Humphrey Fellows talk Climate Smart Technology

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 3 : A 2 day international workshop on, “Climate Smart Technology to Promote Water and Food Security in South & South-East Asia” was organized on September 2 and 3 by Humphrey Fellows from 4 countries namely, Dr Rajkumari Sunita Devi (India), Dr Petch Manopawitr (Thailand), Dr Ohnmar Khaing (Myanmar) and Dr Khurshid Alam (Bangladesh).
The workshop is part of the Humphrey Collaborative Alumni Project (CAP) grant won by Dr Rajkumari Sunita Devi as team leader along with the other three members for Institute of International Education (IIE), Washington DC, USA. The objective of the workshop is to bring together climate experts, policymakers, and stakeholders in addition to Humphrey scholars from Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India to discuss climate smart agricultural practices, address climate challenges, showcase new technologies, and facilitate networking opportunities for the advancement of agriculture including watershed management.
The first day workshop held at Hotel Imphal commenced with a welcome address by Ms. N. Kulkarani Devi, Director Planning, CEO State Level Nodal Agency for Watershed Management, Manipur. This was followed by a keynote address by Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava (Founder-Director, WforW Foundation, CEO WODER, and National President of the Water Resources Council of the Women’s Indian Chamber of Com-merce and Industry). Deli- vering the key note address Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava (Founder-Director, W for W Foundation, CEO WODER, and National president of the Water Resources Council of the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) raised some per-tinent questions on the indi- vidual and collective choice of lifestyle and occupation including food, which shapes India’s institutions and policies on water, farming and food besides influencing the global goals and local actions.
This was followed by details of the background and rationale of the workshop by the host of the workshop, Dr Rajkumari Sunita Devi, Addl. CEO, SLNA Watershed, Manipur. She deliberated briefly on the Hubert Humphrey Program, which is a robust program for scholars and professionals to undergo research and professional development in the United States through United States India Education Foundation (USIEF). Devi also stated that the workshop is a platform for scholars and teachers to  acquire an international event certificate, which is mandatory, to receive their degree or for higher promotions.
There were two panel discussions organised in the workshop on the day 1 on Climate Smart Technology for Water Security. The session was moderated by Prof Asha Gupta and the rapporteur was Dr L Sanjoy Meitei. The presentations included, Dr Petch Manopawitr (Thailand) on, ‘Enhancing water resilience with nature-based solutions’ providing examples from Bangkok; Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava on, ‘Decoding and Decentralising the nexus of Water, Farming, and Food’; Dr Rajkumari Sunita Devi on, ‘Watershed Management- best practices for water and livelihood security in Manipur’; and Shri Pradip Phanjoubam (India, Editor, IRAP) on, ‘Role of Media in Climate Change and its mitigation for water Security’.