News and Articles

Managing willows in Wular lake
The flood in the Kashmir valley in 2015 was the result of the destruction of wetlands. A video tells us what we can do to save the valley. Posted on 10 Jul, 2017 05:07 AM

The devastating flood in 2015 in the Kashmir valley affected more than 2.5 lakh houses and displaced about 5.5 lakh people. The economic loss was massive.  

Many researchers and experts believe that careful conservation and protection of the lakes, ponds and wetlands in the Kashmir valley could have reduced the scale of the devastation to a large extent. 

Wular lake seen from Saderkote Park. (Source: Wikipedia)
Blind spots in WASH
Many gaps in the various WASH programmes need to be fixed to ensure the ultimate goal of sustainable access to water and sanitation for all by 2030. Posted on 08 Jul, 2017 07:48 PM

The current set of government programmes such as Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) have gone a long way in improving access to water and sanitation services in India.

Drinking water situation in India continues to be grim. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Clearing the fog on water conservation
Fog water collection from low hanging clouds can bring respite to residents in the water-stressed regions around the world. Posted on 05 Jul, 2017 02:29 PM

Water scarcity has been the most pressing challenge to socio-economic and human development since ages. Globally, almost 800 million people do not have access to potable water. Reports from the United Nations state that one in every three people in the world is facing the water crisis.

Fog harvesting structures.
Why is Shillong sweating?
The temperature in India’s biodiversity hotspot is on the rise which will have widespread implications in the future. Posted on 05 Jul, 2017 05:18 AM

Sitting in the glass-and-concrete State Convention Centre in the capital of the hilly state of Meghalaya, participants of a media workshop on climate change are feeling sweaty. The convention centre is not air conditioned nor does it have ceiling fans.

Shillong (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Loan waiver alone cannot solve farmers' woes: Experts
News this week Posted on 04 Jul, 2017 02:26 PM

Need to tackle core issues to end farm crisis: Experts

A farmer on his field. (Source: India Water Portal)
Uttarakhand against living person status to rivers
Policy matters this week Posted on 04 Jul, 2017 02:04 PM

Uttarakhand challenges living person status to Ganga and Yamuna rivers, moves SC

Ganga river at Kachla, Uttar Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
The good clams of Ashtamudi
Thanks to the timely intervention of fishermen who adopted sustainable fishing practices, the clam population in the Ashtamudi was saved from total depletion. Posted on 03 Jul, 2017 08:03 PM

Spanning an area of 61 sq km, the Ashtamudi lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala. While the lake on the outside radiates with natural beauty, there is a notable treasure nesting deep within its waters--the short-neck clams.

(Source:Ken Hammond, Wikimedia)
Power at play in water business
While informal water market plays an important role in meeting the water needs of peri-urban Hyderabad, its power dynamics with the authorities determine its efficiency. Posted on 03 Jul, 2017 05:49 AM

The informal water market plays a crucial role in meeting the drinking and domestic water security of peri-urban communities. The increasing reliance on private informal water vendors in all our study villages speaks of their significance.

A jungle comes to the city
The redeveloped ecosystem of the Yamuna biodiversity park is what a polluted city like Delhi needs. Posted on 02 Jul, 2017 01:56 PM

It’s July now and the temperature is slowly dipping in Delhi. Only a few migratory birds wintered at the Yamuna biodiversity park remain. Others have left for Central Asia and Siberia. Some species of summer terrestrial migrants are expected to arrive while some others can be seen enjoying the park’s wetlands.

Black spotted butterfly at Yamuna biodiversity park. (Image: Prabhmeet Singh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Saving soil health
The government’s nutrient-based subsidy has done more harm to the soil than good. Only sustainable agriculture can save the nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil. Posted on 01 Jul, 2017 10:21 PM

Bhanu is bracing herself for an income loss this year. The wheat she sowed after bajra in winter did not give her the productivity expected. Her soil health is declining, she says. To top it all, she is afraid there will be deficient rainfall this year in her village in Ferozepur Jhirka in Mewat in Haryana.

Farmers thresh paddy during harvest at Sangrur, Punjab. (Source: Neil Palmer, CIAT, 2011, Wikimedia Commons)
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