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The News N° 25 - February 2015
ASIA - CENTRAL ASIA
FRom one conTinenT To anoTHeR
CENTRAL ASIA
iMoMo:
inovativeMonitoring andModeling of water
Since the beginning of 2014, IOWater
has been collaborating in Central Asia
to the iMoMo project, financed by the
Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC).
Quick advancements in low-cost sensor and
communication technology, hardware and
software integration, open up new perspec-
tives forwater data collectionandexchange,
analysis and knowledge dissemination.
The activities, launched in Central Asia in
the pilot Chu River Basin,
transboundary
between Kirghizstan and Kazakhstan, have
3 components:
➊
Improvement of water and finan-
cial accountability of Water User
Associations (WUAs),
with the instal-
lation of low-cost monitoring devices at
the level of 2 pilotWUAs;
➋
Establishment of aWater Informa-
tion System (WIS) in the Chu River
Basin,
connected to existing databases
and using technologies for sharing
data/information to meet the need of
better knowledge of water balances of
the river and irrigation canals;
➌
Modeling of an operational, web-
deployed water balance
for forecas-
ting vegetation season flows, based on
remotely-sensed snow cover analysis.
Considering the significant results obtained
on eachof these3 components via interope-
rability development and modeling, it is
already planned to expand this project in
2015 to other basins in Kyrgyzstan and at
transboundary level inCentral Asia.
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Example of project output:
onlinewebmapof the ChuBasinwith access todata
Vietnam
A new institutional organization is gradually established
The first phase of the Dong Nai River
pilot project (2009-2012) has raised
awareness of the key Vietnamese stake-
holders regarding techniques for joint
basinmanagement.
As part of the ongoing cooperationwith Viet-
nam through a second project phase, the for-
malization of an institutional organization for
Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) is a crucial step for the sustainabilityof
the results of the pilot project in the DongNai
River Basin.
A newWater Lawwas adopted in June 2012
and the decree specifying its implementation
method inNovember 2013.
The building of a Vietnamese team, trained in
thedifferent techniques for developingaBasin
Management Plan and Program of Measures,
is at the core of Phase 2 of the project for the
effective implementationof thenew legislative
framework.
The Department of Water Resources Planning
and Investigation for the South (DWRPIS) was
already introduced to these techniques during
Phase1.
The Directorate of Water Resources
Management will develop three Regio-
nal Boards for Northern, Central and
Southern Vietnam.
These will orchestrate
collaboration in theBasinCommittees of these
regions with the technical support of DWRPIS
involved in the preparation of technical sup-
port documents.
These training sessions will be carried out in
2015.
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The DongNai River
