ISSUE 5

Commonwealth Knowledge Network Inaugurated AT CHOGM –
An initiative of the Commonwealth Science Council in Partnership with COMNET-IT

The development of an Internet-based Commonwealth Knowledge Network (CKN) was one of the key outcomes mandated by the Commonwealth Science Council following an operations review held early in 1999. This was in response to a perceived need to energise the existing association of Commonwealth Science and Technology (S&T) agencies and to harness the knowledge of field workers, scientists and technologists for the resolution of specific problems. Prototype web-based facilities have been developed to promote the dissemination of country S&T profiles and experiences and to provide mechanisms for discussion groups concerned with specific issues. Over time, the synthesis of these discussions is expected to constitute a knowledge-bank with associated search facilities. As a parallel development, the maturing of the CKN is expected to trigger off the re-vamping or re-development of national S&T web-sites, which in time will constitute local knowledge-banks and discussion mechanisms in their own right.

Apart from the obvious value of knowledge-sharing amongst the S&T community, the network’s products are expected to be of R&D value to private-sector companies engaged in product-development. An association with the Commonwealth Business Council is expected to facilitate this synergy in due course.

The CKN was launched at the Durban CHOGM by the South African Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Dr. Ben Ngubane and the relevant facilities were viewed by South African President Thabe Mbeki amongst other dignitaries several of whom pledged their support for this development through their respective S&T agencies.

COMNET-IT is a strategic partner along with the Commonwealth Secretariat, in the development and promotion of the CKN. It is, amongst other activities, responsible for the technical co-ordination of the network’s development and deployment.

Tomorrow's societies will be knowledge societies. Tomorrow's workers will be knowledge workers. Tomorrow's world will be dominated by the economics and transfer of knowledge. Creating knowledge networks based on the simple principle that “by sharing we grow” is fundamental to the future development of each member country, and of the Commonwealth as a whole.

The above is the vision which led to the recommendation of a establishing a Commonwealth Knowledge Network during the revitalisation process of the Commonwealth Science Council (CSC).

The CSC Steering Group in its report “Knowledge Networking for Development: Science and Technology for the Millennium” articulated a vision statement for CKN as follows:

“CSC in the new millennium will be an innovative, creative and pro-active organisation that will leverage the S&T capability in the public and industry domain within the Commonwealth through networking of both knowledge and finance using modern information technologies to facilitate the application of S&T by member countries for sustainable economic, environmental, social and cultural development.”

In response to the above challenge, CSC has now established the CKN as a web-based platform to serve as a mechanism to promote co-operation between countries in applying S&T to solve problems of national development. The CKN is thus designed to provide member countries with a way to share success stories, best practices, know-how and expertise to find solutions to problems. The CKN with its knowledge-bank is expected to help to bridge the knowledge and information gap which can hold back the development of countries and wealth-creation that is fundamental to eliminating poverty. It is now argued that in the new world order, knowledge is as important as capital and very often can leverage the shortage of capital in socio- economic and industrial development.

CKN for Problem Solving

The CKN will primarily operate as a series of sub-networks each tackling problems and issues in thematic areas of interest to member countries. It will operate through networking using modern information and communication technologies. The time-bound exchanges on the problem or problem area(s) between sub-network members will be summarised by expert-moderator(s). The number of sessions will naturally depend on the problem or problem area but it can be expected that the sub-networks will operate for a limited period, the length of which would depend on the time taken to arrive at consensus on solutions and options. The new knowledge produced, i.e. the cumulative total of solutions identified, would constitute the growing knowledge bank of the CKN.

Dr. Ken Lum (Director, Science and Technology Division, Commonwealth Secretariat) and Dr. Ben Ngubane, South African Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology at the launch of the Commonwealth Knowledge Network.

Pilot Phase of Implementing the CKN

The CKN is now in its pilot phase of implementation and its emerging value can be illustrated with the following examples:

Sub-Network on Arsenic Pollution of Ground Water in Bangladesh and West Bengal

Arsenic pollution of groundwater in several areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal has aroused widespread concern due to the potentially devastating effects on the lives of some 50 million people. In order to contribute to solving the problem a sub-network was set-up. The project envisage systematic long term solutions involving the following:

• Identification of arsenic-rich geological material in the study sites to demarcate the location and distribution of such material, and to determine the processes responsible for arsenic release from these materials and subsequent delivery to the aquifer.
• Determination of the processes by which arsenic release and delivery can be arrested and/or fully curtailed.
• Development of a predictive model for release and transport of arsenic in the alluvium, and
• Development of the necessary technology for In-situ Geochemical Aquifer
• Intervention (IGAI) with particular consideration for site specificity, and
• community level application.

