Ms. Kataoka, who is the Coordinator of Knowledge Hub for Groundwater
Management, IGES, said they had chosen AIT as its venue for the
pre-launch workshop since the Institute is known for its research and
education in Asia and beyond.
In his welcome remarks Prof. Said Irandoust, President, Asian
Institute of Technology (AIT) thanked AIT’s partners for selecting AIT
as a venue for its pre launch workshop. AIT has always considered water
as a key area of relevance, he said while adding that AIT will be
launching a Center on Asian Water Research and Education (AWARE). The
Center shall focus on sustainable water management and it is a part of
our initiative to focus on knowledge areas in the field of Sustainable
Development in the context of Climate Change, he said.
The Workshop included a groundwater lecture session where Dr. Yangxiao
Zhou of UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education spoke on “Groundwater
budget myth, safe yield and sustainability.” Mr. Héctor Garduňo,
formerly of Groundwater Management Advisory Team (GWMATE) delivered a
lecture on “Social, political and economic issues of groundwater
management.” Dr. Neno Kukuric, Director, International Groundwater
Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) spoke on “Groundwater management in
the context of global change,” while Ms. Kataoka delivered a talk on
“Groundwater Management in Asia – challenges and opportunities.”
The lecture session was followed by a panel discussion on current
tools and future research areas for enhancing groundwater benefits for
current and future generations. The discussion was facilitated by Dr.
Sangam Shrestha of Water Engineering and Management (WEM) field of
study at AIT. Sixty participants from AIT, Mahidol University and Department
of Groundwater Resources, Thailand participated in the workshop.
The workshop was organized jointly by AIT, IGES and Department of
Groundwater Resources (DGR), Thailand. It was
supported by APWF Knowledge Hub, UNESCO-IHE, Groundwater
Management Advisory Team (GW-MATE) and International
Groundwater Resources Assessment Center (IGRAC).
