Pune District

June signals the start of the monsoons in many parts of India. Pune and its surrounding areas in Maharashtra have witnessed heavy showers since the first week of June. The rains let up for a weeks time during which I visited a few places on the outskirts of Pune city.

Organisers

Seva Sahayog, Vijnana Bharati,GIST & Maharishi Karve Stree Sikshan Sanstha

Offered by 

Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune, on behalf of Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts, India

About the opening 

Maharashtra is reeling under a drought – one of the worst in the last 40 years. The state declared drought in 125 out of 358 talukas during kharif 2012-13, and then declared water scarcity in 3,905 villages in rabi 2012-13.

Only 8% of India are farmers - is the census accurate?

A fluttering butterfly or a dashing cheetah immediately bring vivid images to mind. Does the image of a plant stir us as much? Are we as fascinated watching a flower bloom? Probably not. Maybe that’s why there is such a large focus on endangered animals and birds and not so much on plant species that are dying out.

Is your building green enough?

Land use changes  hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. An assessment in an area with seasonally limited water availability and which is subject to rapid socio- economic development and population growth will provide an exemplary view on the local impacts of major recent developments in India. In this backdrop this paper analyzes past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. The aim of the paper is:

• assess the land use changes between 1989/1990 and 2009/2010
• analyze the impacts of these changes on the long-term water balance components in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of the city of Pune.