Glimpses of IRBM researches/approaches around the World

Twin2Go in a nutshell

Twin2Go reviews, consolidates, and synthesises research on integrated water resources management (IWRM) in basins around the world. Over the past years, the EU has funded several projects that undertook research on specific IWRM issues in case studies carried out on twinned river basins in Europe and in developing countries. The aim of Twin2Go now is to draw policy relevant research results on issues around ‘adaptive water governance in the context of climate change’ and to make them transferable to other basins.

The consolidated outcomes will feed into best practice guidelines for the implementation of adaptive water governance. To ensure up-take of the research results in water resources management practice and political decision making, all synthesis activities will involve stakeholders from the projects and basins and outcomes will be effectively disseminated to all relevant levels of target groups including high level decision makers in water policy.

House OKs U.S. Army Corps' $700K study of Delaware basin

By Victor Whitman

Times Herald-Record
August 07, 2007

Livingston Manor — Three massive floods in Sullivan County and a girl's death last year has the attention of the federal government.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to do a major flood study in western Sullivan and other hard-hit areas of the Delaware River basin — and now that proposal has cleared a hurdle in Congress. Reps. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, John Hall, D-Dover Plains, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Glens Falls, jointly secured House approval of $700,000 for a study of flood-prone areas of the Upper Delaware River Watershed.

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Govt withdraws proposal for two elephant reserves
Monday July 30 2007 01:05 IST

BHUBANESWAR: After sitting on Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)'s approval for close to a year, the Orissa Government has withdrawn its proposals for creation of two new elephant reserves (ERs).

Besides going back on the new reserves, the Government has at the same time requested that proposal for expansion of the territories of two existing ERs be dropped by the Centre.

Strange as it may sound but insiders say the plan to withdraw proposals is a calculated move to eschew environmental clearance problems as the ERs will be located in crucial mining areas.

The Department of Forest and Environment of the Orissa Government on July 26 wrote a letter to IG (Forests-Wildlife) informing its decision to withdraw the proposals.

Currently, Orissa has three ERs - Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi and Sambalpur - that account for about 1000 of the jumbos. The State is home to 1640 elephants.

Earlier last year, Department of Forest and Environment submitted proposals for two new reserves - Baitarani and South Orissa - while seeking expansion of Sambalpur and Mahanadi ERs. The Directorate, Project Elephant cleared the proposals and only a formal notification by State Government declaring these two as elephant reserves was awaited.

However, the State Government sat on the notifications for a year before it arrived at the decision to withdraw the same.

While the proposed-and-cleared Baitarani ER comprised regions of Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Angul and Dhenkanal districts, South Orissa included pockets of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada and Kalahandi districts which explains why the State Government appears reluctant to declare them reserve areas, a senior officer of the Forest and Environment Department said.

�Mines of some of the proposed mega steel and aluminium plants are located in the districts such as Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Kalahandi. Once these are part of ERs, environmental clearances will face hurdles,� sources said.

The 4216 sq km South Orissa ER comprised a crucial wildlife sancturay such as Karlapat while Baitarani, with a proposed area of 10,560 sq km, will have Keonjhar, Angul and importantly Bonai forest divisions as its components.

The State Government's decision will also cost it Central assistance which it received elephant management. Beginning 2001-02 till 2005-06, Orissa got over Rs 5.7 crore from Project Elephant for its three ERs.

Federal funds may help fund Nueces River study

Flooding, water supply addressed

By Jaime Powell (Contact)
Originally published 12:00 a.m., July 19, 2007
Updated 03:49 a.m., July 19, 2007

Half a million dollars in federal funding could go to an ongoing study of the Nueces River Basin, aimed at addressing flood control, aquifer recharge, water supply and overall water resource management.

The study, which began in 2005, is expected to cost $11.5 million.

The $500,000 was approved by the U.S House Tuesday as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill is headed to the U.S. Senate for consideration, to be followed by joint negotiations between the House and Senate, before it goes back to both chambers for another vote. It then must be signed by the president.

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