Australian High Commission hosts seminar on water resource
management
CSIRO scientist Dr Mac Kirby presenting a CSIRO publication to H.E. Mr Ramesh Chandra Sen M.P. Honourable
Minister for Water Resources with Mr Tim Bolotnikoff, Acting High Commissioner of Australia standing next to the
Minister. CSIRO scientists Dr Onil Banarjee (L) and Dr Mohammad Mainuddin (R) are also seen in the picture.
Scientists from Australia highlighted how water resource assessments can have a major impact on improved water policy and management in Bangladesh at a seminar held on 13 June 2012 in Dhaka. The Australian High Commission and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) jointly conducted the seminar ‘Solving Water Challenges’ Water and Food Security: Experiences in Australia, Asia and Bangladesh at the BRAC Centre.
Honourable Minister for Water Resources H.E. Mr Ramesh Chandra Sen, M.P. attended the seminar as the Chief Guest, while the Acting High Commissioner of Australia, Mr Tim Bolotnikoff, gave the introductory address. Three eminent scientists from CSIRO, Dr Mac Kirby, Dr Mohammed Mainuddin and Dr Onil Banerjee gave expert presentations on water resource management.
In his speech, the Acting High Commissioner, Mr Bolotnikoff, noted that Bangladesh faced many water management challenges, including high vulnerability to the effects of climate change and arsenic contamination of groundwater supplies. He hoped that CSIRO’s work in Bangladesh would assist local water experts to address some of these challenges
The CSIRO is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world. At the seminar, Dr Mac Kirby described how CSIRO's research on water resources assessments has had an impact on water policy and management in Australia. A decade of terrible drought has led to great changes in the way Australia manages water. CSIRO research has underpinned these changes with greatly improved knowledge of the water resources and the impacts of drought and climate change.
The Bangladesh Integrated Water Resources Assessment Project will bring together Bangladeshi water experts and the CSIRO. The project will provide underpinning evidence for improved water policy and management in Bangladesh. CSIRO is collaborating with key Bangladeshi water agencies: Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Water Resources and Planning Organization (WARPO), Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).
This Project is funded through the CSIRO-AusAID Research for Development Alliance. The Alliance is a partnership that aims to improve the impact of aid. It aims to tackle important development challenges in the Asia-Pacific region through improved knowledge of climate, water and energy systems and by better understanding people’s vulnerabilities and options to adapt and manage their natural environment.
Key government officials from the water resource sector, researchers, consultants, academics and students attended the seminar which was organised to understand options for water management and generate a set of recommendations that can be used for future policy deliberations in Bangladesh.
Australian High Commission, Dhaka
13 June 2012
For further information please contact
Research and Communications Officer
Australian High Commission.
Tel: 8813105, Ext 413, E-mail: [email protected]