13.10.2020
9:00 am
CEST

Rural Bengal Women: Coping with Climate Change

Speakers:
Mina Das, Anjal Prakash, Eliana Harrigan, Felix Reinders (Moderator)
Published By:
Hosted by:
Women for Water Partnership
NetWwater
Soroptimist International of the Southwest Pacific
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About the webinar
This session is part of an international conference led by Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) in conjunction with its partners NetWwater (NWW) and Soroptimist International of the Southwest Pacific (SISWP).

This event is supported by SEI Asia’s Strategic Collaborative Fund, which aims to foster regional cooperation and policy dialogue for sustainable development and environmental sustainability, through capacity building, knowledge sharing and increased collaboration.

This webinar introduces a case study presentation, reflecting the present realities of the women, water & climate change nexus, and the on-the-ground challenges and solutions taking place. A case study presenter is joined by an expert and a young water professional to explore ‘The Way Forward’ – including implementation, stakeholder relationships, and opportunities to re-create the model to respond to different community needs.

Focus Region:
Global
Focus Topic:
Land / Water / Resource Management
Gender / Youth / Social Inclusion
About the speakers

Mina Das

Director of Nishtha, an NGO in Kolkata that fights for equal rights and equal opportunity for women, Ms. Das has been actively involved in girls and women’s empowerment issues since the 1970s.

Much of her work has involved empowering and supporting girls and women in decision-making processes for the wellbeing of themselves, their families and their communities. Concerned with educating girls up to their PG degree level, some have undergone skills development training, with many becoming entrepreneurs, taking on leadership roles and becoming change-makers in their communities. Others have gained independence, often actively solving problems affecting their status and livelihood, including violence. In her capacity as Director of Nishtha, Mina has gained recognition from the Government Administration of India and has received several national and international awards for her work. The organisation has also received recognition for a women’s group plan that was conceived to resolve a water crisis in the community.

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Anjal Prakash

Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor, Bharti Institute of Public Policy – Indian School of Business (ISB)

Dr. Anjal Prakash is Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad India. Before joining ISB, he was Associate Professor in the Department of Regional Water Studies at the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India. Amongst his many books are: The Dark Zone: Groundwater Irrigation, Politics and Social Power in North Gujarat, Orient Longman (2005); Interlacing Water and Health: Case Studies from South Asia, Sage (2012); Informing Water Policies in South Asia, Routledge (2014); Gender Issues in Water and Sanitation Programmes: Lessons from India, Sage (2015); and Periurban Water Security Issues in South Asia (2016), Oxford University Press (2016). A graduate of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India and the Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands, he has worked in the area of water and climate change for over two decades, focusing on policy research, advocacy, capacity building, knowledge management, networking and implementation of large-scale and multi-country development projects in South Asia.

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Eliana Harrigan

Eliana Harrigan, Masters in Environmental Technology with a specialisation in Global Environmental Change and Policy at Imperial College London.

Her thesis entitled “Gender-Environment Nexus: The Case of Irrigation, Gender and Development” examined the gendered barriers to irrigation in rural India and the potential effects of their removal, particularly in relation to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She previously comes from an international development background and spent a year working as a medical coordinator in a school in Quito, Ecuador. Eliana has a BA in Geography and International Development from the University of Sussex and a Masters in Science in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Felix Reinders (Moderator)

Felix Reinders, Chair of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture | President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage

Felix Reinders is a Professional Engineer, registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa. He specialises in water resources management and irrigation engineering in the agricultural and civil engineering field, including research, design, training and mentoring. As Manager of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering at the Agricultural Research Council’s Agricultural Engineering group, he plays a pivotal role in the co-ordination of especially irrigation research, development, testing and design. He is the author of several scientific papers and manuals. Felix completed his Engineering studies in 1979 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

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