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)
Millions wait for toilets and water
While millions of people in India still wait for their share of water and toilets, this year's budget fails to give them any hope. Posted on 24 Feb, 2018 10:31 AM

GoI allocations for the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is Rs. 22,357 crores

The state of water supply and sanitation continues to be poor in India.
How Kakaddara village won water cup
The video tells us the success story of Kakaddara village that won the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup-2017 by efficiently managing its water. Posted on 19 Feb, 2018 06:33 AM

Every year, thousands of villages in Maharashtra get affected by droughts. Experts say that the reasons for recurrent droughts include a lack of policy framework, technical knowledge and community participation as well as poor implementation of government programmes.

A farm pond in Kakaddara.
Invisible water wizards
With government support, traditional water harvesting systems could be revived, upgraded and productively combined with modern techniques. Posted on 16 Feb, 2018 02:00 PM

India has long undervalued one of its most precious resources—water. Today the country’s chronic mismanagement of water has led to drought in nearly 2,00,000 villages. According to the World Bank data, Indian farmers use almost 70 percent of the total groundwater that is drawn in the country each year. Shockingly, India uses more groundwater annually than China and the United States combined.

Through SRDS method, monsoon rain is channelled back through borewells into the underground aquifers where it can be conserved for future use.
Harvesting rainwater effectively
An innovative project makes rainwater harvesting easier and more effective in certain areas of Mewat village with increased groundwater salinity. Posted on 15 Feb, 2018 01:25 PM

One of the major causes of deterioration of water quality is the increase in overall salinity. Total hardness and the presence of materials like fluoride, nitrate, iron, arsenic, and toxic metal ions determine salinity levels in groundwater. With the demand for groundwater growing rapidly, its exploitation is also accelerating which causes depletion.

The innovation was introduced in a government school building in Untka village located in Mewat district of Haryana.
Water issues: Take account of socio-cultural question
Prof. Frederic Landy, director, French Institute of Pondicherry speaks to India Water Portal on water and socio-environmental challenges. Posted on 13 Feb, 2018 08:30 AM

As part of Bonjour India 2017-2018, the four-months-long, ongoing Indo-French journey celebrating the Indo-French partnership, water-related issues are being highlighted through research, art and debates in cities like Jaipur, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pondicherry and Kolkata.

A small canal in Chanaute, Birendranagar, Nepal. (Photo: Janak Poudel (CC BY 4.0 SA)
What budget has for farm and rural sectors
There is a sharp rise in allocations for rural and agriculture sector in this budget. Posted on 07 Feb, 2018 04:31 PM

This year’s budget was expected to be extensively farmer- and rural-sector oriented. And that is exactly what it turned out to be. The distress in the agrarian sector has intensified and its political implications were rife this year considering the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled next year.

The budget has a slew of initiatives to revive the farm sector. (Image: Azhar Feder, Wikimedia Commons-CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Eliminate garbage naturally
A Mumbai-based scientist comes up with an effective solution to Kashmir’s mounting garbage problem. Posted on 23 Jan, 2018 06:19 PM

Kashmir was once known for its pristine mountains, lakes, beautiful landscape and clean environment. In the last few decades, however, things have changed. An increasing amount of untreated garbage produced by humans is becoming a critical problem affecting not only the health of the residents of Kashmir but its environment, too.

A screenshot from the film Untreated Waste--Invitation to Disaster (Source: Abdul Rashid Bhat)
Open water data for integrated water science
Datameet and Centre for Internet and Society have released a prototype web app that allows users to access daily rainfall data from Jan 1981 till Dec 2017 for a watershed of their interest. Posted on 23 Jan, 2018 03:30 PM

Understanding water in all its forms in every part of the water cycle is vital to ensuring its sustainable and equitable management. Whether there is a scarcity of water or an excess of it, knowing precisely the quantum of water, whether underground in aquifers, embedded in the soil as soil moisture or in numerous lakes, reservoirs and rivers is vital.

Image courtesy NASA
Profiting from sustainable farming
Sustainable agro-ecological farming is one way to overcome the limitations of conventional farming. Green College shows us how to do it. Posted on 23 Jan, 2018 01:48 PM

Pitidri is a nondescript village that dots the rainshadow area of Purulia district in West Bengal. Droughts are common here even when the area is endowed with above average rainfall of over 1300 mm a year. Until some time ago, Urmila Mahato, a 42-year-old farmer from Pitidri had been struggling to ensure her family’s food security.

Urmila Mahato at her farm.
Alternative Futures: India Unshackled
A remarkable, first-ever collection of 35 essays on India’s future, by a diverse set of authors – activists, researchers, media practitioners. Posted on 22 Jan, 2018 10:39 AM

Alternative Futures: India Unshackled is a book that brings together scenarios of an India that is politically and socially egalitarian, radically democratic, economically sustainable and equitable, and socio-culturally diverse and harmonious.

Alternative Futures: India Unshackled
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