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)
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)
Every day is a dry day in Kovaipudur
While Kovaipudur is finding it difficult to survive another season with no groundwater and an indifferent government, the solution is in harvesting every drop of rain it gets. Posted on 30 Jun, 2017 07:11 PM

With its pleasant climate and serene environment, Kovaipudur, a quaint township located in Coimbatore, was once known to be a haven for retired people. Kovaipudur is living out a nightmare now, one that has snowballed over the years.

Rainwater harvesting is the way to go in water scarce regions. (Source: IWP Flickr)
Why save the vultures?
The country’s vulture population has declined by a whopping 99 percent in the last 15 years. A video tells us what it means to us and the environment. Posted on 30 Jun, 2017 04:28 PM

Vultures are nature’s own cleanup crew. These scavengers are known to be immensely effective in managing animal waste by feeding on animal carcasses that, otherwise, have no other ways of disintegrating quickly.

Griffon Vulture (Source:Thermos,Wikipedia)
What we should know about National Water Commission
Mihir Shah Committee report suggests restructuring CWC and CGWB and setting up an apex body for water management. Experts, while welcoming the idea, raise some concerns. Posted on 29 Jun, 2017 07:26 PM

The landmark report titled A 21st century institutional architecture for India's water reforms submitted by the expert committee chaired by Dr Mihir Shah on restructuring the

Restructuring water governance. (Source: India Water Portal)
Mihir Shah Committee report: How to solve water crisis
As a solution to the water crisis, Mihir Shah Committee recommends constituting National Water Commission--a multidisciplinary organisation that will look into water management more holistically. Posted on 29 Jun, 2017 03:23 PM

The country’s water sector is going through a rough patch. From polluted water resources to increasing demand for water due to rising population and frequent droughts, there are many problems that plague the sector. The worst sufferers are farmers and this is evident from increasing farmer suicides.

Water governance for future water security. (Source: IWP via Flickr photos)
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