Dear Friends,
 
Greetings from Water Initiatives Orissa !
 
As you are kindly aware, Water Initiatives Orissa(WIO) and the Indian River
Network(IRN) organsied the Odisha River Conference during 18 - 20 April 2009 at
Sambalpur, Odisha.  Participated by about 75 participants which included
activists, environmentalists, journalists, acamedicians, researchers and civil
society representatives from across the country, the Conference has just
concluded with a "Sambalpur Declaration" that calls for saving the rivers from
the current fate of high rate of degradation and giving communities their
traditional rights over the rivers, among other strong resolutions. 
 
We are pasting below the Declaration that calls for urgent attention to save the
rivers from further decaying.  We need your support to strenghen the network
and the activities envisaged in the Declaration. 
 
Looking forward to your support and cooperation.
 
With thanks and regards,
Sincerely,
 
Ranjan K Panda
Convenor, Water Initiatives Orissa

====================

Let the rivers flow….
Lets culture the habit of living with floods and coping to disasters, again !

 Let the rivers flow for them who love and live with (on) them
Key Resolutions of the Odisha River Conference
18-20 of April 2009
Sambalpur
==========
·         To conduct further studies to understand the importance of
rivers of Orissa – especially the socio-economic, ecological and cultural
dependence of the people of Orissa on the rivers.  And, to disseminate these
information among the communities and all concerned for the conservation of
rivers.
 
·         To establish a network of people and institutions so as to
work as a support system for conservation of rivers of Orissa and establish
people’s right over it, emphasizing riparian rights.
 
·         To document people’s institutions of water governance;
people’s knowledge on river management and work towards integrating those in
river basin planning and management.  To do this, initiate processes towards
community based and ecologically viable river basin governance that builds up
from below and where the traditional/customary as well as new panchayati raj
institutions also have a proper stake.
 
·         To pressurize the policy makers to have a fresh
water/ecological impact assessment of all dams and industrial projects that are
affecting the river systems and work towards advocating decommissioning of dams
and such industrial projects if necessary for maintaining and sustaining the
ecological health of the rivers and socio-economic-cultural benefit of
communities dependent on the same. 
 
·         To advocate for non-allocation of river and reservoir water
to industries and for allocation of the same to drinking water and irrigation.
 
·         To study pollution of rivers due to industrialization,
urbanization and other such reasons and work towards raising more awareness on
such negative impacts at the community level.  Also, to advocate for non
establishment of mineral and water intensive industries near the river systems
and at the cost of ecology. 
 
·         To work towards conserving the river eco-systems and their
catchments and promote basin based development approach.
 
·         To endeavour to revive the traditional water harvesting and
management systems and practices; for making policies that promote small
irrigation structures and rain water harvesting systems.
 
·         To study new threats like climate change and work towards
creating large scale awareness and community based adaptation systems.  In
this, working like a support organization that facilitates synergy between
people, experts and other such people and institutions concerned towards
conservation of the river ecology and sustainable living of the people dependent
on these. 
 
·         To study/monitor the role of and impact by grants/loan of
multi lateral finance institutions like the World Bank and ADB on the river
systems of Odisha and take the same to all sections of the society to be able to
properly generate public opinion and action to modify/stop such projects.
 
·         To propagate for management of flood rather than controlling
the same. Work towards developing the culture of living with floods.  In the
process call for increasing the number of small water reservoirs/bodies and link
them to the flood flow for proper cushioning.  Also promote suitable
ecologically sustainable agricultural practices.
 
·         To work towards combating drought and other disasters in
approaches where the communities take the lead and ecology is used as an
enabling and ever increasing factor rather than being degraded in the process. 
 
·         To establish link with all other such networks in the state
and outside; to initiate all such actions and advocacy efforts from time to time
that are required to save the rivers of Odisha from further degradation; to
revive the dying rivers and to conserve and river eco-systems. 
For further information, please contact:
 
Ranjan K Panda
Convenor, Water Initiatives Orissa
Cell: 09437050103
E-mail: ranjanpanda@...
 
Arttabandhu Mishra
Chairperson, Indian River Network



--
Ranjan K Panda
Dhanupali, Sambalpur 768005, Orissa, INDIA
Mobile:




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