2007 : News of Studies and Projects

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Consulting Services

Mongolia

2007 completes some 15 years of almost continuous involvement by IID Directors in providing consulting services in Mongolia. Its representative office in Ulaan Bataar, managed by Mrs Ariunaa Chagnaadorj, has now been in existence for almost 7 years providing IID with a rare collection of data and knowledge of this market.

In 2007 it completed assisting the Government of Mongolia to develop its Agricultural Sector Strategy 2007 - 2015 funded by the ADB and the Government of Mongolia. Kevin Rutter (then a Director of IID) managed an international team of Canadians, US, UK and Mongolian specialists to develop this strategy for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The Government of Mongolia officially introduced this Agricultural Sector Strategy 2007 -2015 on 3 December 2007 to international financial institutions, the Mongolian Parliament, foreign ambassadors, donors and investors in Mongolia, particularly in the food and agricultural sector.

The company also completed its duties advising the Government of Mongolia in the implementation of the ADB funded Agriculture Sector Development Project (Loan 1822-MON), the biggest ever Project in the agricultural sector in the country. The overall objective of this five year Project implemented in western Mongolia was to develop a more market-oriented, efficient and sustainable agriculture sector and reduce poverty by providing increased income opportunities. Mr Kevin Rutter managed a consortium of GTZ of Germany, Agriteam Canada, Monconsult and an international team made up of Australians, Germans, Canadians UK, US and Mongolian citizens. Mr John Leake was also involved in this project as a livestock specialist.

The Capacity Building and Small Activities Facility (CaBSAF) is being managed for Coffey International Pty and AusAID and has been expanded and extended to a second stage after the successful three years of the first phase. CaBSAF offers (i) AusAID Australian Development and Distance Education Scholarships, (ii) Capacity Building Activities aimed at enhancing the capacity of human resources in targeted Government agencies and evaluating outcomes through the use of agency action plans, and (iii) it manages direct assistance from the Government of Mongolia to NGOs' for small development activities relating to community development, income generation, education, health and good governance.

Philippines

IID Directors now have some 28 years almost continuous involvement in the Philippines and has had a representative office there for some 14 years.

In 2007 David King (now a Director of IID) won a project for Oceana Gold to prepare and implement short and long term community development programs to focus on livelihoods and community plantation forests in the region of the company's gold mining activities.

Uzbekistan

IID Directors have been involved in Uzbekistan for some 12 years mainly in the agricultural and water sectors.

In 2007 David King has completed his assignment as Team Leader of the Djizzak and Surkhandarya Water Supply and Sanitation Project for the Government of Uzbekistan. The Project is a $US 25 million Asian Development Bank funded water and sanitation development project for Tashkent and other large towns in Uzbekistan, 75% of which is procurement. It is the first in a succession of 5 projects designed to rehabilitate communal water, waste water and sewage infrastructure throughout Uzbekistan, totalling $135 million, about 80% of which will be procurement. IID is to manage a study tour for procurement officials to Australia during 2008.

Timor Leste

IID Directors have experience in Timor Leste intermittently since 1974 during the Portuguese colonial period and this provides it with a valuable long term perspective of its particular opportunities and problems.

In 2007 Dr Merle Menegay has continued his input to USAID projects in Timor Leste in the area of agricultural marketing. Disruptions due to the elections have slowed some activities down but market developments to facilitate the production and movement of horticultural products from favourable upland regions to the main city markets and shops is being pursued along with activities to provide work for urban youth.

India

IID Directors have experience in India since 1978, much of it involving the Dairy Industry both at the production milk collection and processing level.

In 2007 Dr Merle Menegay has undertaken a study for ACDI/VOCA funded by USAID to investigate factors affecting the competitiveness of small farm horticulturalists in reaching large city markets in Pune City from farmers in Maharasta, Hyderabad City from farmers in Andra Pradesh and Chandigarh City from farmers in the Punjab. The study, part of the Growth Oriented Micro-Enterprise Development Program (GMED), has developed initiatives to involve lead farmer groups more deeply in an integrated supply chain through to a significant urban merchant ITC Limited.

