Myanmar from 17-22 October 2011

Training Course in Integrated Lake Basin Management & Workshop on Capacity Building Needs Assessment

Background:
The critically polluted lakes and water bodies of Asia and the Pacific are threatening the sustainable development of the region. New emerging issues such as impact of climate change on water; stresses on water from rapid urbanisation, the triple “F” crisis of food, fuel and financial and how it impact the water sector; and existing concerns on water security vis-à-vis the competition between agriculture and industry, urban and rural as well as new dialogues on energy-water-food nexus, requires a re-look at the capacity building needs of the region.
ESCAP and partners will co-organise the 2nd Asia Pacific Water Summit (APWS) hosted by the Royal Thai Government at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre, in Bangkok, Thailand, 2-6 February 2012. ESCAP will convene several workshops at the 2nd APWS and one of which will be “Capacity building in the water sector”. The proposed Workshop on “Capacity Building Needs Assessment” in Myanmar is being organised to feed into the programs of the 2nd APWS.
Lakes are found in abundance around the region and form a source of water supply, recreation and other economic activities. Current urbanization and rapid population growth in the region have also increased the pressure on food supply. Changing weather patterns trends and greater climatic extremes have further resulted in progressive water environmental degradation of many natural and artificial lakes. Lakes are important areas and/or resources for human development besides its role in preserving and supporting natural ecosystems and biodiversity. The constant and complex interaction between the need for economic production and conservation of these lake systems, which include, the interactions between the lakes and their surrounding drainage basins, require a special management focus. This will require multiple organisational efforts and cooperation involving many key players. Approaches to lake management are being developed through partnerships between local governments and civil society organisations. Proper management and strong policy to sustain the resource use is needed and to fulfil the demand side requirement with low stress in long time utilization.
An example of such lake is the Lake Inle, the second largest freshwater lake in Myanmar which is characterized by its mountains, its expansive indigenous biodiversity. The lake is a natural focus of interest and use by the local community and is now facing problems from:
- Increase population pressure
- Rapid deforestation and shifting cultivation in adjacent watershed area
- Accelerating soil erosion and sedimentation from surrounding areas
- Declination of water quality
- Reducing water surface
Integrated Lake Basin Management is expected to provide a powerful concept and tool towards effective lake management for Lake Inle and many other similar lakes.

Objectives:
The two events will be organized back to back. The objective of the TOT on CBLIM is to develop trainers on Integrated Lake Management for countries in the region. The objective of the Workshop on CBNA is to consult practioners and experts on capacity building needs in Asia and the Pacific and to highlight the needs to incorporate new emerging issues, such as climate change impacts and pollution etc, in the region. The ultimate objective is to improve water resources management and to help enable future sustainable development of the region.

Target group:
The training is targeted at government officials, universities, NGOs, INGOs and communities who are either involved in lake management and/or who are critical of the needs for reviewing capacity building requirements in the region. The expected number of participants is 30, respecting gender and geographic balance.

Methods:
The TOT will use adult learning tools, focusing on participants sharing their own experiences, and guided by the introduction of new conceptual approaches and tools. There will be a combination of short lectures, practical exercises, group work and discussion. The course will be supported by training materials developed by Cap-Net (www.cap-net.org). Contents will also be generated by other partners and course participants. Participants are encouraged (and expected) to bring in experiences with the application of lake management for adaptation to climate variability. Modules will be supported by specific cases to be brought in by the capacity building networks. Each participant will be given the materials used in the training and pack containing useful resources introduced during the course.
The Capacity Building Needs Assessment workshop will be a combination of short 10 minutes country paper presentations, break up group and plenary discussions to be designed to ensure an output indicating the needs of the region.

Organization:
The “TOT on Lake Management” and the “CB Workshop” will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) and the Irrigation Department (ID), Myanmar, and co-organized by Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and Capacity Building Network (Cap-Net) with the support of Aguajaring and Myanmar Water Partnership (MmWP).
The TOT component is part of Cap-Net global programme of action, of which AguaJaring is an affiliated regional network. ESCAP, MOAI, ID Myanmar and AguaJaring are responsible for the coordination and logistic arrangements. Content development of the TOT is the responsibility of a team composed of the above as well as Cap-Net and MmWP.
The duration of the course will be four days for Training of Trainers Course on Capacity Building in Integrated Lake Basin Management and it will take place from 17-20 October, 2011 in Inle and two days for Workshop on Capacity Building Needs Assessment will take place from 21-22 October, 2011 in Yangon, Myanmar.
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For further information please contact:
MOAI ID Myanmar: Zaw Lwin Tun (kozawlwin@gmail.com)
Hla Oo Nwe (hoonwe@gmail.com)

ESCAP: Salmah Zakaria (zakaria8@un.org)
….. Nawaporn Wanichkorn (wanichkorn@un.org)

AguaJaring: Zalilah Selamat (zalilah@nahrim.gov.my)