GWA/AIT Regional Workshop: Strategic Planning for Mainstreaming Gender in IWRM in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

A GWA/AIT Regional Workshop on Strategic Planning for Mainstreaming Gender in IWRM was held for Southeast Asia and the Pacific from 18-21 July 2007 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. The workshop was organized by the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) and was co-hosted by AIT’s Gender and Development Studies Programme. A total of 33 participants and 20 graduate students and staff participated in the workshop. Twenty-two participants represented seven countries of the region – Cambodia, Fiji/Pacific region, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. Resource persons came from AIT, GWA, the Mekong River Commission, AguaJaring, the Mekong Programme on Water Environment and Resilience (M-Power) and WaterAid.

Dr. Sara Ahmed, GWA Steering Committee member (and current Chair of GWA), welcomed the participants on behalf of GWA, and traced the series of regional workshops that have been held by GWA and its members/partners in the past year as part of efforts to strengthen regional capacity to mainstream gender in water management and to ‘give a face’ to the GWA. Regional workshops had been held: for the Arab countries in Beirut, Lebanon (2006); South Asia (Kathmandu, Nepal, January 2007), Central/West Africa (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, February 2007) and the Lusophone countries (Brazil, June 2007). The workshop for Southeast Asia and the Pacific was important because of a number of ongoing efforts in mainstreaming gender in the region. Concept notes on potential future activities were submitted by 14 of the participants. These ranged in subject from capacity building for small-scale water service providers and women farmers in the Philippines to strengthening gender mainstreaming in the Mekong River Commission, to knowledge management and thinking about GWA as a regional network.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Bernadette (Babette) Resurreccion, Coordinator of the Gender and Development Studies Programme at AIT. Her remarks focused on the need to bring ‘power’ and ‘transforming unequal power relations’ back into gender mainstreaming of natural resource management.

Ms. Esther de Jong of the GWA Secretariat outlined the background and goals of the Gender and Water Alliance and described the main outputs and activities under its strategic plan 2006-10. She provided the framework within which the group formulated its draft regional strategic plan. She described the major outputs under GWA’s strategic plan for 2006-10. The main purpose of the plan is to strengthen significantly the gender-related understanding and practice of water-sector professionals and decision makers at national and local levels. The regional strategic plan that was drafted by the participants focused mainly on how Southeast Asia and the Pacific can contribute to the core activities and how GWA can assist the region in achieving them.

All of the participants presented the work they are doing, the constraints facing them and plans for the future. Following the discussion in plenary, the participants broke into three working groups, to discuss existing best practices and to plan and coordinate regional activities around:

A. Capacity building

B. Knowledge development and dissemination

C. Policy and advocacy

The working groups met during two sessions and developed some priority activities and designated coordinators to get them moving. The main points of the plan are summarized below.

The group also had a chance to visited Bang Pha Rok Community, which is located close to AIT in Pathumthani Municipality. The female community leader was out of town, so the meeting was conducted by three committee members, two men and a woman. The community had received support from UNDP and a foundation to work together to clean up the canal that was at the centre of their lives. The project had had improved the environment in the community, and people had a stake in creating a sustainable community. More than 80% of the households participated in the effort that benefited everyone.

Draft Regional Strategic Plan

The draft Regional Strategic Plan developed at the Regional Meeting for Southeast Asia and the Pacific is summarized below. It includes the major priorities identified by the group and an indication of the time frame.

A. Capacity building

1. Prepare inventory of capacity building resources and needs in the region

2. Build database from inventory

3. Prepare needs assessments and lessons learned

4. Develop curriculum

5. Conduct regional training of trainers (ToT) on gender mainstreaming

6. Mobilization of resources

B. Knowledge Development and dissemination

1. Document existing case studies on water projects in simple form: problems and interventions (by January 08) – Fiji (2), Indonesia (2), Philippines (2), Lao PDR (2)

2. Develop action research projects

3. Develop knowledge tools

4. Secure fellowships for committed individuals: AIT, M-POWER, GWA

5. Translate case studies and GWA documents using local case studies: “Sharing experiences, building knowledge: men and women working with water”

6. Explore new partnerships: corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, Building Partnerships for Development (BPD)

C. Policy and advocacy

1. Develop profile of national water-related policies and gender policy (3-6 months)

2. Prepare study on donor policy on water pricing and effect on community

3. Document case studies: policies/projects that incorporate gender and those that do not (6-12 months)

4. Develop tools for gender audit of water management structures

5. Involve key interest groups and communicate results

6. Provide advocacy materials to key regional and international water meetings