Following the development of a regional system to enable the effective Monitoring & Evaluation of participatory irrigation management (PIM) and Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) process in the SWIM Partner Countries (PCs), SWIM-SM will proceed in 2014 with a pilot implementation of the system in two PCs, namely Jordan and Tunsia.

The kick-off meeting of the pilot implementation in Jordan was organized in Amman on 9 December and included a meeting with relevant National stakeholders and a visit and discussion with the leaders of Water Users Associations proposed to participate in the pilot implementation.

The meeting involved the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) - the irrigation agency responsible for implementing the PIM/IMT program in the country - and the donors (GIZ and the USAID)supporting WUA formation and other relevant initiatives, who expressed their interest to assist as necessaryin the activity and with whom SWIM-SM will synergize.

It served asan occasion to familiarize National stakeholders with the Regional M&E system previously set-up by SWIM-SM and to gather their advice on the most effective implementation strategy to apply the system in Jordan. As an important outcome of the meeting, the WUAs that will be piloting the implementation of the system in Jordan were selected.  JVA will also consider testing the applicability of the M&E system to evaluate the readiness of the WUAs to move to a higher level of responsibility.

The system is designed to be used by the WUAs and the government regardless of the stage of PIM/IMT implementation and also reflects the best practices in WUA formation and support, which should help both the government and WUAs evaluate their performance and take the necessary corrective actions. The evaluation framework provided by the system should help guide the experts in their evaluation of the PIM/IMT but cannot replace their judgements.

The kick-off event, that took place in the presence of SWIM-SM Focal Point Eng. Ali Subah, from the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Program Manager for Environment, Energy & Water at the EU Delegation to Jordan, Mr. Omar Abu Eid, was followed by a meeting with the leaders of the WUAs which were proposed to participate in the pilot implementation.

PIM/IMTis an approach involving the people who directly use the irrigation water, i.e. the farmersand implying the transfer of irrigation management responsibilities from the government to Water Users Associations (WUAs),which in the long term can result in a more effective management of the resources, as many examples worldwide and in the Mediterranean Region show.

To read the report of the kick-off meeting and download other materials click here