Sustainability

There is a palpable sense of a looming water crisis in India. Conflicts across competing users and uses are on the rise. In the irrigation sector, it is widely felt that “paucity of resources and poor performance of existing major and medium irrigation systems are the two main problems”(1).

This three day national seminar was jointly organised by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Thiruvananthapuram, and the C Achutha Menon Foundation (AMF), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and included presentations and discussions on a range of water related themes such as water scarcity, water conservation, commercialisation of water, water conflicts and water management.

The seminar aimed at creating awareness and triggering a dialogue among scientists, academicians, researchers, activists, as well as lay people on the emerging challenges related to water resources, water quality and water conservation in the state of Kerala. The seminar was inaugurated by Shri V M Sudheeran, Ex MP and former speaker, while Dr Rajasekaran Pillai, Executive Vice President KSCSTE, delivered the keynote address with the felicitation by Shri M P Achuthan, MP.

The seminar included discussions under five different themes related to water issues that included water scarcity, water conservation, commercialisation of water, water as an new area for conflicts and water management.

The three day seminar on water management at the Achuta Menon Foundation, Trivandrum, Kerala

How does a corporate resolve its water issues? Issues not just pertaining to adequate water for its large staff, but also the long term sustainability of this replenishable but finite source.

Bangalore garbage finds dumping place in Mandur: Civic body promises better infrastructure projects for communities living there

From the serious to the absurd, water has featured across a breadth of movies, both in Hollywood and Bollywood.

India is the world's largest consumer of groundwater where it is extensively used for irrigation. However, there is a considerable waste of this valuable resource. While a part of this waste can be attributed to a lack of incentive for conservation, unmetered electricity supply contributes greatly to this problem. This has led to the formation of what is being termed an energy-irrigation nexus.

Several sessions at the IWMI-Tata Annual Partners' Meet in 2012 discussed this phenomenon, its causes, impact and possible management strategies. 

The works have to done maintaining appropriate standards and quality of the schemes, and ensure their completion in time. The manuals are prepared keeping in mind the activities mentioned in the 12th five year plan.

Indian agriculture has changed. From earlier a lifestyle to now livelihood, our farming has journeyed through revolutions. Food production increased but so did the problems of depleting soil fertility and rising debt. The green is fading and an evolution is now sought.

Environmental degradation & climate change have induced human mobility by creating environmental migrants.