IWRM draft road map finalised for Pampa river
THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The draft road map listing 13 key objectives of the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) of the Pampa river basin was finalised here on Friday at a joint meeting of the officials of the European Union Joint Action Plan and the State Government.
The European Union and India have several projects on clean technologies and environment in five priority sectors such as water, waste, chemicals, air pollution and climate change mitigation. The IWRM road map, a guiding document for the Pampa river basin management, has been developed by the EU Action Plan Support Facility (APSF) team with inputs from stakeholders representing various sectors of the Government of Kerala as well as the civil society represented by NGOs.
The meeting, inaugurated by Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran, stressed the need for ensuring safe water quality and pollution abatement of the Pampa River. Pampa River Basin Authority director Rajasekharan Nair presented the key objectives of the IWRM road map.
The guideline, which will come out as a document by November-end has prioritised the strengthening of the Pampa River Basin Authority and the appointment, capacity building and training of the Authority members as major objectives.
Fernando Nino Page, head of economic cooperation, European Union Delegation Delhi, Paul Holmes, former team leader of the EUIndia Joint Action Plan Support Facility (APSF), Annemieke Alberts, APSF Pampa Pilot Activity leader and Nick Ahrensberg, APSF technical advisor, talked in detail about the IWRM road map process, identifying water resource issues and management issues. Minister Premachandran, while thanking the European Union for its collaboration in the formation of the guideline to the IWRM of the Pampa river basin, hoped that its technical support, and if possible financial support, will continue during the stages of action plan formulation and implementation. The Minister also suggested a followup meeting with Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and the officials of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Delhi early next month.
While the formulation of an action plan and the actual implementation of the same might take a couple of years, the delegates raised the point that the goals of the project be divided into two short-term ones and long-term ones. The project, till date, has identified and prioritised water resources issues, identified management constraints and has completed stakeholder mapping.
The road map that was finalised here on Friday has also stressed the development of a communication strategy to establish and maintain clear and regular channels of communication between stakeholders and providing a platform for stakeholder participation. It also called for the full assessment of the water resources situation in the Pampa basin and the elaboration of financing plan and investment strategies.
However, the expected source of financing for the whole project was ambiguous. While the Pampa River Basin Authority insisted that the Government will fund the implementation part of the project, Premachandran was trying his best to get a financial commitment from the European Union representatives.