A seminar on irrigation subsidies

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (www.iisd.org<http://www.iisd.org>) is organizing a seminar on irrigation subsidies for journalists and non-governmental organizations.

The aim of the seminar is to promote better public understanding and debate on irrigation subsidies, their financial scale, environmental impacts, and positive economic and social benefits, in the Mediterranean region.

The seminar, which takes place on 21 February 2011 in Madrid, will connect a select group of journalists, researchers, and communication specialists, who have an interest in environment and water issues with water experts from intergovernmental organizations (such as the OECD) and NGO's (such as WWF, Spain).Several places are still available - the IISD will cover all travel and accommodation expenses for the seminar. Participants would typically but not exclusively be:
*       Journalists who have previously reported on related water or environmental issues, and would like to learn more about the topic in order to report further on the issue.*       NGO's working on water issues whose organizations are interested in disseminating information on irrigation subsidies.*       Influential users of Web 2.0 technology, such as bloggers, who would be interested in disseminating information on irrigation subsidies, news articles, research reports, or other related material.*       Be located in Northern Mediterranean countries.*       Be able to participate in a forum run in English.
Why is Irrigation subsidy policy important?
The irrigation sector uses between 70% and 90% of the worlds fresh water resources. It helps feed the world's population, generates economic earnings for governments, and employees millions of people poor people worldwide.  In the case of water, many governments support the supply of water in order to fulfil a number of key policy objectives. Figuring out how to properly price water is also critical to addressing many of the world's most pressing environmental problems, and to ensure a key economic sector is not negatively impacted.
Nowhere is this task more urgent than in the agricultural sector. Governments have chosen to provide financial support for irrigation-these subsidies offer wide-ranging public benefits, from affordable to food, to regional development for poorer areas. But under-priced water can also cause harm to environment and is a cost to government which needs to be estimated.
The IISD would evaluate submissions from people interested in attending the event on a case by case basis. Interested participants should email ccharles@iisd.org<mailto:ccharles@iisd.org> providing background information on their interest in this issue.
Partners for this event are - The Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (http://www.gwpmed.org) and the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (http://www.mio-ecsde.org<http://www.mio-ecsde.org/>).