Governance

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
October 22, 2022 Role of MGNREGA in the year after the 2020 lockdown: Survey findings from Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh
MGNREGA provided income support or security to vulnerable households during the pandemic (Image: UN Women)
October 14, 2022 Arthan organizes a fireside chat to highlight the need for more data talent for social impact
There is a need to integrate data science into the existing education system (Image: Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Public Domain Pictures)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
July 14, 2022 The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
July 10, 2022 People in India fleeing disasters like drought more likely to have experienced trafficking or modern slavery than those fleeing floods or cyclones
The country's climate change assessment suggests things are only going to get worse (Image: Saurav Karmakar, India Water Portal Flickr)
Sand mining in coastal areas: Legal procedures to follow
Understanding the legal status of sand mining is important before pursuing any remedy or seeking a regulatory response from concerned authorities. Here’s how it can be done. Posted on 30 Nov, 2017 02:29 PM

The river beds, banks, fish and all the other organisms living in and around the river are a major source of livelihood for the traditional communities who live there. The river beds have sand, which is extracted for both domestic and commercial use.

There are various laws in the country to regulate illegal sand mining. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Palk Bay: Trawled and damaged
In the last of a two-part series on the importance of conserving the Palk Bay, a video shows how trawling is spelling doom to the ecology of the bay. Posted on 28 Nov, 2017 04:05 PM

The Palk Bay is an ecological paradise located between the island nation of Sri Lanka and the South East Peninsula India. The region separates the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu from the northern parts of Sri Lanka.

The Palk Bay (Source: GIZ)
Conserving Palk Bay
In the first of a two-part series on the ecological degradation of the Palk Bay, a video explains the importance of conserving this biodiversity hotspot. Posted on 28 Nov, 2017 04:04 PM

The Palk Bay is a 15,000 sq km biodiversity conglomeration nestled between the island nation of Sri Lanka and South East Peninsula India with a coastal length of 250 km on the Indian side. 

The Palk Bay (Source: GIZ)
CRZ clears inland waterway terminal at Haldia
Policy matters this week Posted on 28 Nov, 2017 01:55 PM

Green nod to Inland waterway terminal at Haldia

Haldia port in West Bengal (Source: Wikimedia commons)
Toilet use in Uttarakhand: A mountainous issue
A study from remote villages in rural Uttarakhand finds that toilet use is influenced by geography, accessibility, availability of infrastructure and occupation of villagers. Posted on 23 Nov, 2017 02:36 PM

“Sometimes I go for open defecation, sometimes I use the toilet. It’s not like I always have to use the toilet. When I go for work here and there, I defecate in the jungle,” says Renu from one of the remote villages in Tehri Garwal district of Uttarakhand when asked why she does not use latrines every day.

Tanks and canals form the water supply system in a remote Uttarakhand village. (Image source: Chicu Lokgariwar)
Innovative government-NGO partnerships for development
The partnership between the NGO SEWA and Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board is an important policy shift that signifies NGOs can be competent providers of public services. Posted on 22 Nov, 2017 08:49 AM

Sari-clad women handling tools with alacrity while fixing water hand pumps is a common sight in the Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat.

Bayad and Dhansura subdistricts in Gujarat.

Trained and organised by SEWA, the women who repair hand pumps are called barefoot mechanics. (Photo by Amruta Mahakalkar)
Where there are no sewers: The toilet cleaners of Lucknow
On this World Toilet Day, let's turn the spotlight behind the scenes of the sanitation chain, on those who clean out latrines where there are no sewers to carry away the waste. Posted on 20 Nov, 2017 03:41 PM

November 19th is World Toilet Day. Enormous progress has been made in the global effort to provide safe and affordable toilets for the world's poorest citizens since World Toilet Day was first declared in 2001.

The toilet cleaners of Lucknow (Image source: CS Sharada Prasad)
Maharashtra to pay Rs 100 crore for river restoration
Policy matters this week Posted on 20 Nov, 2017 01:54 PM

SC orders Maharashtra government to pay Rs 100 crore for restoration of Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers

A filthy river in Maharashtra. (Source: IWP photos via Rohit Sharma and Arpita Bhagat)
Solar mamas to light up their homes
A Rajasthan institute trains women from inaccessible villages of poor countries to make their villages solar energy efficient. Posted on 20 Nov, 2017 11:19 AM

In her mid-30s, Lino Lameko works as an assistant at the office of the national women’s council in Funafuti, the capital of Tuvalu. She has come all the way from the Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean to Tilonia, a small village located in Ajmer in Rajasthan to become a “barefoot solar engineer”.

Over 1000 women from all over the world have come to Barefoot College to become barefoot solar engineers. (Image: Barefoot College)
Groundwater training programme by ACWADAM
ACWADAM will conduct a certificate course on training and facilitation in hydrogeology to enhance civil societies capabilities in watershed and groundwater management.
Posted on 16 Nov, 2017 10:48 PM

ACWADAM has begun running a fifteen-day training programme on basic hydrogeology or groundwater science, for professionals from Civil Society Organisations or NGOs.

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