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Cities in India are marked by unequal distribution of water, lack of access, outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of rainwater harvesting and other means of supply.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)
Water management: Still a neglected electoral issue?
India is facing a major water crisis and a number of water sector challenges remain unaddressed even today.
Himanshu Thakkar
Posted on 25 Apr, 2019 12:04 PM

India is on the brink of a major water crisis. With drought looming over the southern and western parts of the country, the existing water resources are in peril. Rivers are getting more polluted, their catchments, water-holding and water-harvesting mechanisms are deteriorating and groundwater levels are depleting at an alarming rate.
India's water woes need urgent attention. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Groundwater depletes in north and east India
Study shows a rapid decline in usable groundwater between 2005 and 2013 leading to the risk of severe food crisis and drinking water scarcity for millions of people.
Abhijit Mukherjee
Soumendra Nath Bhanja
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 07:12 PM

India is the largest user of groundwater in the world. It uses an estimated 230 km3 of groundwater per year, which is over a quarter of the global total. About 85 percent of rural drinking water needs, 65 percent of irrigation needs and 50 percent of urban drinking water and industrial needs are fulfilled with groundwater.
Crop irrigation with groundwater, powered by electricity in Gujarat. (Image: Tesh, Wikimedia Commons, CC-4.0A-ShareAlike-International)
Making water available for all
Civil society activists champion alternatives to conventional water management solutions implemented by the government.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 06:48 PM

India, the second largest population in the world, is facing a water crisis with over 600 million people facing acute water shortage, as per a report by Niti Aayog, the government think-tank. India’s water crisis is expected to worsen, threatening the country’s food security as over 80 percent of our water is used in agriculture.
The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. (Image: Hindi Water Portal)
Damaged habitat affects migratory fishermen
Maintaining natural resources is important for the sustenance of aquatic biodiversity and river-dependent livelihoods.
Aparna Roy
Simanku Borah
Pranab Gogoi
V.R. Suresh and B.K Das
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 12:48 PM

The Siang River is a transboundary river which flows in Tibetan plateau, China in the name of Yarlung Psangpo and after entering India in Arunachal Pradesh, it is known as Siang which meets river Brahmaputra in Assam, 230 km downstream. 
Fishermen with a fishing net near the Siang.
Water management solutions where users have a say
Private provision of water services is most successful where the operation and maintenance contracts are offered by the local water users.
Parth J. Shah
Posted on 17 Apr, 2019 10:10 PM

India has, over the last 50 years, spent approximately $50 billion on developing water resources and another estimated $7.5 billion on drinking water, with little to show for the money (Devraj 2002).
Canal irrigation has led to altered crop choice, organisation and techniques of production. (Image: India Water Portal)
Flourishing water markets in Darjeeling
Better governance and equitable as well as sustainable use of water resources are essential to solving the deepening water crisis in Darjeeling.
Ashish Chhetri
Posted on 15 Apr, 2019 02:36 PM

"Darjeeling today has a thriving water business, with a fleet of 105 trucks plying three or four trips a day from April to June, carrying 5500 to 6500 litres of water on each run"
Private water tankers, a common sight in urban areas. (Source: India Water Portal)
Water storage depletes in major river basins: CWC
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Apr, 2019 09:08 PM

CWC data shows water storage in major river basins depleting
Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
River conservation efforts need to be prioritised
Healthy forests are necessary for healthy rivers and prosperous communities that depend on the river, say experts.
Water Initiatives Odisha
Posted on 05 Apr, 2019 02:06 PM

Odisha is home to 11 major rivers of which many are interstate rivers such as the Mahanadi. As climate change makes extreme rainfall events more frequent in the state, there is an urgent need to better manage the rivers and their basins.
Engagement with indigenous communities in protecting natural forests and rivers is vital (Image: Priya Ranjan Sahoo)
Call for abstracts for the Water Future Conference, Bengaluru
The Sustainable Water Future Programme (Water Future) of Future Earth is organizing the first international conference of Water Future titled 'Towards a Sustainable Water Future' in Bengaluru, India.
Posted on 04 Apr, 2019 03:55 PM

About the conference: 
What’s forest governance without local hand
Multilayered governance and involvement of forest dwellers in the decision making processes can go a long way in managing our forests better.
Sharachchandra Lele
Posted on 02 Apr, 2019 11:42 AM

The recent news on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 tribal and other forest-dwelling households from 16 states by a Supreme Court order has again brought the long-debated issue of the role of the state and

Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
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