Sub-network on Integrated Water Resources Management and Stakeholder Participation

The sub-network on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and stakeholder participation is a network of persons acting as representatives of groups of users and suppliers of water. At present it includes stakeholders from Barbados as well as regional representatives from other small island developing states (SIDS), and, international experts. The sub-network was formed at a Stakeholder Meeting on IWRM organised by the Commonwealth Science Council in collaboration with the World Bank, in Barbados in September 1999. The network will continue the dialogue begun in Barbados, and address the following types of issues:

• Which sectors and policies need to be integrated with the management of water resources in small island developing states?
• What are the most effective tools for implementing IWRM?
• What is the usefulness and limitations of decision support systems as a tool for stakeholder participation in IWRM?
• How best can existing management information systems be adapted as inputs to decision support systems?
• What technical, policy, institutional and financial measures need to be in place to ensure IWRM? and
• How best can the responsibility of implementing IWRM be shared amongst the different stakeholder groups?

IWRM also illustrates how harmonised policies and action can help small states to deal with limits on the availability of freshwater of adequate quality. It takes into account different use patterns for water, e.g., agriculture, domestic, industrial, commercial as well as recreational etc. It also projects a Decision Support System (DSS) developed by the World Bank in conjunction with the Institute for Water Studies, Chennai (India) as a tool for IWRM. The DSS model developed is known as THANNI (Tools for the Holistic Analysis of Natural Network Information) and has been applied in the Vaigai River Basin* of Tamil Nadu, India. This demonstrates how the available knowledge resources within the Commonwealth could be shared by countries as small as Barbados and as large as India.

*The Vaigai River Basin has an area of 7000 sq.km where current (and projected) supplies of surface and groundwater are not deemed sufficient to meet current (and projected) needs. In 1985 a tunnel diverted waters from the Periyar river in Kerala under a contentious 999-year agreement between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The western and northwestern parts of the basin receive heavy rainfall during the monsoons, with an average rainfall of 850mm over the basin. The land use is predominantly agricultural (consuming about 3800 million cubic metres of water annually), with primarily Paddy fields. There are significant water-sharing conflicts within agriculture itself, with the various agricultural areas competing for scarce water supplies. Increasing urban water demands are placing additional stresses on the limited water resources and threaten its quality. The intricate network of thousands of traditional storage tanks needs structural and siltation rehabilitation. This DSS has two major components: an Information System to help organise basic hydrologic, agricultural, urban and other information about the basin; and an Optimisation Model that maximises the benefits from water use subject to a variety of hydrological, economic, legal and policy constraints. Both the information system and model have been made in a flexible manner to allow for consideration of different scenarios, data updates, model reformulation and further analysis.

Desalination Sub-Network

The desalination sub-network was stimulated by the global concern about the availability of water for man, food and sustainable management of ecosystems in the next millennium. Some countries are in fact already facing water scarcity and have had to resort to the use of desalination (a high energy consuming process) to augment fresh water resources.

The use of this methodology sometimes creates a dilemma, as not many countries are energy rich. It therefore implies that by using desalination countries may be replacing the problem of water scarcity with one of energy shortage. Increasing use of conventional energy may have implications for CO2 emission and climate change.

The desalination sub-network is currently carrying out brain-storming sessions on desalination. It will review, analyse and discuss the problem of water scarcity and desalination including technology choices.

The steps being followed can be summarised as:

• Discussion of the issues presented in the problem statement or any other issue of relevance to the discussion in two sessions;
• Periodic analyses (daily or twice a week) of the discussions to identify trends, key issues, salient points and solutions.
• Present a summary of the outcome of the discussions
• Validate the outcome through peer review by non-members of the sub-network
• Post the results on the CKN website

The discussions are being held on the following aspects, which are being periodically summed up:

• Why desalination?

• When is it required?

• Desalination and managing water demand

• Energy requirements of desalination

• Preferred desalination options

• Costs of desalination

• Desalination and Sustainable development

The CKN in 2000 and Beyond - Prototype CKN Web Site

Among the features of the recently created prototype web site only two will be discussed here. The first deals with individual CKN country inputs. This part of the web site is intended to contain success stories, lessons learned, problems solved, best practices and problems being faced by individual countries. The purpose here is to make more accessible the accumulated knowledge and experience gained by countries in applying S&T to national needs as mentioned above. Sharing of know-how and experience should facilitate the development of co-operative projects between countries as well as create opportunities for exchange visits of individuals and teams between countries. The second deals with the CKN sub-networks, a few of which are discussed above to show how targeted and moderated discussion groups can facilitate the problem-solving focus of the CKN.

In addition the web site will contain a thematic repository of, for example, research papers, and solutions identified by problem-solving sub-networks. Links to national S&T Agencies' web sites and other S&T related networks and sites are also featured.

In the coming three years it is envisaged that the CKN will have enhanced functionality of the search facilities to extract maximum value from the knowledge bank contained in the thematic repository (know-how and know-who), the moderated discussion groups and the linked sites. It will be critically important for countries to sustain their input on progress in tackling problems. A sub-network of CKN focal points would contribute to maintaining the momentum in the country input as well as serve as a continuing source of intelligence on developments in their respective countries which can be shared through the CKN.

Article contributed by:
Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, FRS

Director General,
International S&T Affairs Directorate,
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research,
2 Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001
Telephone: + 91 11 3711134