India

Trading in virtual water
A study highlights the need to scale down the export of rice, maize, buffalo meat and other items to conserve groundwater in India. Posted on 13 Dec, 2019 09:12 AM

The recent trade war between the United States and China was, among other things, about virtual water - the hidden water in products. Producing anything, whether it is soyabean or clothes, uses water, and has a water footprint.

A farmer uses a hosepipe to irrigate crops at her farm in Nilgiris mountains, Tamil Nadu (Image: Hamish John Appleby for IWMI, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Locals reject social impact assessment report of Luhri II hydropower project
News this week Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 12:05 PM

Locals say impact assessment report does not accurately represent the real impact of Luhri II hydropower project

Sutlej river in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh (Image source: Sanyam Bahga, Wikipedia)
NGT orders 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers
Policy matters this week Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 12:05 PM

Ensure 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers: NGT to authorities

Polythene bags and solid waste left behind as water recedes in the Ganga river. (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Replacing rice will improve India’s climate resilience
A study calls for solutions that can benefit farmers and the environment and positively impact India's nutrition indicators. Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 11:50 AM

A new study finds that introducing coarse cereals such as millet and sorghum could improve India’s national food supply in many ways.

Rice field in Karnataka (Image: Guldem Ustun, Flickr Commons, CC BY 2.0)
India’s tryst with climate change
Dr. Aradhana Yaduvanshi, a hydro meteorologist at WOTR, talks to us about what current research on global warming shows, and possible adaptation and coping mechanisms. Posted on 06 Dec, 2019 04:23 PM

Global warming has given rise to unprecedented extreme events such as cyclones, floods, heatwaves and droughts in India. Why are these threats increasing?

Flooding in Mumbai during the monsoons (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Holistic approach needed to clean the Ganga
A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river. Posted on 06 Dec, 2019 10:39 AM

The National Mission for Cleaning Ganga was set up in 2014 and the Namami Gange programme was launched the year after, with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore. The implementation of the flagship programme was followed by the framing of a draft National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill, 2019 to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
In wake of climate change, prioritise and invest in water security and clean drinking water
To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid. Posted on 04 Dec, 2019 05:33 PM

While climate activists and world leaders were gathering in Paris in the first week of December 2015 to discuss the impact of climate change, the metropolis Chennai in the southern corner of India was inundated with floods.

Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
Looking back into history to understand droughts
The 2015­-2018 drought, the longest, but less severe of droughts experienced by India raises alarm on the negative effects of future droughts on water security in the country. Posted on 04 Dec, 2019 02:53 PM

Droughts in India: types, causes and effects

Droughts are greatly feared in India, impacting food production, the economy and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. 60% of India’s population is engaged in agriculture.

India will see more droughts in the future. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face Posted on 02 Dec, 2019 03:53 PM

Water, its use, availability, and impact on people has been on the public policy debate centerstage for the past several years. In India, a growing water crisis driven by climate change, inefficiency, and water pollution is slowly moving to a near-permanent state that will harm the country’s people, economy and environment.  

Picture credit: Romit Sen
Wind energy development and policy in India
A study highlights the barriers to harnessing India's potential for wind energy. Posted on 02 Dec, 2019 12:55 PM

Wind energy is a renewable, inexhaustible, non-polluting and popular alternative source of clean energy. India stands fourth in the world in wind energy conversion and utilization, with an installed capacity of about 34,605?MW as of September 2018.

Windmills in Karnataka, India. Picture credit: India Water Portal
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