Sustainability

Featured Articles
December 6, 2022
The water that you eat
Need to shift to a more sustainable diet without compromising on major nutrients and calories
Historically, India has been a net exporter of virtual water (Image: PxHere)
November 6, 2022
Protecting children from climate change impact not child's play
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)
April 26, 2022
Making the invisible, visible
The water stewardship initiative by WOTR that developed a tool to visualise aquifers has not only helped farmers understand groundwater as a shared resource, but also led to a behavioural change among water users and helped implement groundwater laws and policies.
Groundwater, a fast disappearing resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 6, 2021
Leaving no one behind!
Will it be possible to ensure equity and justice while balancing climate action goals with economic progress?
Taking everyone along while achieving a balance between economic growth and climate goals is crucial (Image Source: Good Energies)
March 22, 2021
Water governance standard and certification system – An answer to the water problems of agrarian India
The recent 'Water governance standard and certification system' developed by WOTR can greatly help villages to develop good governance practices and manage their water needs equitably and sustainably.
Long queues waiting for tankers are common in different parts of Maharashtra during water scarcity (Image Source: WOTR)
December 29, 2020
Challenges to India’s urban water security and future growth patterns
Water resources in most Indian cities are overworked and overused, and not adequately replenished.
Cities in India are marked by unequal distribution of water, lack of access, outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of rainwater harvesting and other means of supply. (Image: Anish Roy, Pixabay)
Strengthening quality monitoring to provide safe drinking water: Common treatments and analyses
The latest techniques that can be utilized to ensure provision of safe drinking water are described here.
Ravi Savant
Posted on 30 Jan, 2012 10:59 AM

Author : Ravi Savant
Contextualising urban water supply in a changing environment: India Urban Conference, November 17-20 2011
The India Urban Conference (IUC) was organised to encourage multi-level dialogue regarding India's urban transformation.
AP Tiwari
Himanshu Kulkarni
LS Ganpati
Malini Shankar
Manjunath Prasad
Meera Mehta
M Sekhar
Pavan Kumar
Sudhakar Rao
Vishwanath S
Posted on 30 Jan, 2012 09:21 AM

It aimed to set the challenges faced by urban planners in the current economic, socio-political, and ecological landscape. This would enable informed and negotiated choices on urban development. The stated objectives of the conference are as follows:
Saving some last remaining free flowing rivers
Parineeta Dandekar writes about the novel conservation reserves on Kali, Bedthi and Aghanashini in the Western Ghats.
Parineeta Dandekar
Posted on 24 Jan, 2012 06:38 AM

Guest post by: Parineeta Dandekar
Liquid Dynamics: Rethinking sustainability in water and sanitation
This paper by Lyla Mehta highlights the various interactions around water.
Lyla Mehta
Posted on 20 Jan, 2012 06:55 PM

This paper begins with the slow rate of progress in achieving the millennium development goals of environmental sustainability, especially in the areas of water and sanitation. This is due to the disconnect between the global rhetoric (which often focuses on water as an economic good) and social realities (such as the cultural attitudes towards water)

cover illustration of Liquid Dynamics showing two girls in a paddy field

Dynamic groundwater resources of Karnataka (2009)
This report by the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka and the CGWB provides information on groundwater resource available.
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
Department of Mines and Geology (Government of Karnataka)
Posted on 16 Jan, 2012 11:05 PM

It also presents the status of utilisation of groundwater in Karnataka as on March 2009, both on watershed (sub catchment) and taluk wise areas having 2008-2009 as the base year. The methodology is improved as the estimations are carried out on watershed basis for both command and non command separately than apportioned to taluks.
Community managed sanitation in Kerala - Tools to promote governance and improve health - A Report by the World Bank Institute
This report by the World Bank Institute describes the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project.
Balachandra Kurup
Posted on 16 Jan, 2012 01:14 PM

It also deals with the efforts made by the Government of India to revolutionise sanitation services in the state of Kerala, with the aim of improving public health. Earlier experience had shown that significant governance problems had hindered water and sanitation reforms in local and national programmes in the state.
Hydropower in the Northeast: Potential and harnessing analysis - A critique
This paper was commissioned as an input to the study “Development and Growth in Northeast India: The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus” by the World Bank.
V V K Rao
Posted on 15 Jan, 2012 11:41 PM

The main objectives of the hydropower study are as follows: 

  • An analysis of the hydropower potential in the Northeast and key elements of the strategy that should be followed for optimal realization of this potential 
  • An overview of the hydropower development options in the Northeast with regard to the water resources in the different river basins, including consideration of flood control and irrigationmap of the north-eastern states

Map of the north-east states

River Yamuna - Dying by default or by design: A public lecture on river Yamuna
This presentation by Peace Institute Charitable Trust is part of a lecture organised by Toxics Link as part of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan and held at the India International centre in September 2007.
Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan
Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 05:24 PM

It aims to inform, enlighten and suggest solutions to bring back the river Yamuna to a healthy and resilient state. 

slide showing factories on the banks of the Yamuna

India, Pakistan and water - Lecture by Ramaswamy Iyer at MIDS
This lecture by Ramaswamy Iyer delivered at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) highlights the conflicts over water sharing in India and Pakistan.
Ramaswamy Iyer
Posted on 12 Jan, 2012 10:57 PM

It traces the roots of the conflicts to the strained relations between India and Pakistan following the partition and the framing of the Indus Water Treaty in 1960.
Wetlands for water quality management – The science and technology: A paper from Current Issues in Water Management
This paper examines the use of constructed wetlands for water purification.
A M Sedeki
Rana D Parshad
R K Upadhyay
Suman Bhowmick
Vikas Rai
Posted on 10 Jan, 2012 10:24 PM

The introduction begins witha brief overview of wetlands: their nature and services offered. These wetlands are ecosystems with water that is static or flowing and characerized by emergent , floating and submerged aquatic vegetation. Some of the services provided by wetlands are fish and fiber, water supply, water purification, flood regulation, recreational opportunities and tourism. It then details the importance of wetlands for water purification.Toxins enter the wetlands through farms, factories and runoff. These toxins are broken down or otherwise buried using a variety of bacteria. 

Location map of Keoladeo National park

Location map of Keoladeo National Park

Subscribe to Sustainability