The Regional Workshop on the Future of Large Rice-based Irrigation Systems in Southeast Asia was convened
by FAO in Ho Chi Minh City, 26–28 October 2005, with the support of the Evaluation Study of Paddy
Irrigation Under Monsoon Regime (ESPIM) Project funded by the Government of Japan and the Vietnam
Institute for Water Resources Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam. The major
objectives of the workshop were to identify strategies, opportunities and interventions for the sustainable
management of large rice-based irrigation systems in Southeast Asia over the coming decades in the context
of improved management of water resources, and to promote collaboration in the region.
The workshop included a half-day’s field trip to an irrigation system and two-and-a-half-day’s plenary
presentations, group discussions and plenary discussions, which focused on three crucial questions whose
answers could determine the evolving character of large rice-based irrigation systems over the next 20 to
25 years, namely: How would agriculture and rice production evolve in Southeast Asia? What changes would
be required in irrigation service provision by the large rice-based irrigation systems? How would ongoing
and expected reforms and investment programmes measure up against the projected needs of the region?
About fifty experts and representatives from international, regional, and subregional organizations and national
agencies and institutions, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Thailand and Viet Nam, participated in the workshop.