Invitation of Proposals for External Auditing Services

The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) established in 1950 is a Scientific, Technical and Voluntary Not-for-profit Non-Governmental International Organization (NGO) with headquarters in New Delhi, India. The Commission is dedicated to enhancing the worldwide supply of food and fibre for all people by improving water and land management and the productivity of irrigated and drained lands through appropriate management of water, environment and application of irrigation, drainage and flood management techniques. For more information about ICID, please visit   www.icid.org

The main source of revenue is membership subscription received from about 55 countries across the world, and payments from annual conferences, etc. The annual turnover is about Rs. 25 million.

ICID invites proposals from reputed Audit Firms for empanelment as External Statutory Auditor for a period of 3 years commencing from 2012-13.

Interested  Audit Firms can send their proposal stating  annual fee and terms and conditions towards services in a sealed envelope addressed to the Secretary General, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021, so as to reach this office on or before 5 June 2012.

Secretary General
ICID
New Delhi

4th African Water Week, 14-18 May 2012, Cairo, Egypt

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission (AUC) holds the 4th Africa Water Week from May 14th – 18th, 2012 at the stunning InterContinental Cairo CityStars, hosted by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt (MWRI). The hotel is located only seven minutes from Cairo International Airport and also close to attractive destinations such as the Sakkara, Egyptian Museum and the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx.

May 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of the formation of AMCOW. The 4th Africa Water Week will therefore celebrate AMCOW’s achievements as we reflect on opportunities for achieving water security and adequate sanitation in Africa. The AMCOW General Assembly on Monday, May 14th will be a prelude for the AMCOW @ 10 celebrations, taking place on Tuesday, May 15th. The Technical Sessions on the following sub-themes will start on Wednesday, May 16th and end on Friday, May 18th with a closing ceremony.

Sub themes
I.        Water and Sanitation for Development
Lead Conveners: USAID - Further Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (FABRI)
Co Conveners: WSP Africa, Gates Foundation, WaterAid, Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA), UN-Habitat
Contact: Peter Reiss, FABRI, Email: peter_reiss@dai.com

II.       Infrastructure for Growth and Climate Resilience
The future impacts of climate on the water resources of Africa remain uncertain and require consistent interaction and communication with policy makers at all levels, as well as a better understanding of the underlying science. An Improved understanding of the range of climate impacts on water infrastructure development, and of the approach to deal with climate uncertainty, will help inform future investment decisions and avoid locking Africa in a pattern of climate-vulnerable infrastructure development that will be very costly, or in some cases impossible, to undo in the future. Read more
Lead Conveners: UN Water Africa, UNECA -African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) & African Union Commission (AUC)
Co Conveners:  Global Water Partnership (GWP), African Development Bank (AfDB) Programme on Climate, Infrastructure Consortium for Africa- Water platform (ICA)
Contacts: Daniel Adom, UN HABITAT, Email: daniel.adom@unhabitat.org

III.      Private Sector Investment in Sanitation and Water
Lead Convener: African Development Bank (AfDB)
Co Conveners: Coca-Cola and African Water Association (AfWA), Africa Utility Regulators (AFUR), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
Contact: Peter Akari, AfDB, Email: p.akari@afdb.org

IV.     Water Governance and Financing
The sub-theme ‘water governance and financing’ covers key water governance challenges and advances in relation to trans-boundary water resources management (WRM), water, food and energy security, financing and capacity development. The sessions reflect the conclusions from the 4th edition of the World Water Development Report and from the AMCOW/EUWI AWG ‘Status report on integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources in Africa’, which is based on data collected from African countries for the UN-Water status report for Rio+20. Read more
Lead Conveners: Global Water Partnership (GWP), African Development Bank (AfDB)
Co Conveners: African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW), European Water Initiative – Africa Working group (EUWI-AWG),
Contact: Alex Simalabwi, GWP, Email: alex.simalabwi@gwp.org

Side events during the conference will equally offer room for deeper discussions on specific themes.

If you are interested in presenting a paper under any of the sub thematic area, please send the abstract / paper synopsis to the sub theme contact person on before April 15th 2012. The list of accepted papers will be published before May 3rd 2012. To organize a side event, please send your application to info@africawaterweek.com. 
 
The 4th Africa Water Week offers an excellent opportunity to meet with more than 1000 participants from various sectors involved and engaged in the sustainable management of Africa’s water resources. AMCOW @ 10 is billed to draw the-who-is-who in water, sanitation and related sectors from across the globe including governments, civil society, business community, as well as international and regional organizations and the scientific community. A special highlight will be the presence of the founding members of AMCOW. Register here

It is also an excellent opportunity for exhibitors to present their successful efforts in the African water sector. Register to Exhibit or send a request to aww4exhibitions@africawaterweek.com.