Indonesia

IID directors first worked in Indonesia in 1972 in the eastern islands and now have experience in almost all provinces in the agricultural, livestock and agro processing sector.

In 2007 John Leake (Director of IID) undertook follow up work on the development of a group settlement system for small holders in Central Kalimantan involving the rehabilitation of degraded tropical forests for use in a mixture of plantation forests, tree crops, food production and livestock. This extended work began in 1982. Additional conceptual work was also undertaken to show the place of this type of activity in emerging carbon off set markets and the importance of involving the community in the essential task of measuring carbon pool changes in soil and vegetation to facilitate carbon sales in such a way that both the buyers and sellers are somewhat similarly informed about the nature and transparency of the transaction. More details can be found on the Bo-Sequestration special features page.

Risk Science Group

Wayne Haslam has continued the development of this area of business in Australia and New Zealand. The IID risk science team, led by risk scientist Ken Granger, has undertaken 15 separate studies for local governments in Australia and New Zealand over the past three years covering all natural disaster risks, including bushfire and heatwave as well as risks posed by anthropogenic hazards including hazardous chemicals and terrorism. The group includes Dr Graham Shorten, geotechnical risk specialist, Dr Marion Leiba, earthquake and landslide specialist, Dr Chas Keys, flood risk specialist and Tony Batten, project manager. The group added to its list of significant risk management studies during 2007. The Emergency Risk Management Studies of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were completed only weeks before the region was impacted by a major east cost low event in June 2007. These studies proved to be exceptionally accurate in the assessment of natural disaster risks within the region. The serious flash flooding experienced in Newcastle, submersion of major evacuation routes and even the beaching of a large ship near the harbour entrance were all risks that were clearly identified and assessed during the course of the studies. Risk mitigation strategies recommended as a result of the studies are now being implemented by the local governments.

Stage 2 of the Lefevre Multi Hazard Risk Assessment proposed long term solutions to the anthropogenic risks emerging as a consequence of major land use conflicts and urban redevelopment on the Lefevre Peninsula in Adelaide. These solutions are now being assessed and implemented by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and the State Government.

A multi-hazard risk study was completed for Caboolture Shire Council. This study assessed the risks posed to this rapidly growing community north of Brisbane by cyclones, storm tide, flood, bushfire, landslide, earthquake and heatwaves. A similar study for Townsville City Council was commenced at the end of the year.

A national research paper on Local Government Land Use Planning and Risk Mitigation was prepared for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) in conjunction with SMEC Australia Pty Ltd. The research was undertaken to progress the understanding of local government's contribution to the National Framework for Natural Disaster Management (national framework) using integrated land use planning and development controls. Both the Natural Disasters in Australia report and the National Bushfire Inquiry, written on behalf of COAG, have noted land use planning as the single most important mitigation measure for limiting future disaster losses in areas of new development.

This research paper highlights local governments' capability and capacity to contribute to the national framework, through the application of land use planning and development controls.

Development Fund

Bio-sequestration of Carbon

The development fund has supported the activities of John Leake in developing concepts for bio-sequestration of carbon in the tropics with Professor Tim Flannery. This has involved reviewing case studies, reports and other literature on carbon sequestration into forests, agricultural land and other land and near shore systems. A number of significant papers have been produced, one of which influenced the Australian Government in its decision to support a $200 million forestry fund for APEC countries (announced in April 2007). These papers are summarised on our new special features page Carbon Bio-Sequestration.

Mentoring Program

IID has formed a link with the new faculty of Community Development in the Anthropology discipline of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Both John Leake and Dr Merle Menegay have been appointed adjunct Associate Professors and will provide occasional lectures in aspects of rural development, initially for 3 years as part of our mentoring program.

QPod Systems limited

IID was instrumental in securing a grant from Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) for Agon Berryfruit distributors to trial the new generation QPod delivery system for strawberries around Australia. The $345,000 project began in November 2007 and will be completed in July 2008. John Leake of IID will coordinate the trials which have been planned by Dr Merle Menegay of IID, Rod Lewis of Agon, Mike Rettke of SARDI (South Australian Agricultural Research Institute) with technical support of QPod in New Zealand. This continues long term support for QPod and associated companies by the IID development fund. (See www.qpod.com)

The company has also been retained to secure support for the development of a modular system for growing vegetables in organic soils in greenhouses and in residential areas.

