From April 1 to 7, the INOWASIA steering committee hold in Laos for its third biannual meeting. All the INOWASIA partners were there. It was an intense and well organized trip, a necessity for the cohesion of the INOWASIA group. So many and diverse activities have been done.
The meeting has started by a field visit in Vang Vieng to consider the impact of human activities on the river water physico-chemical quality. A wastewater treatment plant has been visited. Then it has been followed by a one-day workshop on “Water resources management and challenges in Southeast Asia”, organized by the National University of Laos (NUOL), in Vientiane Capital. The meeting in Vientiane has been concluded by the visit of the research laboratory of NUOL’s team involved in INOWASIA. Then the other Laotian higher education institution involved in INOWASIA, Souphanouvong University (SU), hosted the event in Luang Prabang.
Water quality measurements and INOWASIA equipment for NUOL
In Vang Vieng, the INOWASIA committee has carried out surface water quality measurements in the Xong River. The quality was very good, and it has been an opportunity to test the equipment acquired by the NUOL as part of the project.
Wastewater treatment plant visit: an example for NBS dissemination
The Wastewater Treatment Plant of Sikhottambong have been visited. This WTP treats the wastewaters from Vientiane through constructed wetlands using only nature based solutions. The wastewaters are collected from septic tanks, delivered by trucks and drained into free surface water bodies. Then the sludges are collected to be composted and dried. Then the compost is sold on the economic market as fertilizer for agriculture.
Problem Based Learning courses
The committee has had a meeting on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) courses among Southeast Asian partners. PBL courses will soon be available online for the Southeast Asian partners’ students. In addition, the IRD team has been trained on PBL methodology.
Visit of the CoEE of NUOL: Centre of Excellence in Environment
At NUOL, the Centre of on Biofunctool kit after some reminders on the concept of soil health. Biofunctool kit is a sum of low-tech tools made to measure soil health at low cost and easy to use.
Soil health and practice on biofunctool kit
The IRD team has organized a practice on Biofunctool kit after some reminders on the concept of soil health. Biofunctool kit is a sum of low-tech tools made to measure soil health at low cost and easy to use.
Opportunities on wastewater treatment management of free-water canals of Vientiane
A second post for water quality measurements has been done in Vientiane to survey the water quality of free-water canals draining the wastewaters from Vientiane capital.
Workshop on « Water resources management and challenges in Southeast Asia »
After 3 days in Vientiane, NUOL has organized an international workshop on “Water resources management and challenges in Southeast Asia”, which has been designed to provide an overview of integrated water management plans in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. That is why the INOWASIA steering committee has invited national and international related stakeholders to participate in it.
It was the opportunity to promote the interest of the INOWASIA ERASMUS+ project.
PIC 21,22,23
In particular, the workshop has included talks on: water supply and water resources management in Laos; domestic wastewater management in Vientiane Capital; groundwater management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta; soil health and soil bioturbation, in relation to the hidden and neglected link between soil and water quality; water resources management in Cambodia; pattern of water quality and fish diversity in the Lower Mekong Basin and Tonle Sap Lake of Cambodia; nanobubble technology for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants in water, and nature-based solutions for domestic wastewater treatment. It was the opportunity to meet many academic stakeholders concerned by the water-related innovation posted in Laos.
INOWASIA is an Erasmus + Capacity Building Higher Education project that promotes a joint action of 11 organisations across 5 countries (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, France and Spain) to train a new generation of water professionals in Southeast Asia. More info
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