Network Activities

May 2010

Cap-Net newsletter

In this issue:

Forging a lusophone partnership
Aguajaring improves negotiation skills of water managers in South East Asia
Focus on a network member – Cap-Net Brasil
Revisiting capacity building needs assessments
Some upcoming activities
Soccer World Cup curtain raiser

Forging a lusophone partnership – WaterNet and Cap-Net Brasil sign MoU

WaterNet (a capacity development network in Southern Africa) and Rede Brasileira de Capacitação em Recursos Hídricos (Cap-Net Brasil) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in professional training and knowledge dissemination. Last year in Maputo, Mozambique, the two networks collaborated together with the Mozambique Water Partnership to deliver a course on Climate Change for the Lusophone countries. This was under the framework of an emerging partnership with Global Water Partnership dubbed the Lusophone Water Partnership. The two networks then took up the opportunity at the Cap-Net Networks Managers Meeting at the end of last year in Tobago to develop and formalise their collaboration. They have now committed themselves for the next five years to develop joint activities and participate in the Lusophone Water Partnership. In the official partnership document, the institutions define two main areas of common interest: that of providing water managers the capacity to use modern scientific and management techniques and the opportunity for life-long learning; and that of ensuring sustainable water management in the Lusophone zone. What we will see in the near future, is collaboration in the dev elopment, marketing and delivery, and post-course evaluation and follow-up of short professional courses, while other activities will follow.

For more information contact the network managers- WaterNet (David Love at dlove@waternetonline.org) and Cap-Net Brasil ( Ninon Machado at ninon@institutoipanema.net)

Aguajaring holds course to enhance negotiations skills of water managers in South East Asia, Hanoi, Vietman

The past decade has seen various water institutional reforms in many Southeast Asian countries including decentralised water management and the inclusion of key stakeholders in decision making at the basin level. As is the case in water policies in other countries in this region, the Vietnamese Law on Water Resources passed in 1998, requires that water managers provide advice to government for the resolution of conflicts between stakeholders (for example ministries and departments, cities and ministries and so forth). It also makes water managers the de facto mediators of conflicts between users and regulators at the basin scale. This has added to the requisite skills of water managers, who now have to able to design and engage in negotiation processes and ensure the interests of various water users, water managers, politicians and other decision makers are catered for.

The Department of Water Resources Management (DWRM) in Vietnam decided to act on this challenge and convened a regional course on Conflict Management for water managers in March in Hanoi, with participation coming from Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Indonesia. The participants shared interesting case studies on conflicts related to hydropower development (Lower Vu Gia-Thu Bon River Basin, Vietnam), Sand mining activities (state of Selangor state, Malaysia), Water Diversions Plans in the East of Thailand. In response to the question “what will you take forward when you get back to the office?” some interesting responses were:

I will try to find the root causes of the conflicts I have been managing and then resolve them better
I will now involve multiple –stakeholder in decision making processes of the river basin

The skills practiced at the course were process oriented and measuring the course outcomes will be challenging. As some facilitators of the subject have put it “What is the result of good conflict management?” As with other courses, the course hosts are looking forward to this challenge. For more information contact contact Phi Quoc Hao at phiquochao2000@yahoo.co.uk

Focus on a network member – Cap-Net Brasil

Maria de Lourdes Davies de Freitas graduated as an architect in Brazil where she also took up a Master Degree in urban and regional planning plus many other specialised courses on social and economical aspects of the environment. She has wide ranging experiences notably being project manager for 20 years in the Brazilian Amazon from 1970-1990. Today she is technical director of an NGO called IMAH-Institute for Environment and Development and executive secretary of REBRAF- Brazilian Agroforestry network. Maria is a member of the Brazilian capacity building network, Cap-Net Brasil.

What is your role in Cap-Net Brasil?
I was invited by Instituto Ipanema, an existing member and host of the network, and later elected to be a member of the Steering Committee.

What benefits do you get from being a network member?
As a person who very early on in my career was involved with national and international issues regarding the environment, to be part of this network represents commitment to one of the most impacted areas of environmental concern - water management. The network always creates opportunities to gain a better understanding of water management and our fragile planet, which I see all the time as a new challenge.

What could be done better?
I am pleased by the efforts from different groups to address environmental and water management challenges. But each type of organisation has its own limitations: networks run on very small budgets; government’s processes are slow; few private sector representatives are really committed (to this kind of work); and NGOs are sometimes geared by their struggle to survive. In spite of these challenges we do our best to join our strengths. The network could also make more efforts to reach some regions that continue to be isolated.

