The Water Industry Alliance (WIA) partnered with ICE WaRM (the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management), to facilitate a one day workshop on establishing a Centre of Excellence of Water Resources Management in Rajasthan, India, on Thursday 16th March 2017.

Funded by the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), the workshop allowed the Australian and South Australian Governments to facilitate research and business opportunities between Australia and the State of Rajasthan.

The Hon. Karlene Maywald, Strategic Advisor, International Water Opportunities with the South Australian Government addressed the opening session of the workshop.

Opportunities were actively pursued in the areas of groundwater management, management of desalination waste streams and water quality monitoring and management – areas of significant expertise in Australia.

As part of the establishment of the Rajasthan Centre of Excellence, the Government of South Australia and the Government of Rajasthan have collaboratively identified  strategic projects including:

- Providing clean drinking water to communities

- Low Cost Management of Desalination Waste

- Pesticides Monitoring and Management: Water Quality

- Managed Aquifer Recharge

ICE WaRM Managing Director Daryl Day said the workshop facilitated definition of key success factors and governance for the Centre of Excellence and supported the accomplishment of the projects.

“Australia has an exceptional record of success with the Cooperative Research Centre programme and the establishment of Centres of Excellence (including ICE WaRM) and we were pleased to share that experience and lessons learnt to assist the development of the Rajasthan Centre of Excellence” he said.

“The workshop also brought together the lead researchers of the Government of Rajasthan proposed projects to allow them to provide information on their needs and the ways in which the Centre of Excellence can assist in meeting these.”

Water Industry Alliance CEO Rachel Barratt said the workshop was an opportunity to discover more about the priorities for the Centre of Excellence, and map out our approach for working together.

“We anticipate that there will be a number of opportunities for Australian industry and businesses to demonstrate their technologies, skills and expertise in India,” she said. “Hearing from the research leaders has helped us to define the projects and understand the areas in which we can provide support.”

“We are now planning for a visit from representatives from the CoE  in the next few months to come to Adelaide to learn more about our experiences and expertise and how we can use this to address some of Rajasthan’s water challenges” said  WIA CEO Rachel Barratt.

The Government of the State of Rajasthan established the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Water Resource Management and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State Government of South Australia in August 2016.

Under the MoU SA will assist through the establishment of outcomes, development of a roadmap of activities and delivery of programs and projects.

The Centre of Excellence is being developed within the spirit of Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan (MJSA) to conserve and harvest rain water and make villages self-reliant (even during drought periods).

The Centre of Excellence will also build on the support from the Australian Government for energy, water and food security under the Sustainable Development Portfolio Initiative (in particular partners ICE WaRM, CSIRO and ACIAR) and the AWP.

The workshop will accelerate establishment of the Rajasthan Centre of Excellence for Water Resource Management and development of collaborative projects of international importance.

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