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Announcements
1. UN Water Seminar "Coping with Water Scarcity" during
World Water Week, Sweden, August 2006
2. Workshop on Environmental Consequences of Irrigation
with Poor Quality Waters, Malaysia, September 2006
3. International Forum on Water and Food,
Vientiane, Lao PDR, November 12 – 17, 2006
4. 5th International Water History Association
Conference, Finland, June 2007
5. Side-event Andrah Pradesh Farmer Manager Groundwater
Systems Project during World Water Week, August 2006
Reports and publications
6. Guidelines for Soil Description
7. Second United Nations World Water
Development Report now available
Databases and on-line resources
8. CD-ROM version of Agro-MAPS /
Version CD-ROM d’Agro-MAPS
9. FAO Mineral Fertilizer Specifications web
page
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. UN-Water seminar on
“Coping with Water Scarcity”, Wednesday 23 August 2006 during the
World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden
UN-Water is the coordinating mechanism of the UN agencies,
programmes and funds that play a significant role in tackling global
water concerns. Annually, UN-Water hosts a seminar in Stockholm
focusing on strategic issues it has identified as priority for joint
action. The 2006 event addresses water scarcity, the point at which
the aggregate impact of all users impinges on the supply or quality
of water under prevailing institutional arrangements to the extent
that the demand by all sectors, including the environment, cannot be
fully satisfied.
Water scarcity affects all social and economic sectors and
threatens the sustainability of the natural resources base.
Addressing this issue calls for an inter-sectoral and
multidisciplinary approach that maximises economic and social
welfare without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.
Through the Water Scarcity Thematic Initiative, UN-Water agencies
and their partners plan to join forces to work towards an effective
and coherent response to the challenge of water scarcity. The
seminar will be an opportunity to discuss the strategic role of
UN-Water in assisting countries in their efforts towards the
achieving the Millenium Development Goals, investigate the
possibilities for enhancing its effectiveness and impact and explore
possibilities for effective partnership.
For more information: UN-Water web
site or World Water Week web site
or contact Jean Marc Faurès.
2. International Workshop on
Environmental Consequences of Irrigation with Poor Quality Waters,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 2006
This Workshop is being organised under the auspices of the
International Commission for Irrigation and Drainage’s (ICID) Work
Team on the Use of Poor Quality Water for Irrigation and the Food
& Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It will
be held in conjunction with ICID’s 57th International Executive
Council Meeting during 11-15 September 2006, the 3rd Asian Regional
Conference and the Micro Irrigation Conference.
Poor quality water is increasingly used as a source of irrigation
water. This tendency is being brought about by a general
deterioration in water quality associated with more intensive use
and re-use, the allocation of better quality water to “more
economic” uses as well as the recognistion that irrigation can often
extract value from water with a quality too poor for other uses.
Poor quality water takes many forms. Each presents its own
opportunities and problems and pose different potential risks to
use, such as health implications, soil degradation and salinisation
of water resouces. This Workshop will bring together experts from
all over the world to discuss their experience with using different
types of poor quality water and how these should be managed to
minimise environmental and health impacts and promote sustainable
practices. FAO with ICID aim to establish clear recommendations from
the discussions coming forth from this international workshop.
Organising Committee:
Dr Sasha Koo-Oshima, FAO - Work
Team on the Use of Poor Quality Water, ICID
Dr Ragab Ragab,
CEH - Chairman, Work Team on the Use of Poor Quality Water,
ICID.
3. International Forum on
Water and Food, Vientiane, Lao PDR, November 12 – 17, 2006
The Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) announces the
International Forum on Water and Food, to be held in Vientiane, Lao
PDR from November 12 – 17, 2006, hosted by the Mekong River
Commission (MRC), and invites the submission of abstracts. Potential
participants should note that this event is a Forum and is designed
as a medium for discussion and debate, rather than the presentation
of papers. Discussions will be based on a series of short policy
briefs drawn from paper submissions. In addition, the best papers
from the Forum will published in special editions of formal, peer
reviewed journals, and there will be an opportunity to present
posters. Abstracts are sought in particular for Session 1 of the
Forum on the Future of Irrigation, which is convened by Mr T.
Facon, Senior Water Management Officer, FAO Regional Office for
Asia and the Pacific. For further information, registration and
submission of abstracts, please visis the forum website: Forum web
site.
4. 5th International Water
History Association Conference, "Past and Futures of Water", 13-17
June 2007, Tampere, Finland
The International Water History Association (IWHA) will hold its
fifth biennial conference in Tampere, Finland, in June 2007. The
conference program addresses diverse topics related to water history
and futures, and will provide an excellent opportunity for scholars
and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and different parts
of the world to meet and discuss the many fascinating aspects of
water history. Major themes are: Water and the city; Water, health
and sanitation; Water, food and economy; Water history research
methodologies; and Water history and its relevance. Other relevant
session topics are welcome. The first Call for Sessions and papers
by 15 Oct is now out. For more information please visit: 5th IWHA
Conference Web site, or download: First Call for
Sessions and Papers.
5. Side-event Andrah Pradesh
Farmer Manager Groundwater Systems Project, India, during World
Water Week, 23 August 2006, evening
The Andrah Pradesh Farmer Manager Groundwater Systems Project,
FAO and the World Water Institute are convening a side-event during
the World Water Week in Stockholm on IWRM at the grassroots level.