Would you recommend it to your friends?
Yes for sure as an innovative strategy for enhancing their capacity building activities and learning from good practices.

Contact Maria at daviesfreitas@uol.com.br

Revisiting capacity building needs assessments

Last in year in December at the Network Managers Meeting in Tobago, we debated approaches to assessing capacity needs. In the business of capacity of development, we are constantly faced with the challenge of identifying capacity gaps that retard; firstly, current water management goals; and secondly and even more so desired change (achieving future management goals). Even where there is confidence in the capacity gaps (needs) identified, the second challenge is prioritising them based on the available resources.We simplify the issue with 3 questions and answers:

Why are needs assessments problematic?

Individuals and organisations are not always able (or willing) to articulate their needs especially in the absence of a good facilitator
The capacity gaps identified are not fixed even in the short term, with some organisations revising their needs within one year to two year periods, owing to rapid changes within the organisation itself
Many a time, greater impact is achieved by addressing institutional needs as opposed to individual needs (the common result of needs assessment surveys)
Anticipating capacity needs to fulfil desired change in water management often presents a crisis of legitimacy due to lack of consenus about future goals

What are the challenges in moving from needs assessment to work planning and capacity building delivery?

Some method of prioritisation and resource allocation is required (whether coded in procedures or internalised) to turn capacity gaps into capacity building opportunities and activities. Besides ranking exercises based on the perception of clients, the prospective providers of capacity building have to analyse their own capacity to deliver on the priority needs. Some new challenges may then emerge - including the unavailability of technical expertise to match the capacity needs identified, potential clients who are unable to pay for capacity building services, and conflicting priorities with external funding agencies.

What are we doing about it?

In Cap-Net’s work, we find that what we term capacity building networks are not only a mode of delivering capacity building, but are equally efficient forums for rapid opportunity assessment where the interaction between water professionals, trainers, funders and researchers allows for a continuous matching of capacity building needs, expertise and resources. In this way, the network acts as an open virtual or physical “capacity building market place”- where buying and selling is cheaper and faster, transcending market barriers such as distance in the same way as online shopping has. Inclusive membership also unravels previously latent capacity of both local and international organisations. The resulting work plans, while not necessarily based on formal needs assessment surveys are characterised by being: practical, achievable, dynamic to match the organisational life cycles, resourced and negotiated. The resulting activities such as training courses provide a stimulus for more localised action, the result being replication of regional courses at national levels and refining of themes to better target those working on the ground.

In light of the associated costs and complexity, would it be better to target our time and money less towards needs assessment and invest it in building robust, well organised and functional networks of water professionals and capacity builders? Click here to share your approaches and opinion.

Some current and upcoming activities

Planning Meeting for Strategic Water Resources Management Planning by RBOs from 15-16 July 2010. Hosted by Cap-Net. More info>>

Course and Master Lecture Series on IWRM and Climate Change - from 21-24 June in Toluca Mexico State, Mexico. Co-organisers:REMERH – Mex-Cap-Net and LA-WETnet . Contact Dr Carlos Diaz Delgado at cdiazd@uaemex.mx. More info>>

Regional Training Course on Integrated Flood Management organised by NileIWRMnet from 7-11 June in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Contact Dr Birhanu Zemadim at birhanuzem@yahoo.com. More info>>

Regional Training Program in Water Integrity, Transparency and Accountability from 21-25 June in Brandung, Indonesia. Co-organisers: Aguajaring, IHE Indonesia and CKNet INA. Contact Erita Santosa at erita.santosa@yahoo.com. More info>>

For more upcoming activities, visit the network calendar on our website

Cap-Net secretariat participates in a soccer World Cup curtain raiser

The Cap-Net secretariat participated in a world cup curtain raiser tournament last Friday (4 June 2010) in Pretoria, South Africa. Brazil striker, Nick Tandi scored 2 goals against Italy in the opening match. Paul Taylor turned out for Spain who beat the Netherlands in the first round. Kees Leendertse was not allowed to play because his turning out for either of his nationalities Brazil or the Netherlands, could have led to bad reactions from the fans from both sides. Our seasoned reporter Shirley Machelesi was also at the match providing world class commentary from the barbeque stand! This fun event was organised by the Social Club of the South African Water Research Commission (Cap-Net host) as we prepare for the start of the world cup in a few days. We look forward to an exciting event!