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Cities in India are marked by unequal distribution of water, lack of access, outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of rainwater harvesting and other means of supply.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)
Solar power solves water supply issue
A water supply scheme based on solar power solves the lack of availability of water in a village.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 10 Jan, 2018 09:28 AM

The Makhala village is located in the Amravati district in the southwestern Satpura mountain ranges. Situated at 959 m above mean sea level, this Maharashtra village has 352 households with a population of 1045. Although accessible by road in all seasons, the village is isolated and surrounded by forests. The nearest village is Semadoh at a distance of 12 km.
Makhala village in Amravati district
Stubble burning banned, farmers stumped
While banning stubble burning is a positive step towards reducing air pollution in the Delhi-NCR sector, the farmers need support from the government to adopt measures to enable smooth crop rotation.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 07 Jan, 2018 06:20 PM

Amar Singh sits in his huge courtyard at the centre of his home in the village of Atraula in Meerut. Lying in the far west part of Uttar Pradesh, this is a flourishing sugarcane belt. An important agricultural region, its demographic, economic and cultural patterns are similar to that of nearby Haryana and Rajasthan.
A large amount of crop residues are available in western UP and most of these are burnt in the field (Image: Ed Dunens, Flickr Commons)
Dam spells doom for villagers
Baldiha dam that once quenched the thirst of farmlands and provided livelihood to Odisha farmers is now bereft of water, thanks to the apathy of the administration.
Gurvinder Singh
Posted on 05 Jan, 2018 11:43 AM

Located at Shamakhunta block of Mayurbhanj district, around 28 kilometers from Baripada town in Odisha, Baldiha dam was constructed during the rule of Maharaja Shri Ramchandra Bhanjdeo in 1912.
Water flows into the dam. (Photo courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
Hotels and industries polluting the Ganga to be sealed
Policy matters this week
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 27 Dec, 2017 11:43 AM

Hotels, industries, ashrams polluting the Ganga to be sealed
Ganga river at Sangam, Allahabad (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Water for future
How do we conserve water so we do not have to face acute shortage in the future?
Shyam A K
Posted on 22 Dec, 2017 03:12 PM

Water, the most precious commodity is being abused to such an extent that there is fear that this might lead to another world war or it may be difficult even to get drinking water. Water is indeed an integral part of human body as it accounts for 66 percent of it.
Water is a precious commodity. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Is it worth the salt?
Unregulated salt production near Sambhar lake is not just causing health problems among salt workers, it is also depleting groundwater and ruining the ecosystem of the wetland.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 12 Dec, 2017 12:22 PM

The fields are silvery white with raw salt crusts in the vicinity of Nawa, a small town on the northwestern banks of Sambhar lake, India’s largest inland lake. Nawa lies about 90 kilometres east of Jaipur. Also an extensive saline wetland and a Ramsar site, the blinding white salt flats stretch as far as one can see.
Ramachander Singh, a salt worker who has been raking salt for decades now at this salt pan or kyari dotting the lake bed of Sambhar, Rajasthan.
Saving Chorao through its people
A new project tries to save the ecologically diverse Chorao island by including the inhabitants of the island in conservation efforts.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 10 Dec, 2017 12:37 PM

Located just 5 km away from the capital city of Panaji, Chorao island, along the Mandovi river, is one of the largest islands in Goa. The island has a unique ecosystem that is different from the other sanctuaries in the state.
Chorao island (Source:GIZ)
Why fishermen fear Netravati river diversion
Changing the course of Netravati is feared to affect the fish population in the river which will, in turn, affect the fortunes of the fisherfolk dependent on it.
M. Raghuram
Posted on 09 Dec, 2017 04:36 PM

Rathnakar Salian is a traditional catamaran fisherman from Sasihitlu village in Mangaluru district of Karnataka. He learned how to throw the net, how to pull it out, and how to look for fish in the sea from his father and uncles.
Pipelines wait to be laid for the stormwater lift project. The Karnataka Niravari Nigama Limited (KNNL), which is undertaking the Yettinahole stormwater lift project, is constructing a massive pipeline corridor along the Salkeshpur-Hemavati belt. The project is estimated to be 35 percent complete.
For a better Bandi
Mahaveer Singh Sukarlai was awarded the Bhagirath Prayas Samman at the India Rivers Day 2017 for his valiant effort to safeguard the integrity of the Bandi river in Pali.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 01 Dec, 2017 05:12 PM

A seasonal river in Pali, Rajasthan, the Bandi is nothing short of a sewer. The textile town has witnessed rampant industrial growth, raw sewage discharges and toxic contamination of its waters. The river, which is devoid of lean season flow, is polluted up to 55 km downstream. The river water is unfit for drinking as well as irrigation.
Mahaveer Singh Sukarlai speaks at the India Rivers Day.
Palk Bay: Trawled and damaged
In the last of a two-part series on the importance of conserving the Palk Bay, a video shows how trawling is spelling doom to the ecology of the bay.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 28 Nov, 2017 04:05 PM

The Palk Bay is an ecological paradise located between the island nation of Sri Lanka and the South East Peninsula India. The region separates the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu from the northern parts of Sri Lanka.
The Palk Bay (Source: GIZ)
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