Regional Water Knowledge Hub for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Pacific

Pacific IWRM Resource Centre’s Expertise

The Pacific IWRM Resource Centre supports the Pacific Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Water Management, which is a voluntary partnership of regional water and wastewater stakeholders dedicated to achieving sustainable water and wastewater management in the Pacific. The Pacific IWRM Resource Centre’s mission is to provide technical assistance to Pacific island countries for the development and implementation of national Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plans, and to help coordinate regional water sector support programs with partner organizations. Hosted by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the Pacific IWRM Resource Centre aims to develop and promote best practices and conduct training programs that build capacity at the local, national, and regional levels.

Pacific IWRM Resource Centre’s Services

As the regional water knowledge hub for integrated water resources management in the Pacific, the Pacific IWRM Resource Centre will assist communities, catchment areas, government agencies, nongovernment organizations, regional organizations, and others by:

• Identifying and documenting existing small island IWRM practices at different scales and facilitating the transfer of best practices from one island to another;
• Sourcing expertise and support from SOPAC, other members of the Pacific Water Partnership, and IWRM specialists worldwide;
• Establishing multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral, government-civil society partnerships at the catchment, national, and regional scales as a prerequisite to sustainable IWRM planning and implementation;
• Facilitating regional coordination on IWRM topics and advocating for small island developing states/IWRM issues on the global agenda;
• Using short-term political and public priorities to highlight the relevance of IWRM, keeping the initial focus on extreme catchment events (droughts, floods, and related landslides) to demonstrate the economic, social, and environmental benefi ts of IWRM;
• Helping partners at all levels develop long-term integrated water policies and shorter-term solutions to priority catchment issues (e.g., flood mitigation);
• Linking clients to the development partner community and facilitating technology transfers;
• Maintaining the Pacific Water Action Matrix, a database of actions, institutions, and initiatives for water management in the Pacific, and publishing a quarterly newsletter and calendar of events;
• Serving clients through SOPAC experts and programs specialized in water safety planning, water and sanitation, water quality, hydrology, water governance, water use efficiency, and other water-related areas; and
• Assisting country water partnerships to develop formal and endorsed IWRM policies and water use efficiency plans through multi-stakeholder participatory consultations.

Pacific IWRM Resource Centre’s Knowledge Partners

The Pacific IWRM Resource Centre works closely with partner organizations on a wide range of water and wastewater support programs that provide a basis for exchanging lessons learned, developing guidelines, and building capacity. These programs cover the priority actions of the Pacific Partnership Initiative’s Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Water Management, and include a Pacific hydrological cycle observing system, climate information and adaptation strategies, rainwater harvesting, wastewater management, water quality monitoring, water demand management, water safety planning, water supply, sanitation and hygiene, water governance, and IWRM. The Pacific IWRM Resource Centre’s implementing organizations and active or potential partners include among others:

• Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) agencies
• Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International (FSPI)
• Gender and Water Alliance (GWA)
• Global Water Partnership (GWP)
• International WaterCentre (IWC), Australia
• Live & Learn Environmental Education (LLEE), Australia
• Pacific Water Association (PWA)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• University of the South Pacific (USP)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Contact Information

Rhonda Bower Robinson
Project Advisor IWRM Project Officer IWRM
rhondar@sopac.org

Subhashni Raj
Project Advisor IWRM Project Officer IWRM
subhashni@sopac.org

Postal Address Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands
Street Address Mead Road, Nabua, Fiji Islands

Telephone: +679 338 1377
Fax: +679 337 0040

Email:iwrm@sopac.org