INTRODUCTION
The roundtable meeting was called as a result of the June 2000 IPTRID mission, which reviewed and updated the 1993 Pakistan-IPTRID programme. The June 2000 report is given in Appendix III.
The mission identified five priorities:
1. Improved O&M of drainage systems for sustainable agriculture and enhanced rural livelihoods.
2. Management of drainage water resources towards an NDA.
3. Water management in Baluchistan province.
4. Capacity building in GIS for waterlogging and salinity control.
5. Strengthening the IPTRID network in Pakistan.
For priorities 1-4, state-of-the-art papers were prepared by national consultants; these papers are presented in the following chapters. A group discussion of the papers was held for each priority, during which suggestions were made as to the direction that R&D should take.
At the time of the roundtable meeting, it was not possible to formulate detailed research projects for three of the priorities. An R&D project was formulated for priority 2, which appears in Appendix II.
Discussions are taking place between IPTRID and IWASRI on implementing priority 5, "Strengthening the IPTRID network in Pakistan". As soon as final details are agreed, a letter of agreement will be signed by IPTRID and IWASRI giving detailed terms of reference and outlining each party's obligations.
National and international experts, government planners and international donors participated in the roundtable meeting.
