News and Articles

Alternative farming method in Karnal
No-till agriculture, an alternative farming method, which helps prevent soil depletion as well as uses water efficiently, is being used successfully by farmers in Haryana. Posted on 05 Apr, 2014 01:24 PM

Kalwaheri is a village of over thousand households comprising mostly of small farmers and landless people tucked away in Karnal, Haryana. The district, once the birth place of the Green Revolution, is now far from green.

 Seed-fertilizer drill in use at Kalwaheri village
Fishing for shrimp in Haryana’s farmlands
Saline waters left Rohtak's farmlands fallow. After some research by local organisations, the farmers who were into agriculture, could soon move into aquaculture! Posted on 05 Apr, 2014 01:08 PM

Mile after mile of saline lands line the Delhi-Rohtak-Bhiwani stretch of the highway. Here, the land wasn't always saline, it became that way thanks to canal irrigation. Farmers have used extensive surface water, which has led to an increase in groundwater levels. This leads to the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity.

Tiger shrimp production at Rohtak; Source: CIFE
South Sikkim adapts to climate change
Climate change is causing heavy, brief rain spells in many parts of the world. Rain-shadowed South Sikkim is bearing the brunt of it in Northeast India. The video shows how the people are adapting. Posted on 02 Apr, 2014 12:11 AM

Climate change poses a threat to all. Be it forests, water or agriculture- it affects everything. India's Northeast, particularly, has witnessed a great deal of this impact. Sikkim, the physical bridge between the Northeast and mainland India, is also bearing the brunt of climate change in a myriad ways with agriculture and water bearing the most pronounced repercussions.

Climate change affects agriculture
Coexistence possible—farms and forests, man and nature
Khonoma village near Kohima upholds a sustainable form of jhum cultivation, which doesn't fell but only prunes trees. This video narrates how farms and forests can co-exist. Posted on 01 Apr, 2014 11:43 PM

Nagaland holds many secrets of evolution and sustainable living within its green frontiers. Khonoma village near Kohima is one such plae. It is known not only for being the last frontier the British could never conquer but also for its environmental conscious community and distinct farming practices. 

Alder trees are great nitrogen fixators
These bacteria are good!
Bioaugmentaion is a method by which wastewater is cleaned using selected microbes, mainly bacteria. This process is both cost effective and efficient. Posted on 01 Apr, 2014 11:16 PM

71% of earth’s surface is covered with water found in rivers, lakes and oceans. Due to massive urbanization and industrialization, these resources are often polluted with garbage and industrial waste among other things. There are several ways of cleaning this wastewater. One such method is bioaugmentation.

Wastewater treatment by bioaugmentation
Water buckets of the Western Ghats
Exploitation of groundwater in Panchgani, Maharashtra, led to acute water shortage but the people of Akhegani decided to do something about it. Watch how they built spring boxes to revive springs. Posted on 01 Apr, 2014 04:51 PM

The Western Ghats, known for its biodiversity, is one of India's most sought after ecological hotspots. One of its stark features is the basalt rocks, often referred to as water buckets indicating the water retention capacity of the rock, found there.

Basalt rocks characterize the Deccan Plateau
Maharashtra reels under hail storms and unseasonal rainfall
News this month: Maharashtra faces the impact of climate change; Developing El Nino raises fear of a weak Indian monsoon; India's water crisis to worsen in the coming years, says UN. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 11:23 PM

Maharashtra reels under hail storms

Unseasonal rainfall in Mumbai (Source: Wikipedia)
Abolish manual scavenging: SC
Policy matters this month: SC directs all states to abolish manual scavenging; MoEF reduces ESA in its new draft notification on Western Ghats; Maharashtra all set to clean its rivers. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 11:14 PM

Abolish manual scavenging: SC

A manual scavenger in Chennai (Namathu Blogspot)
A picture paints a thousand words? So do comics!
Local jokes, dialogues and narratives from issues of community quarrels over water tanks to rainwater harvesting came alive in a Grassroots Comics workshop in Sikkim to mark World Water Day. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 10:31 PM

As a run up to World Water Day 2014, India Water Portal conducted a Grassroots Comics workshop with Field Facilitators, Barefoot Engineers and other field workers of the Dhara Vikas Programme.

Think about water while watching these movies
Shimla celebrated World Water Day 2014 with students of Bishop Cotton and St. Thomas School who watched movies and participated in discussions on water conservation. Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 10:29 PM

People learn and retain better through visual media. That's a fact. So what better way to bring attention to topics around the themes of water than by screening movies? That was the thought process behind organising an event on World Water Day with school students in Shimla. 

Participants at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
×