NyPa Australia Limited

IID has continued to coordinate and administer this company on behalf of its shareholders. The year has been a sad one for the shareholders with the untimely death of Professor Nicholas Yensen, the breeder of the company's halophyte range of plants. The international rights to these plants have now been assigned to NyPa Australia Limited in return for an issue of shares to the US shareholders and the estate of Professor Yensen.

A program of consolidation of the company's activities in Australia, Spain, Dubai and the US is to occur in 2008. The company has managed to keep a fairly extensive research program going during the dislocation associated with the illness and death of professor Yensen by means of joint ventures with other institutions including:

La Trobe University through an Australian Research Council which is funding research into the productive and environmental benefits of the use of the NyPa Forage in salt effected lands. This program is being managed by Mark Sargeant, a long time employee of NyPa Australia, and being assisted by Dr Peter Sale and Dr C Tang of La Trobe. Mr Sargeant is now completing his PhD having passed through the IID mentor program in 1997 into the employment of NyPa Australia Limited.
Western Australian Department of Agriculture's Australian Rural Towns Program and the University of Western Australia who have been evaluating the Company's NyPa Turf against other salt tolerant turfs for use as an amenity plant that can be watered using the rising saline ground water that is increasingly appearing in many rural towns in inland Australia as a result of poor irrigation practice. This is a good example of turning a problem, rising saline ground water and costly fresh irrigation water, into and asset, a source of water for parks etc.
The South Australian Vine Improvement (SAVI) program SAVI is evaluating a range of salt and phylloxera tolerant grapevine rootstocks to find the rootstock that produces the best quality wine in conditions where the irrigation water is becoming salty. The trials have been underway for 3 years with another two years to run.
Murdoch University Veterinary School and the Challenger TAFE Aquaculture unit are developing a land based aquaculture system for farmers in Western Australia who have suitable saline groundwater. The NyPa Forage™ has been evaluated against wetland reeds as a system to strip nutrients from the saline effluent before discharging this back into the environment. The NyPa Forage has shown itself to be superior to all others evaluated and the remaining part of the trial is to evaluate the financial benefits from feeding the fodder to livestock.
International Biosaline Centre (ICBA) in Dubai, this institution has continued its evaluation of a range of halophytes for livestock production from saline groundwater, this has included both the wild seeded variety of Distichlis spicata and the NyPa Forage (Yensen 4a), the results continue to be very impressive with annual yield of ash free dry matter approaching 20 tonnes per annum in three harvests. (See www.biosaline.org follow the links via the publications tab to the 2006 annual report page 85 for the NyPa project and its results.

The technical highlights of the company in 2007 have been:

Demonstration that the NyPa Forage improves drainage in wet saline discharge zones, improves soil organic matter down to about 30 cms,
Success of the NyPa Forage under irrigation with saline aquaculture effluent,
Demonstration that salt priming improves the 'strike' of the NyPa forage at planting time. More details can be found at www.nypa.com.au
Confirmation in Dubai of the productive potential of the NyPa Forage under irrigation with saline irrigation,
The promising results of the NyPa Turf under irrigation with saline groundwater.

Land and Water Repair Company Pty Ltd (Land Repair Australia)

The company also continued its management of Land Repair Australia, a company set up to pursue opportunities emanating from the Land Repair Fund Study carried out for the SA Government Centre for Natural Resource Management in 2005. This company's first land rehabilitation venture, the Wellington East Wetland and its associated real estate project has almost completed its pathway through the rezoning processes so that actual development is expected to begin in 2008. See www.wellwetland.com.

The company has also continued its work with the SA Water Industry Alliance to monitor the process of water reform and to recommend areas where member firms can participate and demonstrate their capabilities. It has selected the North Adelaide Plains as the best location because of the range of technologies and techniques being developed there including, aquifer re-injection storage and recovery, rain water harvesting and mixing with treated effluent water to provide even quality irrigation water, hydroponics, trickle irrigation and subsoil irrigation.

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