Regional Workshop on "Participatory Integrated Water Resources Management

12-17 Feb. 2005; Beirut, Lebanon

A regional training workshop on Participatory Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was recently held in Beirut.  The workshop was organized by the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) based in Amman, Jordan, and in cooperation with the EMPOWERS Partnership.

Nineteen water specialists and practitioners from Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Oman and Turkey participated in this workshop in addition to ten participants from the three countries of EMPOWERS (Egypt, Jordan and Palestine).  The sessions of the workshop were facilitated by experts from EMPOWERS and the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), in the Netherlands.

Through methodology presentations, examples and small-group discussions of case studies prepared beforehand by the country delegations, the participants were trained on using the EMPOWERS innovative approaches on how to bring relevant stakeholders (including women and the underprivileged groups) in a specific area together, in order to assess constraints and explore different scenarios to plan action and determine appropriate water policies for sustainable solutions.

The workshop shared with the participants the EMPOWERS field-tested know-how for using tools, methodologies and approaches like: Problem Tree Analysis (PTA); Stakeholders Dialogue and Concerted Action (SDCA); Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Knowledge Systems (RAAKS); Light Water Resources Assessment (LWRA); and Resource, Infrastructure, Demand and Access (RIDA) water analysis.  The workshop provided a suitable ground to test and further develop EMPOWERS training modules, and explore prospects of new initiatives within the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

It is fair to say that the objectives of this workshop were met.  Those participants who were not acquainted with the participatory approaches adopted by EMPOWERS have become aware of the opportunities these approaches offer to their countries.  On the other hand, those who already had a basic notion of such opportunities seem to have acquired more skills for using the tools and approaches leading to them.

Similarly, the feedback received from most of the participants confirmed not only the adaptability of this project to the water challenges in the MENA Region countries, but also of those countries' need for approaches similar to those developed by EMPOWERS.  

The workshop was supported by the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization of Islamic Conference Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, and through EMPOWERS by the EC MEDA Water Programme.