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The first issue of the Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management (Q01/2011) will be released early April this year. As in the previous issues the Notes will contain the following sections > Key Note > T echnology > S cience > P olitics & Society   As earlier  contributions from concerned stakeholders are warmly welcome. Topics may range from pure scientific hydrological issues to practical water management solutions - focussing on sustainability - and may not be limited to industrial or municpal subjects. Contributions may, for instance, cover reviews of technical achievements, short presentation of water management concepts, announcements of conferences related to water/water management, etc. You are invited to contribute with outstanding, brief and concise inputs (e.g. in the form of abstracts of white papers, papers, and any other communication form). The contributions may consist of 200-300 words (approx.), well written English and might be submitted to s

Indian thinktank report claims countries can make "blue peace" with water management, solve deadlocks between Israel, PA, Syria. An Indian thinktank, Strategic Foresight Group, released a report Saturday that claims that Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories are in the worst shape in the Middle East with clean water resources, citing a 500-700 million cubic meter water deficit each. Middle Eastern counties will have no choice to cooperate as water resources in the region dwindle causing shortages, the report said. The investigative report was launched by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who, according to AFP, said "The report comes to an alarming conclusion; five of the seven countries are experiencing a structural shortage, and debit of most of the big rivers has declined by 50 to 90 percent since 1960." Calmy-Rey also called for stronger cooperation between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey on managing t

Rain that caused billions of dollars of destruction in Australia could propel wheat output in the fourth-largest exporter to a record next harvest and boost irrigated crops after floods swept formerly parched land. Heavy rains that damaged crops this season have also saturated soils, providing moisture for the next wheat-growing season and raising dam levels for irrigated crops such as cotton, commodities analyst Wayne Gordon and sustainability analyst Tracey Allen at Rabobank Groep NV said in an interview yesterday. Rising milling wheat and cotton supplies from Australia may help curb global prices that soared last year on concerns that demand may outpace supply. Floods this month followed the country’s wettest July-to-December on record, ending a drought that lasted a decade in some areas and filling dams in the Murray-Darling Basin, which produces more than a third of the nation’s food supply. “It’s plausible to see that we could plant and perhaps grow a record wheat crop in th

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a new tax to help pay for devastating floods that she says will cost A$5.6bn ($5.6bn; £3.5bn) in reconstruction.  Ms Gillard said the 12-month tax, starting from 1 July, would be levied on those earning A$50,000 or more, and those affected by floods would not pay. "We should not put off to tomorrow what we are able to do today," she said. More than 30 people have been killed since flooding began last month. "The Treasury's preliminary estimates are that GDP growth in this financial year will be about half a percentage point less due to the floods," Ms Gillard said. "The best preliminary estimate of the direct cost to the federal budget of the summer's flood disaster is A$5.6bn." As well as the tax, cuts to government spending will help meet the reconstruction bill. The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney says Ms Gillard has faced criticism for her handling of the floods and has bee