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)
Saving the catchment area
The Somb-Thapana catchment is a stark contrast to the polluted Yamuna. Knowledge from the Thames and the local communities revived the water. Posted on 07 Sep, 2016 09:39 PM

River Yamuna, the largest tributary of river Ganga, is the most threatened river system in the country. It faces over abstraction of water and increasing pollution load (municipal and industrial) throughout its course.

Thapana stream in Mandoli village shows dense vegetation in riparian zone and fish flocking the stream.
Water brings two villages alive
Easy access to water is one way to transform a village and help it prosper. Two Uttarakhand villages show us how. Posted on 07 Sep, 2016 11:23 AM

It had been a chaotic morning. With so many people bustling around the small house, Avani was looking forward to celebrating her only son's second birthday. Graciously, her husband agreed to have the celebration at Avani’s mother’s place this time. Her mother made all the arrangements for the pooja and prasadam while Avani was to take care of the guests.

Dangsari village in Uttarakhand.
Damn the dams, say the displaced
Many people have been displaced by major dam projects in the country. A bigger threat, however, lies in the ageing dams waiting to collapse. Posted on 30 Aug, 2016 12:28 PM

"If you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the country.”

- Jawaharlal Nehru, speaking to villagers who were to be displaced by the Hirakud Dam in 1948.

The Hirakud dam
Water warriors at work
Citizens come forward to restore polluted lakes and rivers in their cities. They demand support and swift action from the government. Posted on 24 Aug, 2016 09:31 AM

The pitiful state of some of the water bodies in the country, coupled with the sheer apathy of the government, have forced some well-meaning citizens to come out of their comfort zones and make a difference. Some of these efforts, like the Puttenahalli lake in Bengaluru that is now overflowing with clean water, have been successful, while others are ongoing.

Citizens of Udaipur get together to remove water hyacinth from the Pichhola lake.
Call for applications: Closing The Environmental Compliance Gap
A workshop on Community Based Research Methods for Environmental Justice
Posted on 21 Aug, 2016 10:36 PM

In the field of environmental justice, compliance is one of the least understood and researched topics. Since compliance may involve scientific and technological aspects of the environment, it is mostly left to technical experts, regulatory bodies and members of the industry. It has seen almost no public engagement or community action at the field and at policy levels.

Notes from Swachh Madhya Pradesh campaign
Nipun Vinayak, Director, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, writes about Madhya Pradesh's progress on the ground. Posted on 21 Aug, 2016 09:56 PM

Ajit Tiwari, deputy commissioner, Swachh Bharat Mission, Madhya Pradesh.Ajit Tiwari is Deputy Commissioner, Swachh Bharat Mission, Madhy

Sudam Khade, collector, Sehore, felicitates a woman from the community for their efforts in ending open defecation.
Staying afloat, one stepwell at a time
Jodhpur has a unique problem. Unlike other cities, it is dealing with excess groundwater. Reusing its traditional water structures is the way forward. Posted on 19 Aug, 2016 01:09 PM

"Jatene dekho utene bawri" (wherever you look, there’s a stepwell). This is how the woman standing on the threshold of her house, in the walled city of Jodhpur, told us when we asked where we could find stepwells in her neighbourhood. 

Toorji ka jhalra, one of the step ponds that attracts tourists in Jodhpur.
Community effort saves mangroves
When climate change threatens the existence of Sundarbans’ mangroves, villagers get together to plant millions of them to protect the fragile ecosystem. Posted on 04 Aug, 2016 09:52 AM

Come monsoon, the villages in the Sundarbans islands witness nature’s fury with floodwaters overriding all boundaries and inundating huge tracts of land. As such, the earthen embankments, stretching to 3600 kms on the 54 inhabited islands out of a total of 102 in the Sundarbans, protect scores of people from floods and tidal waves.

Mangroves of Sundarbans. (Source: Nature Environment & Wildlife Society - NEWS)
Mines radiate disaster
Villagers of Jadugoda say radiation from uranium mines is impairing their children. It’s high time the government took measures against it so a generation is not left crippled. Posted on 04 Aug, 2016 09:43 AM

The body of Guria Das looked like that of a three-year-old when she passed away at the age of 13. Guria was born in 1999 with a condition that constrained her growth. Her father, Chhatua Das recounts how Guria, unable to speak or move, communicated with him and his wife through gestures; a language that only the three of them could comprehend.

Guria was born deformed. Her father Chhatua blames the radiation from indiscriminate uranium mining and the tailings ponds for her death.
Living in fear of water
The proposed Mohar reservoir project is expected to submerge two villages and adversely affect 10 other villages when completed. Needless to say, the villagers are anxious. Posted on 31 Jul, 2016 11:41 AM

Farmer Ravikant Deshmukh (40) is a much worried man. He lives in Kudari Dalli in Balod district in Chhattisgarh, a village that would get affected adversely if Mohar reservoir project takes off. The project, once realised, is estimated to submerge the agricultural land and houses of 1200 villagers in Kudari Dalli.

Punam Kumar Deshmukh at the proposed Mohar reservoir site near Banjaridihi village.
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