July 05, 2021
Spate News October 2010
Dear members,
We hope you are all fine. We want to share with you a lot of good news!
First is that IFAD has made a substantial grant available to the Spate Irrigation Network. This will help to bring the network \’one level up\’. The grant is for strengthening the network in four countries; for undertaking pilots on the basis of good practices in one countries – transferring these to another country; for strengthening education in spate irrigation; for small research grants for students; for supporting policy work and for providing support to IFAD projects. IFAD is a consistent development investor in spate irrigation. We are grateful and are happy for the cooperation with IFAD.
We also concluded a very useful workshop with participants from 10 plus countries on mainstreaming spate irrigation in higher education. This workshop was undertaken in partnership with UNW-DPC and FAO. Plans for mainstreaming were prepared for seven countries. A website with the resource material and the plans has been created. This website will also serve as the workspace for supporting the inclusion of spate irrigation in the curricula of universities and polytecnics – something dearly missing. The site is: http://www.unwater.unu.edu/workshops/ The login and password of the website is: \’water\’ and \’agriculture\’.
The Guidelines for Spate Irrigation appeared in August and are being circulated. They can be downloaded through the special page of FAO: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/news/spatemeeting.html
A limited number of hard copies are still available for members of the Spate Irrigation Network. Please write a small motivation including your postal address to FAO: JeanMarc.Faures@fao.org . Copies are available on a first come basis.
We are also working with World Bank in Pakistan on a follow up of the first phase of strengthening the Pakistan network – with a small convening and facilitating unit set-up at PARC and SPO. For more information please contact: knawaz99@yahoo.com.
Then also there are some important new document in the library of www.spate-irrigation.org – including a paper on using the sowbug (a crustacean) to improve the infiltration of flood water; MSc thesis on spate irrigation in Sindh (Pakistan) and new country documents on Morocco, Sudan and Tanzania. Also TheWaterChannel has a video on air on flood water spreading in Iran (video).
Have a nice day!
Abraham and Frank