeable future. In partnership with the key national and regional institutions, ICARDA and IWMI are working on the qualitative and quantitative assessment of wastewater with a view to develop management practices that can significantly increase agricultural productivity and income generation of the communities relying on wastewater irrigation. Most countries in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) are categorized as water scarce, warranting the use of available freshwater supplies more efficiently. However, despite improvement in existing water use efficient techniques, it is projected that water scarce countries will have to increasingly rely on alternative water resources to meet their needs. One such alternative source is the reuse of wastewater. A significant part of the wastewater is already used for crop production in response to limited availability of freshwater for agriculture. Therefore, increasing volumes of wastewater will become the major source of additional water supplies for agriculture in water scarce countries. There is limited available information on the extent of wastewater resources that could be potentially exploited in water scarce countries. Even in cases where data are available, there are large differences in the qualitative and quantitative assessment of these resources because of the different criteria used to identify and categorize them. In addition, information on the productivity potential of wastewater, and its impacts on the environment as well as on the social and economic conditions of the dependent farming communities, is also limited. While recycling of treated wastewater needs to be developed as a common practice in water scarce countries, in many parts of the developing world untreated or inadequately treated wastewater is currently used by farmers in an uncontrolled manner. The protection of public health and the environment are the main concerns associated with such reuse of wastewater. This situation warrants rethinking of the ways through which wastewater is handled and reused in crop production systems. The development of appropriate technical and policy options for wastewater in water scarce countries offers great promise for the foreseeable future. However, the capacity, skilled human resources, and research-based knowledge are lacking in developing countries to tackle the complex issues arising from the agricultural use of wastewater. Specific Objectives of the Workshop
Major Themes of the Workshop
Participants
Outputs
Venue and Date The Workshop is provisionally scheduled to be held from 11 to 15 November 2007 at ICARDA's headquarters in Aleppo, Syria. There will be one-day field visit to wastewater irrigated areas. Call for Short Papers Young and mid-career researchers from water scarce developing countries, actively involved in research relating to wastewater use in agriculture, are invited to submit Short Papers (5 pages) along with a brief Vitae (3 pages) at m.qadir@cgiar.org. The subject of the paper should address one of the workshop themes. Please follow the suggested format for paper preparation. Deadline for Paper Submission August 20, 2007 Notification of Selected Papers August 31, 2007 Financial Support for Participants ICARDA and IWMI are working on raising funds to support the cost of the selected researchers' participation from developing countries. Workshop Contacts Manzoor Qadir ICARDA/IWMI Marginal-Water Management Scientist International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Tel: +963-21-2213433 Fax: +963-21-2213490 E-mail: m.qadir@cgiar.org Natalia Abeynayake Donor Relations Officer International Water Management Institute (IWMI) P.O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka. E-mail: n.abeynayake@cgiar.org Elizabeth Bailey Head, Project Development Coordination Unit (PDCU) ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria E-mail: e.bailey@cgiar.org |