A four day training programme for mid-level water professionals of Pakistan here on Tuesday has begun under auspices of International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The capacity building workshop titled “Technological Innovations for Water Management in 21st Century” focuses on technological innovations and use of instruments for flow measurement.

Federal Secretary Water from the Ministry of Water Resources, Muhammad Ashraf gave the opening remarks and stressed on the need to promote Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) across the country.

According to Mohsin Hafeez, Country Representative, IWMI Pakistan, “IWMI has already established Indus Telemetry, a collaborative partnership with Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

IWMI has successfully installed telemetry systems in 10 canals in all provinces. This will help to provide accurate information regarding water flows in real time and improving coordination through reducing inter-provincial mistrust on water availability.”

The workshop is organized under the World Bank supported project titled “Water Sector Capacity Building & Advisory Services Project”.

IWMI has designed the training programme in consultation with the Water Resources Ministry for 25 water professionals at IWMI office in Lahore. The aim of the training is to build capacity of the water professionals to carry out their routine operations related to flow measurement and provide them with knowledge of international best practices which can transform these state institutions.

The discourse on water in Pakistan is dominated by engineers and, as such, on inter-provincial waters, it is often attributed to a singular root cause, the lack of accurate flow measurement, telemetry in the vernacular. IWMI has had considerable previous experience in installing, commissioning and maintaining instrumentation, as well as keeping good quality serviceable equipment in stock.

The training specifically address the Project Development Objective (PDO) of WCAP which states, “Enhanced capacity of institutions to manage water resources using modern tools, techniques and methodologies”. The training will target the middle career water professionals and expose them with the latest tools, innovations and techniques for flow data collection, archival and disseminations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019