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UMCSAWM

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. UMCSAWM. UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Centre for South Asia Water Management. Water on Earth. Fresh Water 3%. 97 % Saline. Fresh Surface

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UMCSAWM

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

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

  3. Fresh Surface Water Water Fresh Water Fresh Water 3% Ground water Saline (Oceans) 97% Rivers Swamps Ice Cap Glaciers Lakes Fresh Water 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. 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. 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) LaxmanKadirgarmar • Prof DS Wijeyesekera • Prof MalikRanasinghe • Prof SohanWijesekera

  16. Signing of MoU with the South Asia Foundation - 2010 • (Late) ShriMadanjeet Singh • Prof MalikRanasinghe

  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 • Distribution of Centers considering the Strengths of Each Nation • Sri Lanka – Water Engineering and Management

  20. UMCSAWM is at University of Moratuwa Hon Kadirgamar selected University of Moratuwa for its Reputation in Water Engineering and Management 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

  22. UMCSAWM is at the Department of Civil Engineering • Qualified and Experienced Academic Staff with Very Strong Research Profile • Prof. NTS Wijesekera • Prof. SSL Hettiarachchi • Prof. (Mrs.) N. Rathnayake • Prof. SS Wickramasuriya • Prof. SP Samarawickrama • Dr. JMA Manatunge • Mr. AHR Ratnasooriya • Dr. T.M.N. Wijayaratna • Dr. MW Jayaweera • Dr. U. Nawagamuwa • Dr. R. L. H. L. Rajapakse

  23. Qualified and Experienced Academic Staff with Very Strong Research Profile Water Resources EngineeringMathematical Modelling in Hydrology, Rainfall-Runoff ModellingDrought 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 EnergyFlood Frequency StudiesStatistical 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

  24. UMCSAWM is at the Department of Civil Engineering State of the Art Experimental and Computational facilities and Competent Support Staff

  25. UMCSAWM and the Postgraduate Degree Program • Center Chairman and Overall Program Director – Prof SohanWijesekera • 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. LalithRajapakse

  26. The Opening of the Building A Reality Today

  27. Prof. AnandaJayawardena Vice Chancellor , Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga President of SAF. Madame France Marquet, SAF Trustee SAF Representatives Prof UmaCoomaraswamy, Ms SwinithaPerera and Mr. Prabhakaran Prof AnuraNanayakkara, Head Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. LalithRajapakse, Course Coordinator of the Postgraduate Degree Programme Main Contributors

  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

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