1. UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Centre for South Asia Water Management
UMCSAWM
UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Centre for South Asia Water Management
Presentation by chairman of the Center
Prof Sohan Wijesekera
At the Opening of the New Building
Donated by Late Shri Madanjeet Singh
22 April 2013

2. Water on Earth
Fresh Water 3%
97 % Saline

3. Fresh Surface Water Water Fresh Water Fresh Water 3% Saline (Oceans)
97%
Ice Cap
Glaciers
Ground
water
Rivers
Swamps
Fresh Water
Lakes
Fresh Surface Water

4. Water is Important
Diminished Supplies of Fresh water might prove a far more serious problem than slowly rising seas
New York Times of October 21, 2007
Professor Steven Chu,
Co-winner of Nobel Prize for Physics (1997) and
Incumbent United States Secretary of Energy

5. Emphasis on the Urgent need to Manage our water resources
Population increase,
Prolonged Life on Earth
Resources Utilisation
Climate change
Disasters
Food Shortages

6. Lead to Water Transfer issues either “Storage” or “Drainage”
Emerging culture of independent states
Desires for accelerated economic development, and
Tendency towards urbanisation
Lead to Water Transfer issues
either “Storage” or “Drainage”

7. Water Projects are becoming “Politically and Environmentally” Contentious in most parts of the world

8. Therefore it is a Dire Necessity
Better Water Conservation,
Better Control,
Better Demand Management,
Better Quality Assurance,
Better Utilisation of Alternatives
Better Source Area protection etc.

9. Water is usually taken for Granted
Canal and Reservoir Safety
Unknown Reservoir Capacities
Poor River Gauging
Lack of Source Area Protection
Reservoir Safety and Design Criteria
Culvert and Bride Design Limitations
Biodiversity and Food Chain Issues
Soil and Water Pollution
Land cover removal issues
Urban Flooding

10. Water Management is Multi Sectoral
Irrigation and Water Resources - Irrigation and Mahaweli
Hydropower , Thermal – Power and Energy
Source area and water quality, waste disposal – Water Supply and Drainage
Flooding of Cultivations, Dwellings, Roads – Urban Authorities, Housing and Road Building
Canals and Rivers, Fisheries and Cargo – Transport, Coast Conservation, Ports, Fishery Harbours
Environmental Impacts, Mitigation, Bio Diversity – Environmental Authorities, Economic Development
Soil Erosion, Land Slides, Siltation – Disaster Mitigation

11. Peace, Harmony and Good Health
We Require a
Focused Research Agenda and
Strong Capacity Building Effort
For the sake of
Peace, Harmony and Good Health

12. The MCSAWM is intended to support the Global and Regional requirements in Water Engineering and Management.

13. The Vision
To be a premier center of knowledge and outreach focused on sustainable water management in urban and rural environments

14. The Mission
To promote techniques, technologies, management approaches and policy that support sustainable utilisation of water

15. Initial Discussions 2003
Hon (Late) Laxman Kadirgarmar
Prof DS Wijeyesekera
Prof Malik Ranasinghe
Prof Sohan Wijesekera

16. Signing of MoU with the South Asia Foundation - 2010
(Late) Shri Madanjeet Singh
Prof Malik Ranasinghe

17. (Late) Shri Madanjeet Singh
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
US$ 500,000 from Personal Funds to Collaboratively Fund the UMCSAWM Building

18. South Asia Foundation (SAF)
A secular, non-profit and non-political organization, comprising eight autonomous chapters: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
US$ 100,000 per year for 5 Years for Course Development and Regional Scholarships

19. UMCSAWM is in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka – Water Engineering and Management
Distribution of Centers considering the Strengths of Each Nation
Sri Lanka – Water Engineering and Management
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure

20. UMCSAWM is at University of Moratuwa
Hon Kadirgamar selected University of Moratuwa for its Reputation in Water Engineering and Management
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure
University Status Since 1972, the Most Favoured University in Sri Lanka for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies

21. UMCSAWM is at the Department of Civil Engineering
Long History of Water Engineering Education at Postgraduate Level
Pioneered Water Postgraduate Degree Program in Water – 1981
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure

22. UMCSAWM is at the Department of Civil Engineering
Qualified and Experienced Academic Staff with Very Strong Research Profile
Prof. NTS Wijesekera
Dr. T.M.N. Wijayaratna
Prof. SSL Hettiarachchi
Dr. MW Jayaweera
Prof. (Mrs.) N. Rathnayake
Dr. U. Nawagamuwa
Prof. SS Wickramasuriya
Dr. R. L. H. L. Rajapakse
Prof. SP Samarawickrama
Dr. JMA Manatunge
Mr. AHR Ratnasooriya
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure

23. Qualified and Experienced Academic Staff with Very Strong Research Profile
Water Resources Engineering Mathematical Modelling in Hydrology, Rainfall-Runoff Modelling Drought Mitigation Irrigation Engineering and Drainage
GIS , GPS and Remote sensing Applications
Coastal Structures (Hydraulics of wave/structure interaction) Coastal Engineering and Coastal Zone Management
Numerical Modelling in Coastal Zone
Renewable Energy Flood Frequency Studies Statistical Methods in Hydrology
Groundwater Engineering and Modelling
Water Supply and Source Area Protection
Water Quality and Environmental Assessments
River Basin Planning and Watershed Management
Integrated Water Resources Management
Web and open source mapping for water and environmental resource management
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure

24. UMCSAWM is at the Department of Civil Engineering
State of the Art Experimental and Computational facilities and Competent Support Staff
South Asia is of 1.7 billion people
Importance of water
Water the most Valuable Resoruce
Yet Scarce – results to droughts
Hence its Management is key to ensure

25. UMCSAWM and the Postgraduate Degree Program
Center Chairman and Overall Program Director – Prof Sohan Wijesekera
Post Graduate Programmes which is a collaboration with the Department of Civil Engineering is scheduled to commence in July 2013
Expected Foreign Students – 8 Students
Course Coordinator – Dr. Lalith Rajapakse
Ancient practices need to be merged with current technology

26. The Opening of the Building
A Reality Today

27. Main Contributors Prof. Ananda Jayawardena Vice Chancellor
, Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President of SAF.
Madame France Marquet, SAF Trustee
SAF Representatives Prof Uma Coomaraswamy,
Ms Swinitha Perera
and Mr. Prabhakaran
Prof Anura Nanayakkara, Head
Department of Civil Engineering,
Dr. Lalith Rajapakse, Course Coordinator of
the Postgraduate Degree Programme

28. Significant Contributions
Project Manager and Staff
Project Manager, State Engineering Corporation and Staff,
Maintenance Engineer, and Staff
Bursar and Staff,
Registrar , SAR Capital Works and Staff,
Dept of Civil Engineering , Academic and Non Academic Staff
Land Scape Sub Contractor and Staff
Staff of other Faculties and Departments
And Numerous other Well-wishers

29. End of Presentation