Conflicts

Featured Articles
June 22, 2021 Policy matters this fortnight
Yamuna flows under (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
November 13, 2019 Policy matters this week
A domestic RO water purifier
November 11, 2019 Study points to vulnerabilities faced by women in the mountains and plains of Uttarakhand, which is likely to only increase with climate change.
Ganga's riverflow at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand (Image courtesy: Ankit Singh; Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 6, 2019 The number of people vulnerable to floods triggered by climate change by 2050 is triple that of previous estimates, according to a new study.
Aerial view of Chennai during floods 2015 (Image: Veethika, Wikimedia Commons, CC-SA 4.0 International)
October 25, 2019 Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.
Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Manipur’s floating lake at risk
A study using remote sensing techniques assesses significant changes in land use in Loktak lake. Posted on 18 Oct, 2019 12:37 PM

Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in North East India is also known as the ‘floating lake’ for the numerous phumdis or masses of vegetation it supports. The phumdis float around on the lake’s surface due to decay from the bottom.

A home on Loktak lake in Moirang, Manipur (Image: Sharada Prasad CS, Wikipedia Commons)
Pune groundwater extraction doubles in last decade; Uranium found in Telengana groundwater; Lower Subansiri project gets a boost
News this week Posted on 16 Oct, 2019 02:13 PM

Study finds Pune's groundwater extraction doubles in 9 years

Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh (Source: Kakul Baruah via Wikimedia Commons)
Saving Aarey, the last lungs of Bombay
Mumbai’s citizens came out in droves to save trees from being felled in Aarey to make way for the metro. Collective action is crucial to save the green lungs of India's rapidly urbanising cities. Posted on 11 Oct, 2019 06:30 PM

Last week saw protests of a different kind in Mumbai. Activists and citizens from all walks of life came together to protest the cutting of trees in Aarey Milk Colony, one of the few surviving green lungs of the fast growing and polluted city of Mumbai.

Aarey, the green lungs of Mumbai (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
From droughts to floods: India’s tryst with climate extremes
Deconstructing the traditional narrow engineering based policy discourses around floods and droughts and connecting them to social and cultural realities is the need of the hour in India. Posted on 01 Oct, 2019 11:54 AM

India has witnessed extreme weather conditions this year. While parts of the north and south have battled drought like conditions this summer, the northeast and western coastal areas witnessed heavy rains and floods.

Water talk Series at Mumbai (Image Source:Tata Insitute of Social Sciences)
The Water Future Conference in Bangalore: Towards a Sustainable Water Future
The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all. Posted on 30 Sep, 2019 12:38 PM

The Water Future Conference in Bangalore last week, saw many from the scientific community, academia, research, civil society and the media come together to discuss the state of water resources across the world and in India, as well as future pathways and scenarios, and different technological a

Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
Climate vulnerability map of India coming soon
DST and SDC working together to develop pan-India climate vulnerability assessment map, to help communities and states better prepare for climate change. Posted on 28 Sep, 2019 04:27 PM

New Delhi, September 27 (India Science Wire): Rising sea levels, increasing number of extreme weather events, urban floods, changing temperature and rainfall patterns - such impacts of climate change are being felt in many parts of India, and not just in the coastal areas or hilly regions. 

Dr. Akhilesh Gupta , head of the climate change programme at DST. Image source: India Science Wire
Water wisdom in times of a climate crisis
New report documents India’s rich traditions of water harvesting and sustainable use. Posted on 26 Sep, 2019 12:15 PM

A recent report by Shailendra Yashwant for Oxfam India looks at India’s ingenious ways of harvesting, storing and distributing water from the Kuhls in Himachal Pradesh that channel water from Himal

Bandhara (in Nashik, Maharashtra), a low masonry weir of 1.2 to 4.5 m height, which is constructed across a small stream for diverting the water into a small main canal taking off from its upstream side (Image: Shailendra Yashwant, Oxfam India)
India’s deepening water crisis
Making false doomsday claims of a water crisis could support problematic mega solutions, which could lead to more problems. Posted on 25 Sep, 2019 02:50 PM

The last few months have seen much debate and discussion on the fast approaching Day Zero, with claims that taps in 21 major Indian cities will dry up.

India's demand for water will exceed supply by a factor of two by 2030, as per a NITI Aayog report (Image: Vinoth Chandar, Flickr Commons (CC BY 2.0))
Manual scavenging is inhumane: SC
Policy matters this week Posted on 24 Sep, 2019 01:08 PM

Supreme Court question authorities on why manual scavenging still prevails

Despite the ban, manual scavenging continues. (Image courtesy: The Hindu)
How to restrict crops to geographically sustainable areas: The case of arecanut in Tumkur
Arecanut farmers in Karnataka are reeling from dipping groundwater levels and infrequent water supply for irrigation. In this article, some solutions are proposed. Posted on 13 Sep, 2019 12:19 PM

Arecanut is generally grown in the Malnad area of Karnataka, which receives high rainfall. However, it is also grown in dry land areas of Tumkur district, also in Karnataka, using groundwater.

Young arecanut trees grown in drylands of Tumkur region (Gubbi Taluk, Hodalur Village) Pic Credit: Chandana Eswar
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