Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022 In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
October 1, 2021 Community videos as a tool to influence behaviour change and adoption in rural communities
Community videos are produced by farmers themselves and feature local participants and agents from the rural communities themselves (Image: Digital Green)
September 17, 2021 Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
September 4, 2021 Committed to use the power of all forms of communication to bring about behavioral change and transformation at scale
Villagers participating in shramdaan for making watershed structures (Image: Paani Foundation)
September 3, 2021 Safe water learning cards being used to train a wide spectrum of stakeholders
Different combinations of safe water learning cards can be customised for a session based on the target audience (Image: INREM)
June 4, 2021 Meet these real-life heroes, who with their consistent and tireless efforts created an impact and turned their local areas into examples to follow.
Meet the water warriors who made a significant change in their own unique way (Image Source: Environment Club)
Social regulations in water management in a village in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh- a case study on livelihood transformation
In Mogali Chetla Tanda, Andhra Pradesh, the community took control of managing ground water by introducing social regulations which led to complete transformation of livelihood and stopped migration Posted on 14 May, 2009 04:24 PM

Groundwater depletion has reached such alarming proportions in the semi-arid and arid regions, despite huge investments in watershed development programmes by the state and central governments and the international donor community. One of the stated aims of these programmes is to mitigate drought and ensure water availability throughout the year.

Swadhyayee movement captures running away rainwater in Saurashtra
Extraction of groundwater coupled with severe drought led to a reactive response in people of Saurashtra to divert rainwater into their wells in a bid to "capture" water which was "running off" Posted on 14 May, 2009 03:07 PM

Saurashtra is the peripheral region along Coastal Gujarat. It is composed of a Central basaltic plateau that rises 100 to 200m above mean sea level with an average annual rainfall of about 600 mm. The rainfall is concentrated in a few days during which the incident rainfall leads to flashfloods draining into the sea.

The Andhra Pradesh farmer managed groundwater system project
Several thousand farmers voluntarily takes number of steps to reduce groundwater pumping, to overcome groundwater depletion without sacrificing on returns, while still improving overall efficiency Posted on 14 May, 2009 12:23 PM

The Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater System (APFAMGS) project is an enabling intervention for managing groundwater depletion through voluntary self regulation. The project has demonstrated its impact in 7 districts of Andhra Pradesh spread over 650 villages, on a significant scale. Read more

Drinking water access in Bangalore through the framework of human rights: a PhD dissertation
The overall aim of the study is to critically analyse the role of rights and obligations in attaining improved access to water in Bangalore Posted on 12 May, 2009 04:55 PM

This PhD dissertation by Jenny T Gronwall for Linkoping University's Tema Institute looks at issues of drinking water access in Bangalore through the framework of human rights, analyzing three interlinked dimensions: the right to water as a human right; water in terms of property rights; and water rights. 

Water policy and action plan 2020: an alternative – A report for the Planning Commission
The policy and action plan presented take into account the larger and long-term goals for management of water resources before the nation Posted on 12 May, 2009 01:33 PM

A report for the Planning Commission presents the water policy and action plan for the year 2020 for the country. The goals  put forward in the policy are such as would do justice to all users of water and yet would be practical and achievable. At present it is the central and state governments that play the key role in the management of water resources. The policy proposed, on the other hand, seeks to involve all the people at the level of the local communities so that they can conserve, develop and manage the water resource at the local level itself.

Understanding processes of watershed development program in India: report of a study anchored by WASSAN and facilitated by ICEF
The main purpose of the study is to strengthen the participatory processes in watershed development projects and its policies Posted on 12 May, 2009 12:48 PM

This process study conducted by WASSAN with the support of ICEF is an attempt to bring focus on the processes of the watershed development projects. It is an attempt to provide feedback to the policy makers, donors and field level facilitators on the processes at the field level. It is an attempt to assess, diagnose and compare process at field level in different projects. 

Memorandum: Scrap Renuka dam project
A memorandum demanding the scrapping of the proposed Renuka Dam Project in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh was sent to the Prime Minister, Union Minister of Water Resources, the Delhi Jal Board, the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Social Justice today by concerned environment groups as well as representatives of the dam affected communities. Posted on 12 May, 2009 11:25 AM

Forwarded to the Portal by: Himanshu Thakkar, SANDRP

Submission Sent to Prime Minister, DJB, Ministry of Water Resources & HP Govt.

A memorandum demanding the scrapping of the proposed Renuka Dam Project in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh was sent to the Prime Minister, Union Minister of Water Resources, the Delhi Jal Board, the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Social Justice today by concerned environment groups as well as representatives of the dam affected communities. The 5 page detailed submission has made this demand on three basic grounds - technical/conceptual issues, environment implications and the social impacts of the project. Attacking the very root and concept of the project the memorandum highlights the point that the agreement that was signed in May 1994 is no longer valid, as per the opinion of the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, since Rajasthan, one of the parties, did not sign the agreement. The Delhi Jal Board has admitted in response to an RTI application that no options assessment has been done to arrive at the least cost option before taking up the Renuka dam proposal. Without such an assessment, taking up a proposal like the Renuka dam would be completely wrong and inappropriate use of public resources. Moreover, several Studies have proved that Delhi itself is thirsty not because there is shortage of water but actually due to mismanagement and misappropriation of water. According to the Performance Audit report of the Delhi Jal Board for 2008, Delhi has distribution losses of 40 per cent of total water supply which is abnormal and significantly higher than the acceptable norms of 15 per cent prescribed by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Case studies on urban water management and rainwater harvesting from India and across the world
Resources for best practices on urban water management from across the world and domestic rainwater harvesting Posted on 11 May, 2009 04:31 PM

Best practices on urban water management from across the world

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Water treatment produces irrigation water for local parks: a case study from Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
This article discusses the effort of Vigyan Vijay Foundation, New Delhi, with Vasant Vihar residents in treating wastewater from the locality to produce irrigation water for local parks using DEWATS Posted on 11 May, 2009 03:12 PM

At Delhi, there are dirty waste water rivulets, “nallahs” crisscrossing all localities and adding to the pollutant load of the river Yamuna. The situation is alarming with today’s count of nallahs standing at more than 22 Nos. These urban drains are nature’s creation and are meant to convey storm / rain water from upstream areas to downstream, finally leading to the river.

Dreaming in color: efforts of Dr. Prakasham Tata to clean up a lake in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh
The persistent efforts of Dr. Tata to clean up the lake in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, finally paid off when he met an equally dynamic IAS officer interested in the welfare of the city Posted on 11 May, 2009 12:47 PM

This article by Dr. Prakasham Tata traces the author’s childhood dream of doing something to improve public health in Vizianagaram by ameliorating the conditions of Pedda Cheruvu and to provide a better environment around its historical centers, namely the fort, music college, clock tower, arts and science college, and the park housing the tombs of the maharajas. 

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