INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT II - LIFE-IWRMII ...

TASK 1.2: SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FINANCING FOR CANAL AND
DRAIN MAINTENANCE
No problems or issues to report.
TASK 1.3: IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER PRODUCTIVITY AND
EFFICIENCY
The contract objectives have been met and there are no issues to report. However, it is important to
note that the projects’ responsibility under this task was disseminating information on the
cultivation of HVCs and the benefits/use of WCTs. IWRM II went beyond their contractual
mandate and established limited pilot demonstration areas that proved the benefits of growing
HVCs. This success has resulted in many requests to the project from farmer organizations within
and outside of the pilot areas for support in switching to HVCs and implementing modern irrigation.
Although it is beneficial to MWRI when farmers switch to lower water consuming crops, facilitating
that is not in the Ministry’s mandate. If there is to be success in increasing water efficiency on a
national scale through increasing HVCs acreage and modifying irrigation practices, continued
efforts by MALR are needed to raise farmers’ awareness and to support them in transitioning to
HVCs and adoption of WCTs.
TASK 1.4: WASTEWATER REUSE
None.
TASK 2.2: FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED
WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS
All 45 IWMDs have been formed, are operational; all are fully staffed at senior level. That said, there
are issues. Among them, timely and adequate availability of financial resources is of particular
importance. The new IWMDs have greater responsibilities than the irrigation districts they replaced.
Therefore, their needs in terms of budget, facilities, and human resources are greater than before. To
date, MWRI financial and technical support has not been provided in a timely manner nor have they
been adequate to ensure that the newly created integrated directorates and districts can function as
intended. Among other things, this has adversely affected maintenance of equipment provided by
the project and maintenance/repair of MWRI’s equipment needed for canal and drains upkeep and
maintenance of the sub-surface drainage network. This is an issue that must be given serious
consideration when preparing the project sustainability plan.
TASK 2.3: ESTABLISHMENT OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER
The MISD data is not being transmitted from MALR to the IWMDs in a timely manner and the
quality of the data delivered to the IWMDs on a bi-weekly bases is suspect in general. The MISD
system was developed, tested, and successfully implemented during the Agricultural Policy Reform
Program (APRP) project (1997-2002) and became government policy at that time. It also functioned
well during IWRM I. Alternatives such as remote sensing are not considered practical and since
MISD is a proven system, it is recommended that MWRI work with MALR to solve the problems
that have been experienced during IWRM II.
Preparation of digital maps is behind schedule and some of the completed maps have not been
quality checked to date. Our Information Systems Specialist, Dr. Tom Sheng reviewed a limited
sample of the completed maps during his last visit and found that they need further work and should
28 ANNUAL REPORT YEAR 3 (JANUARY – DECEMBER 2011)