Surface Water
"Water management in Mumbai: Prospects and challenges" - Videos from a round table organised by Observer Research Foundation
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 03:51 PMThese four films include details of speeches made by the Municipal Commissioner of Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mr Swadhin Kshatriya, who delivered a valedictory speech and Mr Sandeep Acharya, senior journalist from Loksatta, who expressed his views on the water crisis in Mumbai, as a part of a round table organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), on "Water management in Mumbai: Prospects and challenges", on the 10th of January 2010.
Multi-stakeholder dialogue is messy, but necessary
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:32 PMA workshop on ‘Understanding and resolving water conflicts in the North East India', was organized by Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India (Forum), in collaboration with Aaranyak (Guwahati), Centre for the Environment, IIT (Guwahati), Arghyam (Bangalore), SaciWATERs-CapNet Network (SCaN) and Cap-Net to discuss emerging issues related to water conflicts and their resolution in the region. This workshop was held in Guwahati on January 23-26, 2012. It aimed at presenting concepts and theory related water conflicts as well as issues especially relevant to the North East Region.
"Understanding and resolving water conflicts in the North East": Workshop held at Guwahati, 23-26 January 2012
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:31 PMGuest post by: Raju Mimi
Climate change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas -The state of current knowledge - A book by ICIMOD
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:10 PMThe Hindu Kush-Himalayan region has had very few resources to develop a detail scientific understanding needed to assess climatological, environmental, and other data in the past and there is very little information upon which a baseline for comparison with the present can be formed and future impacts can be anticipated.
Climate change adaptation in Himachal Pradesh - Sustainable strategies for water resources - A report by the ADB
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 10:29 AMIt includes the present and planned water utilisation across sectors and uses, within a framework of environment, conservation and sustainability. It also examined the present institutional arrangements for water resources management and assessed the requirements for institutional development, improvement in data collection and analysis, catchment and agriculture planning, and other reforms required to ensure sustainable water resources management.
Adapting to climate change - Conserving rice biodiversity of the Apatani tribe in North East India - An IGREC working paper
Posted on 15 Feb, 2012 11:47 PMIt also deals with the threat to the biodiversity in the area due to climate changes and argues for the need to devise adaptation strategies at an urgent level to preserve the unique genetic variability of the region and the indigenous knowledge of farming practices in the area.
Climate: Observations, projections and impacts - India - A report by the Met Office (UK)
Posted on 15 Feb, 2012 03:25 PMThis was done as a part of a project that aimed at compiling scientifically robust and impartial information on the physical impacts of climate change for more than 20 countries.
Stress of urban pollution on largest natural wetland ecosystem in East Kolkata - Causes, consequences and improvement
Posted on 14 Feb, 2012 10:23 AMThe impact of sewage pollution on these fish ponds and on the ecosystem is evaluated. Similarly, remedial measures to maintain water quality and to improve resource recovery efficiency are suggested.
Living rivers, dying rivers: Rivers in the Western Ghats
Posted on 10 Feb, 2012 04:12 PMRiver stories from Maharashtra: Many morals to learn
Parineeta Dandekar’s presentation began with an account of some statistics related to Maharashtra, the third largest state in India. Regarding the state of water resources in Maharashtra, she noted that of the five river basin systems, 55 percent of the dependable yield is available in the four river basins (Krishna, Godavari, Tapi and Narmada) east of the Western Ghats. These four river basins comprise 92 percent of the cultivable land and more than 60 percent of the population in rural areas. 45 percent of the state's water resources are from west flowing rivers which are mainly monsoon specific rivers emanating from the Western Ghats and draining into the Arabian Sea.
With 1821 large dams and more in the offing, Maharashtra has the maximum dams in the country (35.7%). However, the proportion of gross irrigated area vis a vis the gross cropped area at 17.8 percent is much lower than the national average of 44.6 percent. The contradictions from the state, which is home to the highest number of dams, were discussed. In nearly 70 percent of the state’s villages (around 27,600 villages), water is either not available within 500 metres distance, or within 15 metres below ground level or when available is not potable (World Bank, Promoting Agricultural Growth in Maharashtra, Volume 1, 2003).
Dandekar discussed the World Bank funded Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project (MWSIP) initiated in 2005 whose main components were establishment, operationalisation and capacity building of Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA); establishment of river basin agencies in Maharashtra; and restructuring and capacity building of the Water Resources Department. The MWRRA Act (2005) has been amended, taking out the clause for equitable water distribution, and granting the Cabinet the rights to have the last say about water entitlements. This has led to a diversion of water for irrigation from the vulnerable, suicide-prone Vidarbha region to thermal power plants. According to Prayas, “entitlements of more than 1500 MCM have been changed from agriculture to industries and cities”.
Lift irrigation - Methods and practices: A manual by Mihir Maitra (AFPRO)
Posted on 09 Feb, 2012 12:07 PMAccordingly, the book is written as a technical manual that remains accessible to people seeking to gain necessary expertise in the planning, design, installation and maintenance of lift irrigation systems (LIS). 