Dr Muhammad Azeem Ali Shah

Researcher, Water Governance Institutions, International Water Management Institute

Dr Shah is a water governance professional with over 19 years of experience in conducting applied research for development projects in the South and Central Asian regions. Based in Lahore, Pakistan, Dr Shah’s research focuses on the water security issues at transboundary/national levels, climate smart agricultural interventions to improve water productivity and food security, automation systems for flow measurement and solar based irrigation systems for agricultural resilience.

Dr Shah is currently Chief of Party for a large USAID Project with IWMI implemented in Pakistan/Afghanistan and Country Project Lead for a regional South Asian project on Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience funded by SDC. Dr Shah is also IWMI Team Lead for Central Asia and MENA regions and Project Steering Committee Member for “PEER2PEER International Convergence Research Networks in Transboundary Water Security” funded by NSF.

Apart from this current portfolio of projects, Dr Shah has successfully implemented multiple projects funded by USAID, World Bank, FCDO, ADB and other donors. Dr Shah has more than 20 research publications in reputed international journals to his name. He is also the Lead Editor of the book “Afghanistan-Pakistan shared Waters – State of the Basins”. Dr Shah holds a PhD degree in Management (Water Governance) from the Lahore University of Management Science, Pakistan. He has presented his research and participated as guest speaker/panelist in more than 20 countries in the world.

Abstract

Capacity Building for Transformative Change in the Water Sector

This talk will cover the success factors in the delivery and achievement of impact in International Water Management Institute’s large water project funded by USAID in Pakistan. More specifically, it will try to differentiate between institutional capacity building and individual capacity building. The presentation will focus on capacity building initiatives at different levels with a multitude of stakeholders to bring transformative change in the water sector. It will also cover the challenge of improved water governance which is often confused with water management.