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Phone : +91-40-27019243 Fax: +91-40-27018257
Email : info@waterdemocracy.in |
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The chief objectives of the project are:
- To qualify the ongoing programmatic work further, in a joint process, with partner organisations and EED through exchange of information and experiences and also through conceptual debate.
- To improve the exchange of knowledge and experience between North and South
- To further build the campaign on human right to water and strengthen democratic participation of people in water management through networking, lobby and advocacy in South Asia, Germany and European Union
As the organising partner in the South Asian dialogue on water issues, the Centre for World Solidarity holds the responsibility of managing the Secretariat for theProgramme. 40 organisations across South Asia are the partners to the Water and Democracy Programme
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The activities undertaken by W&D consist of the different components which are carried out under the lead responsibility of one or more partner organisations although each of the components are co-dependent and hence are inter-linked. The mail activities are as follows:
A ‘package’ of publications with basic information, case studies and tested training materials are put together, a website with information of various aspects of the issue (political, legal, programmatic, conceptual dimensions) is created, and linkages with organisations and institutions(national, regional, international) are established. An E-mail group is created to facilitate exchange of information between interested partner organisations. CWS is the lead agency for this component.
A collection six case studies will be compiled and documented. These case studies are not necessarily based on best practices but will also project the conflicts on water in an Indian context. The study will be carried out by a professional journalist from Germany and will be a useful document on information, learning and campaigning for partner organisations in South Asia and for the specialized public in Germany by early 2008. From each of the participating partner countries i.e. India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, the political and legal framework (water related policies, regulations and laws) of water supply and management will be analysed. The study will predominantly pertain to the aspects of drinking water, water for livelihoods and agriculture. The study will also focus on the impact of policies of International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc., on the poor and their livelihoods in both urban and rural areas.
During visits to these countries, opportunities for campaigning, lobby and advocacy will be discussed with partner organisations and other civil society organisations. The policy analysis and visits to countries will be undertaken by the Coordinator of India Social Action Forum (INSAF) and the document will be presented by January 2008.
Although instruments for water monitoring are already available, with which the water usage of different user groups can be analysed, water pollution can be checked and water budgets can be drawn, the instruments in use are not very participatory. Thus, suitable tools are to be selected and developed in such a manner that they can be used by grass root groups, NGOs and water committees, in order to implement appropriate water resource monitoring by the users. A case study on pesticide contamination of ground water by industrialised agriculture is to be carried out in one villages – the case study should also be helpful for lobby and advocacy against such practices. The tool kit for water resource monitoring, and the related methods of participation will be pilot-tested in three villages or watershed areas and from these experiences, recommendations will be developed for a participatory and democratic groundwater management. The programme component will be carried out by CWS, Action for Food production (AFPRO), Community Health and Social Education Trust (CHASE) and Gandhian Unit for Integrated Development Education (GUIDE), a partner organisation of CWS.
On the basis of the country specific policy analysis (under Component 1) and the tool kit for participatory water monitoring (Component 2), training modules are to be developed, which will be used for awareness building and training of partner organisations, NGOs and grass root organisations groups. The objective is to disseminate practicable knowledge and instruments to the target groups to enable them to competently and convincingly claim the right of access to water and the participation in water management. This would also include a detailed understanding of water policies, the knowledge of opportunities and tools of democratic participation, the tool of water resource monitoring as an instrument of participation, and means of lobby and advocacy. The training modules will be implemented through workshops and trainings for multiplicators among partner organisations, NGOs and grass root organisations, media staff, etc., at the regional (South Asia wide), national and local level. In particular, care will be taken to qualify women for advocacy. The implementing agency is Orissa Development Action Forum (ODAF).
In order to facilitate the network building of partner organisations in South Asia, three national and One South Asia wide workshop will be conducted. The workshops should be a forum to plan common activities and campaigns. The issues and topics of campaigns have to be decided commonly. Limited finances for campaigning are available in the budget. The EED- desk officer at Bonn facilitates the networking between ecumenical agencies and NGOs in the North engaged in water issues, particularly with regard to South Asia.
The first results of the work of the partner organisations expected early 2008, i.e. the reports and publications, the policy analysis, the case study with positive examples etc., shall present current and relevant information on the water situation in South Asia which can be used for information, lobby and advocacy in Germany. On the other hand, the EED-desk officer will transmit and facilitate exchange of information from the wider partner field as well as from the German, European and international debate on water issues to the partner organisations. Furthermore, he/ she also assists representatives of partner organisations from the South at their lobby and advocacy activities in the North (German politics, BMZ, civil society, EU) and will organise public discussion, events and expert talks in collaboration with the partners.
The partner organisations will chose concrete cases and examples regarding the access to water and water as a human right (Indian River Link, dams, competition between agriculture for livelihood and agro-industries, large scale irrigated agriculture) to chose and develop issues for lobby and advocacy between government officials in Germany and the EU. The choice and focus of main issues will be decided during the process of the programme. The issue of water may be embedded in the context of climate change and energy, in order to create synergetic effects.
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