Water Resources Management

This page is the main entry point into all components of the Internet Course on Water Resources Management offered by the Rural Development Department in collaboration with the Learning & Leadership Center.

• Welcome
• Core Training Program for the Rural Sector Staff (FY 98)
• How to Take This Course

You are cordially welcomed to the Water Resources Management (WRM) training course. Based on the pilot version, we have now expanded this training course into a real Internet-based-training (IBT) course. Staff training and knowledge management have been playing an important role in implementing the Bank's new strategy -- Renewing the Bank's effectiveness to fight poverty. In order to cope with the busy travel schedule of course instructors and participants, the IBT version of the RDV Core Training Program (CTP) will supplement the traditional classroom teaching and learning. This IBT course will also be incorporated into the Bank's Knowledge Management System (KMS).

Rural Sector Board As we begin FY 98 as members of the Rural Family I am happy to present details of The Core Training Program which will be offered in cooperation with the Learning and Leadership Center (LLC) and the Economic Development Institute (EDI). At a time when the Bank is embarking on an exciting new approach to the way in which we undertake knowledge management, I believe that skills and knowledge will be even more important to the effectiveness of Rural Family Staff in their interaction with clients and in meeting the goals of the Strategic Compact.

This year marks the second full year of the Core Training Program which was planned, designed and tested in FY 96. Support for the Core Program has been strong with 757 staff participating in 1589 days of training in FY 97. If we include attendance for FY 96, which was largely devoted to design and testing, we have a total of 1003 staff involved in 2140 training days. A very encouraging evaluation indicator for the FY 97 Core Program is the 84% of participants who would recommend the courses to colleagues.

The Core Training Program was designed to enable all sector staff to be exposed to the importance of sound policies for the development of the rural sector and to highlight important technological developments relevant to our clients in their efforts to further rural development in a sustainable yet productive manner. We believe that the Family's Thematic Teams will identify new training needs which will be reflected in future Core and specialized training programs so FY 98 marks a transitional phase in moving towards a demand driven menu of training and learning opportunities for Family members.

On behalf of the Sector Board I recommend that you take advantage of the FY 98 program of Core and Specialized training activities which include three new courses: An Internet Based Training (IBT) course on Water Management; a one day course on Sustainable Intensification; and an Agriculture Sector Investment Program (ASIP) course.

This course will improve participants' ability to think analytically about what a country should be doing in rural development and how the World Bank can support its efforts. It will provide an overview of the fundamentals underpinning the World Bank's strategy for growth, poverty reduction, and sustainability, highlighting: agriculture as an engine of growth and employment generation; the determinants of long- and short-run agricultural supply and growth; key components of agricultural and rural strategies; and the process of strategy development.

This course will empower participants to understand the inter-relationships between growth, poverty and sustainability, as well as their linkages to the basic Bank strategy. It will provide participants with an overview of the relevant approaches, for both the Bank and its borrowers, to incorporate their objectives into coherent strategies and policies for rural development. The Bank's small holder strategy will be discussed in the context of land reform and policy.

This course will provide participants with an understanding of the conceptual basis for a comprehensive food and agricultural policy the goal of which is to secure access to an affordable and nutritious food supply for all citizens. The course will begin by examining the international scene that sets the context for national policies. Then, it will explore the national context in which food and agricultural policies are formulated with emphasis on trade, exchange rate and monetary policies. A further examination of domestic policies will highlight the need to view food and agricultural policies comprehensively in order to advance a positive agenda for government. Finally, the course will explore public expenditure reviews and the potential for sector investment lending.

To enhance individual effectiveness and increase institutional cohesion, it is critical that Task Managers are aware of the World Bank's subsector policies and understand the basic rationale behind them. This course will introduce and/or review Bank policies on four major components of rural development: water, forestry, finance, and targeted interventions for rural development.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture production systems aims to increase productivity on areas already under cultivation while preventing degradation of the natural resource base by employing a combination of appropriate practices, policies and institutions. This course will introduce participants to sustainable intensification, including its rationale, goals, practices and technologies; identify policies, institutions, and technologies which lead to sustainable production and post-harvest practices; demonstrate its application within two sample production systems; and explore the World Bank's role in promoting sustainable intensification through lending, policy-dialogue, and other nonlending activities.

