Inaugural of the Five-day training on "Application of Water Accounting Plus (WA+) Tool for Water Resources Management" under the National Hydrology Project (NHP) was held on 28th November 2022 at the Conference Hall of State Data Centre, Chief Engineer Office, Water Resources Department, Kohima. The training is being held from 28th November to 2nd December 2022.
In his welcome speech Chief Engineer cum Nodal Officer (NHP) Water Resources Department Er. Hotovi Ayemi said that the training on Application of Water Accounting Plus (WA+) is the first of its kind to be conducted in the state and it is of utmost importance so that people can evaluate, manage, and asses the water resources in our State.
Er. Wapagnaro, Executive Engineer, Water Resources Department, Nagaland in her introductory speech said that lack of water information and consensus hinders water reform. She said that Water Accounting Plus (WA+) serves as a tool to evaluate and plan Water Resources Management, monitor changes in Water Resources, and assess the impacts of future interventions. So, this training is useful for the planning and management of water resources in Nagaland as it gives an accurate estimate of water availability and it provides an informed decision for the water planners in a basin or state. She also said that in the absence of data or data scarcity particularly for regions like Nagaland state with hilly terrain, this tool becomes more important.
Dr. P.K Singh, Scientist D from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, said that the WA+ system is a python-based tool and utilizes freely available, open-access data and satellite information to estimate the water resources. It provides information on water withdrawal and utilization, water and land productivity, and agricultural water consumption in the form of standardized Factsheets.
National Hydrology Project (NHP) is being implemented in the state of Nagaland and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee in association with Water Resources Department (WRD), Kohima is conducting a study on the "Application of Water Accounting Plus tool in the state of Nagaland".
This capacity-building programme is intended to improve the skills of Officials from the Water Resources Department, Nagaland, and to make them acquainted with the WA+ tool and independently run its applications in the state. A total of 17 participants from the department are participating in the training programme
Dr. P. K. Mishra, Scientist D, and Dr. P. K. Singh, Scientist D from NIH, Roorkee are the Resource Persons providing the training on WA+.
(I.Tiakumla Ao, IA DIPR)