The event is a top-rate gathering to introduce and present your organization to an audience of decision makers, water and sanitation experts, and related sector professionals. Plan to be there!

Click for Registration

Highlights of 62nd IEC, 21st ICID Congress and 8th IMIC

Winners of WatSave Award 2011

Technology: Messrs. Pieter S van Heerden and Charles T Crosby (South Africa)

Innovative Water Management: Prof. Dr. Subhash Madhawrao Taley (India)

Farmer: Mr. Jerry Erstrom (USA)

Best National Committee Award (BPNCA)

South African National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (SANCID) won the fourth Award for "Best Performing National Committee" for its outstanding achievements and contribution to ICID activities.

Best Performing Workbody Award (BPWA)

Working Group on Sustainable Development of Tidal Areas (WG-SDTA) won the third Best Performing Workbody Award.

Best Paper Award

Yanbo Huang, Guy Fipps, Stephan J. Maas, and Reginald S. Fletcher (USA) received 'Best Paper Award 2010' for their outstanding paper titled "Airborne Remote Sensing for Detection of Irrigation Canal Leakage" published in Volume 59, No. 5.

New Secretary General (Designate) - Mr. Avinash C.Tyagi

62nd IEC ratify the selection and appointment of Mr. Avinash C. Tyagi as Secretary General w.e.f. 1 January 2012.

International Centre for Training and Research in Irrigation and Drainage launched in Beijing

A China Research and Training Centre of International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) was launched at the hands of ICID President Chandra Madramootoo on 12 July 2011 in Beijing. The impressive inaugural function was graced by the presence of PH Aly Shady, Secretary General M. Gopalakrishnan, VP Willem Vlotman (Australia), VP AK Bajaj (India), VPH Karim Shiati Iran), VPH Cai Lingen, VPH Gao Zhanyi (China), Prof. wang Aiguo, Chairman CNCID, Prof. Li Yangbin, DG of China Irrigation and Drainage Development Center and its staff,  Thierry Facon (FAO), representatives of National Committees of   Canada, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, and Uzbekistan and all the office bearers gathered here during this occasion, The launch ceremony was held on the occasion of the CNCID-ICID International Workshop on Water Saving Irrigation and Food Security organized during 11- 14 July 2011 with the support of the Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of China.

The Workshop is a maiden effort following the engagement under ICID's renewed efforts to invigorate the IPTRID, a global programme on Irrigation and Drainage Technology and Research, in tune with the IEC decisions of ICID. The workshop was opened by the Vice minister, Ministry of Water Resources, China Mr. Jiao Yong in the presence of Prof. Jia Jinsheng, President ICOLD In his keynote speech ICID President Madramootoo urged on the need for Global Food Security and the importance for water savings in agriculture which shall drive the future technology and research in the sphere.

In a high level meeting held with His Excellency Hon'ble Minister for Water Resources Dr. Chen Li, expressed his strong commitment in supporting the ICID and in promoting its mission across the globe.

[Summary of the workshop] [Presentations - 33 MB]

24th ICID European Regional Conference, Orleans, France - A Summary

The 24th European Regional Conference of ICID on the theme “Groundwater Resource: An Essential Resource to be Saved and Managed” was successfully held on 14-16 March 2011 in Orléans, France. The Conference was attended by 300 participants from 20 countries and more than 100 papers were presented and deliberated in two plenary sessions – Key Notes presentations and Beauce session — and under six parallel topics.

The Keynote Session was inaugurated by President Prof. Dr. Chandra Madramootoo who spoke of global trends in the usage of the groundwater reserves and resulting pressures from overexploitation. Dr. Margat, a world-renowned Hydro-geologist then presented key data on the usage of the groundwater for irrigation, noting its rapid development over the past 50 years and the difficulties of managing a collective resource for which thousands of individuals have liberal access. Pr. Ghislain de Marsily, an eminent Hydrologist and Member of the French Academy of Science, presented a case study on aquifer management in the French region of Marais-Poitevin which calls into question the necessity for extensive knowledge of water resources for its management. On behalf of Dr. T. Shah, Senior Fellow at International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Dr. Marcel Kuper described how communities in the India have responded to aquifer development and overexploitation, noting two distinct responses based on the abundance and accessibility of water resources. Pr. B. Barraqué, Political Scientist and Economist with the French Centre International de Recherches sur l’Environnement et le Développement, described the evolution of water management in Europe, as the status of groundwater resources move from a thing that is privately owned to a common resource under Public Trust.

The plenary Beauce session looked exclusively into the development of irrigation in the French region of Beauce, an important region for grain production in France, and the system progressively put in place to manage volumetric demands on the aquifer. Five presentations provided different points of view on a shared challenge. The other key issues of groundwater management were addressed through paper presentations made under six topics.

The Proceedings and the presentations of the conference are available on the Conference website: http://www.groundwater-2011.net/program_and_proceedings.