The session will include a presentation of the Andrah Pradesh Farmer
Manager Groundwater Systems Project (AP-FAMGS) and the release of a
resources kit on IWRM. The project promotes water management
strategies based on demand management through the involvement of
community based groundwater user groups in participatory
hydrological monitoring. It promotes artificial groundwater
recharge, crop management, and efficient agriculture practices.
Additional groundwater recharge potential has been created in seven
overexploited aquifer zones and more than 1500 farmers have adopted
appropriate agriculture practices. The Resources kit on IWRM
developed by the project explains the normative, strategic and
operational dimensions of IWRM through case studies from different
parts of the world in easy-to-understand language. For more
information: World Water Week web site,
or contact: ps.rao@fao.org.
REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS
6. FAO Guidelines for Soil
Description
The Guidelines for Soil Description were prepared to assist in
the understanding of the nature, properties, dynamics and functions
of the soil as part of the landscape and ecosystem. They contain
precise instructions how to describe the site and the morphology of
a soil in the field. A section is added in this fourth edition on
the link of soil descriptions with soil classification. Click here
for on-line reading and/or downloading or visit the AGL On-line
Publications Database. Contact: Freddy
Nachtergaele.
7. Second United Nations
World Water Development Report now available
The 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR2)
'Water, a shared responsibility' was officially launched at the
World Water Forum in Mexico in March 2006. This Report is a
periodic, comprehensive review giving an authoritative picture of
the state of the world's freshwater resources, and aiming to provide
decision-makers with the tools for sustainable use of our water.
WWDR2 is a joint undertaking of 24 UN agencies in partnership with
governments and other stakeholders. UNESCO holds the Secretariat of
the World Water Assessment Programme, the programme in charge of
overall coordination for the preparation of the Report.
The Report presents a comprehensive picture of freshwater
resources in all regions and most countries of the world as it
tracks progress towards the water-related targets of the UN
Millennium Development Goals and examines a range of key issues
including population growth and increasing urbanization, changing
ecosystems, food production, health, industry and energy, as well as
risk management, valuing and paying for water and increasing
knowledge and capacity, illustrated by sixteen local case studies.
Finally, the report outlines a set of conclusions and
recommendations to guide future action and encourage sustainable
use, productivity and management of our increasingly scarce
freshwater resources.
The report is available on-line at WWAP web site and
can be ordered from the same website. CD-Rom versions of the full
report or paper copies of the Executive Summary in English, French
or Spanish can also be obtained from FAO. Contact at FAO: Jean Marc
Faurès.
DATABASES AND ON-LINE
RESOURCES
8. CD-ROM version of
Agro-MAPS
The CD-ROM version of Agro-MAPS - A global spatial
database of agricultural land-use statistics aggregated by
sub-national administrative districts - is now available (Land and
Water Digital Media Series, Number 32). The Agro-MAPS database
contains statistics aggregated by subnational administrative
districts, on food crop production, harvested area and yields, for
one or more years, for more than 130 countries. The data are being
used, among others, in studies on land degradation, climate change,
policy formulation, land-use planning and investments in sustainable
agriculture. Users can interactively query the database, display
search results as maps, and download data in a variety of formats.
The latest updates of Agro-MAPS data can be accessed from
the Agro-MAPS
web site which has the same functionality as the CD-ROM version.
Agro-MAPS is a collaborative initiative. Contact agromaps@fao.org to
submit your feedback or if you have any reliable data sets that you
wish to share.
Version CD-ROM d’Agro-MAPS
La version CD-ROM d’Agro-MAPS – base de données
géographiques des statistiques sous-nationales d’utilisation des
terres agricoles au niveau mondial – est maintenant disponible (Land
and Water Digital Media Series, Number 32). La base de données
Agro-MAPS est composée de statistiques sur les cultures
vivrières primaires, regroupées par régions administratives au
niveau sous-national, incluant la production agricole, la superficie
récoltée et les rendements des cultures pour une ou plusieurs
années, et ce, pour plus de 130 pays. Les données sont utilisées,
entre autres, lors d’études relatives à la dégradation des terres,
au changement climatique, à la définition des politiques, à
l’aménagement du territoire et aux investissements dans
l’agriculture durable. Les utilisateurs peuvent parcourir la base de
données de façon interactive, visualiser les résultats sous forme de
cartes et télécharger les données dans divers formats. Les dernières
mises à jour des données Agro-MAPS peuvent être obtenues
via le site
Agro-MAPS qui a les mêmes fonctionnalités que la
version CD-ROM. Agro-MAPS est une initiative concertée.
Contactez nous à agromaps@fao.org si vous
avez des commentaires et suggestions ou si vous disposez de données
fiables que vous désirez partager.
9. FAO Mineral Fertilizer
Specifications web page
Mineral fertilizers are manufactured in bulk in an industrial
process. Although production technology shows considerable
improvements over time, the basic process itself shows little
variability throughout the world. Mineral fertilizers are
internationally traded with specifications that are industry
standard. Fertilizer specifications, however, can vary from country
to country against which commercial products are judged for quality.
For purchasing fertilizers from international and/or national
markets, specifications have to be indicated. The Mineral
Fertilizer Specifications web page attempts to provide a brief
overview of "industry standard" fertilizer specifications for 15
most traded fertilizer products.
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