The Crossing Boundaries Project - Regional Capacity Building On IWRM And Gender & Water In South Asia
The Crossing Boundaries (CB) project (2005-2011) aims to contribute to the paradigm shift in water resources management in South Asia, summarized in the concept of IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management), by means of a partnership-based programme for capacity building of water professionals on IWRM and gender & water through higher education, innovation and social learning focussed research ('research with an impact'), knowledge base development and networking.
SaciWATERs, through CB Project, works mainly with academics and postgraduate students who are working in the water sector. It is changing the technical / civil engineering curriculum by introducing subjects which addresses IWRM, gender, participatory management, equity and sustainability and environmental concerns to enable them to address water issues in a broader perspective. The research programmes in the Crossing Boundaries Project are based on existing water problems in respective countries where students are working with stakeholders to address the problem.
Water Security in Peri-Urban South Asia - Adapting to Climate change and Urbanisation
Water Security in Peri-Urban South Asia is a three year project (2010-2013) that works across four locations in South Asia. This action research project is primarily concerned in addressing the interests of the poor, marginalised and other vulnerable communities. It will build their capacities to cope with climate change induced water in-security. The project hopes to be the bridge, between the issue and what policy-makers and researchers could offer to it. The project will also throw light on how people respond/adapt to these changes in their immediate environment, through sustained research and studies.
SaciWATERs is co-coordinating this project with three partner institutions in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, offering research support to the participating institutions, and will help in liaising with policy makers and local governing bodies.
India Water Development Report- The Right to Water amidst increasing scarcity
SaciWATERs is working on a project along with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNICEF. The six month long project will publish a comprehensive and consolidated interdisciplinary report on Water Development in India. The report will present a snapshot of the state of water resources, derived through primary and secondary research as well as chart a future course of action towards addressing the water issues in India.
Conceived in two phases, the project will focus on collecting information on the status of water resources and related issues through secondary research in the first phase. This phase will be administered by FAO. The second phase will involve consultations at the regional level using the collected data as a starting point. This phase will be administered by UNICEF. The affected people's views emerging from the interactions will be video recorded and disseminated as "Voices of the poor".
A range of partners will be roped in for consultation workshops and gathering of resources which includes Freshwater Action Network-South Asia (FANSA), UNICEF's network of partner institutions, WesNet India and Solution Exchange -Water Community. The final report would be launched at a roll-out meeting in Delhi with invited panelists to get the key advocacy points to move forward.
