Sustainability

Organizer: Department of Natural Resources

Description: TERI University, New Delhi in collaboration with kCube, Chennai is planning to organize Training Program on Open Source GIS – Quantum GIS.

Guest post by Mr. Chetan Pandit who works for the Central Water Commission, Government of India

This blog is a condensed version of the paper published in the 3rd Round Table on Sustainable Consumption and Production, organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests jointly with UNEP, at New Delhi on 11-12 Feb 2010. The views expressed in this article are author’s personal views, and are not to be taken as the views of his employers.

In any discussion about Sustainable Development (SD) the quantity of consumption is invariably the main concern. Perhaps this stems from the original definition of SD as the “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", which invokes the spectre of insufficient quantities of resources at some time in the future. This concern is invalid for water, because water is a dynamic and renewable resource. Every hydrologic year brings a fresh packet of water. There is no way to use in this year, the rainfall that is yet to occur in the next year, or next decade. Moreover, any unused water will flow away to the oceans. The storages capacities, whether in surface storages or in aquifer, are adequate for one year only, at the most a little carry over for the next year. With many basins already reaching “water stressed” status, the problem at hand is how to supply the needs of this year, and there is no question of storing the water for future generations. Thus, in the context of water, quantity of water used should not be the primary concern for SD.

8th February at 6.30pm, Instituto Cervantes, Hanuman Lane, Connaught Place, Delhi

Case Studies on Groundwater Management from Indiatogether.org

• The unique water tunnel of Sheni
• A stream resumes year-round flow
• Mining away the river
• A 'Gurukula' for surangas
• IN PICTURES - Surangas, manmade caves to tap underground water
• Don't dig down

Priyadarshini, or Priya to friends, wanders inquisitively around a large cement pad where a group of about thirty women and men are gathering to create a map of their village using a colored chalk powder called Rangoli.

In an earlier post on IUWM and interventions based on hydrological considerations, I had discussed the typologies which could define the way we intervene and address the inconsistencies in the water utility services as well as the net water availability of the region.

Work taken up focussed on promoting direct seeding instead of transplantation in the paddy crop. As a result of this, about 30% reduction in water consumption was achieved covering about 1100 acres in 5 states. Farmers could also reduce their production costs by upto Rs.1400/acre.  

The various initiatives taken up include setting up a monitoring and reporting system to keep track of the water usage, increasing the reverse osmosis plant efficiency, rainwater harvesting, treating sewage and reusing treated water and more.

The role of MRC is to co-ordinate and promote co-operation in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong Basin.

MRC Secretariat is looking for qualified candidates to fill the following post:

International Interim Development Partner and Policy
Coordination Officer