Tamil Nadu

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Institute, Kodaikanal is a non-profit training and development organization dedicated to providing practical solution to a wide range of water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental issues across South Asia. It is one of the few institutes in India offering both formal and non formal courses in water and sanitation throughout the year. It has launched two formal courses which are job oriented. The formal courses are affiliated to the Madurai Kamaraj University in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. 

To what extent farmers and water resource managers already practice adaptive management and whether it is practiced in an optimal manner or could there be areas for improvement based on recent advancements in the theory of adaptive management are some of the questions that are particularly appropriate in the light of rapid changes in river basin water use and also in relation to basin closure.

This paper draws on the development and use of water resources in the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP), with the LBP reservoir and the 84,000 hectare (ha) LBP command area. The project diverts water from the Bhavani River, a tributary of the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu.

This report by Institute of Financial Management and Research (Madras) and Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) deals with the impact of sea level rise on major infrastructure, ecosystems and land along the Tamil Nadu coast.

The Tamil Nadu coastline is about 1,076 km, with thirteen coastal districts, and it forms a fairly large contiguous and narrow coastal strip dotted with fragile ecological features and rampant development activities. There are major, existing and proposed, economic and infrastructure developments, including ports, power plants, highways and even airports, which are being planned very close to the shoreline along India’s coast.

This presentation by Sekhar Raghavan, Director, Rain Centre, Chennai, India highlights the experiences and the challenges faced by Rain Centre in introducing ecological sanitation in the coastal town of Kovalam near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India along with Coastal and Rural development Trust (CRDT), a small non profit centre based in Kovalam .

The coastal town of Kovalam was selected as a case because of its peculiar situation with its location in a fast developing  peri-urban area in proximity to Chennai city characterised by good groundwater situation, adequate land and housing facilities, but with a glaring and urgent need and demand for toilets.

The initiative on hill wetlands in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve is supported through this. The area is located at the junction of the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats, or Sahyadris, the two prominent mountain ranges that run almost parallel to the coastlines of Peninsular India and is home to indigenous forest people and is a rare repository of mountain biodiversity.

The Nilgiris is home to unique wetlands that are the source of sustenance of numerous animals and human communities. Wetlands are among the more important reservoirs of biodiversity that nature has painstakingly crafted over millions of years.

Organizers:

• Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Venue: Bharath Scout and Guide campus, Wenlock Park (opposite Triplicane Railway Station, Marina Beach, Chennai

Organizers:

Organizer: Tamil Nadu Science Forum

Venue: Hosur, Tamil Nadu

Description:

Southern Regional Workshop on Climate Change, is being organised by the Tamil Nadu Science Forum on behalf of the All India Peoples Science Network, New Delhi, with support from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and the Shakthi Foundation, New Delhi. 

The Workshop is part of a series of regional workshops aimed at motivating and training activists to create social movements aimed at mitigating and adapting to the galloping climate change. A total of around 50 scientists, resource persons and social activists from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry are expected to attend this event.

Venue: Thamukkam Ground, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Topics:

• Impact of warming the globe–Scientific and social background
• Politics of global warming 
• Interconnection between present development model and warming the globe/deteriorating climate 
• Towards alternative development, initiating nature-friendly and human-friendly measures