This is an Intranet-Based-Training (IBT) course and will be incorporated into the Bank's Knowledge Management System (KMS) to supplement traditional classroom teaching. It will focus on the implementation of the Water Resources Management policy which prescribes a transition from the traditional fragmented approach to water resources management, to a systemic management approach based on the river basin as the economic unit for development. Key topics include, the challenge of managing the water resources of the world; hydrology, self organizing systems, application of information technology and decision aiding systems; policy framework and strategy development; and the business of water resource development using the Bank's KMS.

This field course aims to familiarize Task Managers, Analysts, Environmentalists and Agriculturists in the Bank with the latest concepts and farming practices that lead to improved soil and nutrient management and related sustainable methods. Using the Chesapeake Bay Area and Africa, Asia and Latin America as case studies, participants will be exposed to sound principles of soil and water management; the role of organic and inorganic fertilizers; the use of indigenous and the latest scientific knowledge; the incentives or disincentives of markets and government policies; and finally, the costs and benefits of different management strategies.

This workshop is intended for both Bank and borrower staff who are either involved or planning to be involved in the preparation of Bank-supported agricultural sector investment programs (ASIPs) It expands upon the introduction to ASIPs that is provided in the Core Training Program course Module 1, 1.3. The workshop addresses both the process and substance of preparing and implementing an ASIP, including stakeholder participation, consensus building, developing a coherent sector policy framework, public expenditure reviews, policy and institutional reform, and design issues.

As part of the Core Training Program, monthly brown bag lunch sessions will be held on rural development strategies. This walk-in "clinic” will provide a venue for Task Managers who are in the formative stages of developing rural strategies for their countries to consult with and receive advice from their experienced colleagues. Alex McCalla, Hans Binswanger and other AGR staff will be available during these sessions.

Activities in this category include symposiums, seminars, workshops, study tours and formal courses offered in response to operational demand for FY 97, they include:

• Rural Sector Week
• Water Week
• Sustainable Banking with the Poor (monthly seminar series)

Some specialized events and Activity 2.3 will be offered on a chargeback basis.

For further information, please contact:

Charles Maguire, RDV, at 82841

Nancy Mattson, LLC, at 31788

Core Training Program For the Rural Sector Staff    FY98

From this course home page which serves as both the welcome and index, you can get into ten different blocks, including introduction, content, materials, video lecture, instructor and participants, discussion forum, administration, technology, glossary and interesting links. The first page of each block is normally a table of contents, and/or instructions to guide your navigation. From there, you can "select and click" to get what you want.

The course objectives, outlines are in the Introduction block. Please read the introduction first to get an overall idea about this course. The Content block includes four parts of the course: pressures, challenges, and management approach of the water resources of the world, new thinking on water resources, policy framework of the water resources management, and project implementation. The required readings and a reference of additional readings are listed in the Materials block. There are currently only two short lectures in the Video Lecture block, which is an experiment of delivering lectures through the Internet multimedia. Based on your feedback, we shall improve and produce more to make the learning easier and interesting. The Instructors & Participants block is for introducing people who are teaching and taking this course. Interaction between the instructor and participants, and among participants are very important of any training course. A special Discussion Forum is opened for this course to promote and facilitate exchanging of opinions and experiences. Participants post an article (a piece of opinion) in the forum either to initiate a topic or to respond to others by following a thread. The computer software will organize the content by topic, and keep archives in an easy-to-access manner. We hope that this tool will compensate the lack of interaction of online learners. For those who are not familiar with the Internet navigation, subscribe and unsubscribe to a discussion forum, etc. the Technology block provides or links you to the necessary knowledge and skills in order to help you start to taking this IBT course. The Glossary block includes both Internet jargons and terminology of water resources management. If you still have extra energy to navigate, or are getting bored with this course, you can try the Interesting Links to visit other web sites relevant to the water resources management. Are you interested in this course now? Please get into the Administration block to register. Your name will be listed in the participants roster.

Enjoy your online learning!

Any questions, comments and suggestions? please contact the course instructor Geoffrey Matthews and the IBT version consultant Jiping Zhang