Sustainability

Featured Articles
December 6, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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Cities in India are marked by unequal distribution of water, lack of access, outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of rainwater harvesting and other means of supply.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)
Kerala, HP, TN top development goal index
Policy matters this week Posted on 26 Dec, 2018 03:08 PM

Himachal, Kerala, TN front-runners in NITI Aayog index on development goals

Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 as a part of the 2030 agenda. (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
The Naga Pride
The film, The Naga Pride tells the story of the transformation of a Naga tribe from being Amur falcon hunters to protectors. Posted on 17 Dec, 2018 08:42 PM

Amur falcons are among the strongest fliers in the avian world. Since the last 25 years, they have been migrating to the Northeast especially Nagaland from Siberia en route to their final destination—Somalia, Kenya and South Africa. 

Amur Falcons (Screenshot of the film The Naga Pride, Source: Sumanth Kuduvalli)
Green gold on fire
The film Green Gold on Fire provides insights into the impacts of forest fire on communities and environment in Jammu and Kashmir. Posted on 15 Dec, 2018 05:54 PM

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India where forest fires are reported almost every season. As per Indian state of forest report 2017, India saw a 46 percent increase in the number of forest fires in the last 16 years. Forest fires not only affect the flora and fauna of the region but they also pollute the environment and lead to climate change by increasing greenhouse gases.

Forest fire (Source: Abdul Rashid)
The Birdman of Chorao
The documentary, Birdman of Chorao tells the story of Uday Mandrekar’s selfless efforts in protecting the mangroves in Chorao. Posted on 14 Dec, 2018 09:33 PM

Uday Mandrekar (40) is a popular boatman on the Chorao island of Goa. He is known for his formidable knowledge on birds in the area so much so that he is often referred to as the bird man of Chorao. He is a private boatman and a tourist guide who can take you deep into the mangroves and waterways of the island.

Uday Mandrekar (Source: Shashank Bhosale)
Dealing with droughts
There are many reasons why we see more droughts in India these days. Here is all the information that you need to know droughts better. Posted on 13 Dec, 2018 04:20 PM

Droughts are one of the most feared natural calamities in India impacting food production, the economy as well as the morale of millions of farmers in a cou

India will see more droughts in the future. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
A future without water?
Once abundant with water, Sikri village is fighting a losing battle to meet its water needs. Posted on 11 Dec, 2018 01:17 PM

Sikri is a small village that lies 65 km north-west of Bharatpur on the Alwar road. The village used to depend on a traditional irrigation system that assured water throughout the year. A local saying related to the water availability at Sikri goes thus: Lakh daal le chittri, jay rahoongi Sikri (You may put lakhs of fetters to stop it, but the waters will still reach Sikri).

An off-taking canal that promoted flow irrigation. The system has become a relic of the past. There is a demand to revive this colonial irrigation system whose bund is over 17-km long and has 28 distributaries. (Image: India Water Portal)
Human activities reduce catchments’ climate resilience
A study finds that only over a third of human-dominated catchments in India are resilient to climate warming. Posted on 10 Dec, 2018 01:04 PM

The impact of global warming on the hydrological cycle should be of paramount concern to all because global warming affects rainfall patterns in various ways like triggering more extreme rainfall events. Unpredictable changes in runoff make it difficult to plan infrastructure to manage water resources such as dams.

River Krishna at Wai, Maharashtra (Image Source: India Water Portal)
The tragic tale of Erai
The polluted Erai river needs to be restored before it completely dies and leaves the people dependent on it searching for drinking water. Posted on 30 Nov, 2018 10:56 AM

The Erai river, the main tributary of the Wardha river, is the lifeline for the people of Chandrapur in Maharashtra. It primarily supplies water to the Chandrapur city and Chandrapur super thermal power station (CSTPS). Since 1984, after the initiation of operations of M/s CSTPS and Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), the river has begun to get polluted and is now gasping for breath.

The Erai river (Source: India Water Portal)
Two states and a river: More power or more water?
The latest addition to India’s interstate river water conflicts, the Mahanadi will soon go water deficit if Odisha and Chhattisgarh don’t control their hunger for coal-fired power. Posted on 25 Nov, 2018 12:26 PM

A new study, Mahanadi: Coal Rich, Water-Stressed sheds light on how both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have locked horns over the distribution of waters of the Mahanadi river. The 851-km-long river originates in the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, flows through the state and then Odisha before joining the Bay of Bengal at Odisha’s coast.

The Hirakud dam (Image: Makarand Purohit, India Water Portal)
Bengaluru drinks poisoned water
A study finds drinking water in peri-urban areas around Bengaluru has high levels of bacteriological and chemical contaminants making it unfit for consumption. Posted on 22 Nov, 2018 11:17 AM

India is running out of water fast. As if this is not bad news enough, it has been found that even the available water is highly polluted with organic and hazardous pollutants.

Poor drinking water quality can pose a risk to health. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
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