SaciWATERs announces its first International Conference on Water Resources Policy in South Asia, to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, during December 18-20, 2008. The conference is organised as part of the regional capacity building project Crossing Boundaries. The conference will bring together regional and international water professionals, academics, policy makers, activists, politicians and others involved and interested in South Asian water resources issues. As part of the ongoing water resources policy dialogue, the conference aims to enhance the understanding of water resources governance, its management and use in the region by critically assessing the agenda for reform.

The conference seeks to investigate and understand the varied dynamics of existing water resources management in South Asia and compare them with those in other regions. Policy is broadly understood as parties engaged in water resources management that are involved in formulating, implementing and reshaping policies at different levels. The conference will document policy reforms in South Asia and the challenges therein. It will also critically assess the impact of the different initiatives to reform water resources governance. The importance of scientific knowledge while formulating water policy and the strengthening of water resources policy studies in the region will receive special attention.

About SaciWATERs

SaciWATERs is committed to bringing about structural changes in the dominant water resources management paradigm in South Asia. Within this ambit, the focus is on transforming water resources knowledge systems. The key ideas are an interdisciplinary approach to understanding water resources issues from a pro-poor and human development perspective with emphasis on exchange, interaction and collaboration at South Asia level. The long term aim is to establish a South Asian ‘virtual water university'.

The Crossing Boundaries project focuses on education, research/innovation, knowledge base development and networking in a combined effort to contribute to a paradigm shift in water resources management in South Asia . The focus is on a critical and constructive engagement with the notion of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), and gender and water issues.

The project is jointly implemented by SaciWATERs and the Irrigation & Water Engineering group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands together with six South Asian partner institutions:

	Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh
	Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh
	Centre for Water Resources, Anna University, Chennai, India
	Nepal Engineering College, Kathmandu, Nepal
	Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
	Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Crossing Boundaries Project Advisory Committee and Partner Institution Members

Click here for submitting proposal for session coordination

Conference Themes/Topics

The conference will broadly deal with the following topics and themes:

	Sectoral assessment of policy processes/reforms (irrigation, water supply and sanitation, hydropower, flood management, ecological water management)
	Rent seeking behaviour in water management and infrastructure development
	Success, value and limitations of participatory processes in the water sector
	International and federal hydropolitics
	Inter-sectoral water allocations, negotiations and conflicts
	Gender dimensions of water governance and management
	Water management in the peri-urban areas
	Approaches to urban water provision and management
	Privatisation in the water sector
	Impact of global policy discourses on National Water Policy making
	Watershed management policies and programmes
	Water policy and climate change
	Dying wisdom or myth making: exploring the meaning and value of local water management practices
	Approaches to water policy analysis in South Asia
	Civil and political society in water management in South Asia
	Water rights and water rights reform in South Asia
	Private sector boom and public sector malaise in water resources development

Important Dates

Last date for submission of abstracts and session proposals - 15th June 2008
Notification of the acceptance of abstracts - 10th July 2008
Last date for submission of final papers - 30th September 2008

Guidelines for Submission of Abstracts

All abstracts (word document only) must be submitted electronically through our electronic abstract submission system on any of the themes.
Authors are advised to mention their full name, address for communication, email ID, affiliation and the theme in the abstract.
All abstracts (within 400 words) must be received on or before 15th June 2008.
Abstracts received after this deadline will not be accepted for inclusion in the Conference. However an abstract will be considered only if the deadline for submission is extended.

Abstract

Guidelines for Submission of Proposal for Session Coordination

All session proposal/description should be within 700 words.
All session proposals should portray a clear idea of the session and its specifications/technicalities.
All session proposals must bear the full name of the convener, proposed session title, address for communication, email ID and affiliation.
All session proposals must be received on or before 15th June 2008.
Session proposals received after this deadline will not be accepted for inclusion in the Conference. However a proposal will be considered only if the deadline for submission is extended.

Session Proposal