Integrated Water Resources Management

The objectives of the programme in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) were to support and stimulate the development of IWRM in our participants' home countries and to encourage them to involve in and contribute to networking on IWRM.

The programme was running between the years 2005 and 2010 with participants from Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Croatia, DPR Korea, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

These programmes were designed for management staff from governmental, non-governmental and private sector organisations involved in water resources development management. The programme lasted for approximately 9 months where the participants met twice; first three and a half weeks in Sweden and then two weeks in South Africa/Lao PDR.

The training included lectures, a role play, group- and plenary discussions, study visits and field excursions. A key feature of the Programme was a learning process, where the participants’ own learning objectives - in the context of their home organisations - played an important role. Hence, the Programme was continually adjusted to respond to the participants’ interests and backgrounds. An essential part of this process was that each participant carried out an Individual Project (IP).

The IP was an individual assignment directly linked to each participant’s work assignments and related to contemporary water management processes/issues in which the participant’s organisation was involved. The IP was a key tangible individual output of the training programme.

Four days of participation in the World Water Week in Stockholm was also included in the programme.

The world is facing a water crisis that seriously affects production and living conditions, jeopardizing poverty reduction and sustainable development, particularly in the poorer countries in the world. In many cases the limited water resources, especially in water-scarce countries, are poorly managed resulting in inefficient use and a deepening of the crisis. The way to address the situation is partly through technical improvement of the water supply, but, more important, through improved management and governing of the water resources.

Through the IWRM international training programme we aimed at contributing to poverty alleviation, by supporting capacity development for Integrated Water Resources Management. IWRM is a process which can assist countries in their endeavour to deal with water issues in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

During the programme we strived to achieve an active and strong link to our participants' professional area but also to strengthen the professional exchange between participants, enriching the programme through their different professional and geographical backgrounds.