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Cities in India are marked by unequal distribution of water, lack of access, outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of rainwater harvesting and other means of supply.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)
Patna HC wants Ganga's original course restored
Policy matters this week Posted on 09 Mar, 2015 10:56 PM

Restore Ganga's original course: Patna HC

River Ganga
Kashmir's lake fisheries are dying a slow death
The decline of local species, aggressive promotion of species such as carp, and emphasis on tourism have led to a decline in fish production in Kashmir's Dal and Wular lakes. Posted on 06 Mar, 2015 10:33 PM

Fisheries form an important component of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, which along with agriculture, contributes a significant 23% to its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Besides being an important allied activity to agriculture, it contributes significantly to the agricultural economy and also generates self-employment.

View of the Wular Lake (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
A hard look at the strategy of fighting open defecation
Does reducing open defecation have any significant improvement in health outcomes? Sumeet Patil of NEERMAN discusses this in an interview with India Water Portal. Posted on 05 Mar, 2015 10:31 PM

With over 620 million defecating in the open in India, do we need a new approach to curb this practice? The force of habit is such that even households with toilets have around forty percent of adults defecating in the open. But, does curbing open defecation necessarily lead to significant improvements in child health outcomes like diarrhoea, anaemia, parasite infection and growth?

School sanitation at Mysore
A way to minimise agricultural problems in India
The concepts of System of Rice Intensification help farmers adopt practices based on their local conditions. Farmers, and an SRI expert in Chhattisgarh, show how it has worked for them. Posted on 24 Feb, 2015 10:10 AM

Muneswar and more than 170 farmers in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh have no regrets after shifting over from traditional agricultural methods of farming to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method. Why would they? Most of them have been overwhelmed by the kind of returns they have got compared to their investments.

SRI beneficiaries in Ambikapur
India ranked 12th in mismanaging plastic waste
News this week Posted on 17 Feb, 2015 08:28 PM

8 million tonnes of plastic waste dumped into world's oceans in 2010: Study

Two oceans meeting at Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu
Groundwater status : Should we be worried?
Three CGWB reports paint a detailed picture of the groundwater situation in the country. Does the water level continue to decline or has it risen in some areas? Posted on 16 Feb, 2015 09:35 PM

Groundwater, though replenishable, is ultimately a finite resource. Excessive withdrawal leads to depletion of the water stored underground, resulting in serious social, economical and environmental consequences.

Groundwater: A finite source (Source: IWP)
Climate change: Slow it down or deal with it?
Climate change is for real and there are two responses – mitigation or adaptation. What does the Union Budget need to do about climate change adaptation? Posted on 15 Feb, 2015 02:38 PM

Should the next Union Budget go all-in on climate change? Should clean energy, state incentives, mitigation and adaptation all emerge as priorities? How will the administration deal with extreme weather events that become more common with climate change?

Climate change adaptation (Source: VSK, Palamau)
Rs 2000 crore action plan to restore mining ravaged areas in Karnataka
News this week Posted on 09 Feb, 2015 01:54 PM

Karnataka sets up firm to mitigate mining impacts

Coal mines in Jharsuguda
Bihar Government bans plastic packaged water bottles in all its departments
Policy matters this week Posted on 09 Feb, 2015 01:35 PM

Bihar's government offices to soon become free of plastic bottles

Plastic water bottles (Source: Pixabay.com)
Social regulation as a key to sustainable groundwater use
While a knowledge-based approach to groundwater management improves awareness, it does not address issues of equity. Posted on 19 Jan, 2015 11:02 AM

Sustainable management of groundwater continues to be ignored in India although its hydrogeological and socieconomic aspects continue to be studied extensively. Despite recognition of its importance at the policy level, no clear plan of action exists for groundwater management in India. 

A well in Odoor farms, Mangalore
×