Water Management

Featured Articles
December 16, 2022 In this article, we will understand how the WQM course is continuing to influence the needs of learners that come from diverse backgrounds. The course model also offers core insights to many others who would like to engage in a virtual training program.
During a WQM course, a field team member from INREM facilitating a demonstration
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 A film that focuses on importance of communitarian in situ water management
People are struggling to get the quantity and quality of water in urban areas (Image: Makarand Purohit)
September 21, 2022 The unique design and functioning of the Chakla bavdi in Chanderi Madhya Pradesh is another example of the water wisdom of our ancestors, which needs to be conserved and passed on to the future generations.
Chakla Bavdi at Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh (Image Source: Shirole, S. 2022. Architectural eloquence: Water harvesting structure in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh (India). Ancient Asia, 13: 9, pp. 1–13)
March 21, 2022 Recognizing women's accumulated knowledge and adaptive capacities in springshed management
Van Panchayat Samiti discussing the matters related to forest (Image: Varun Raja)
March 11, 2022 Subsidies enable tribal farmers to adopt micro-irrigation systems providing them assured irrigation
A key mitigation strategy to deal with water scarcity due to climate change is on-farm management of water using techniques like micro-irrigation (Image: India Water Portal Flickr)
Hydropower in the Northeast: Potential and harnessing analysis - A critique
This paper was commissioned as an input to the study “Development and Growth in Northeast India: The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus” by the World Bank. Posted on 15 Jan, 2012 11:41 PM

The main objectives of the hydropower study are as follows: 

  • An analysis of the hydropower potential in the Northeast and key elements of the strategy that should be followed for optimal realization of this potential 
  • An overview of the hydropower development options in the Northeast with regard to the water resources in the different river basins, including consideration of flood control and irrigationmap of the north-eastern states

Map of the north-east states

The unquiet river: An overview of select decisions of the courts on the river Yamuna
This report by Ritwick Dutta presents an overview of the legislation on the river Yamuna. Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 06:40 PM

The river has attained the distinction of being perhaps the river attracting the most judicial attention in india, after the Ganga. This report analyses the various laws and judicial decisions pertaining to the Yamuna and their effects on the river.Cover page of 'The unquiet river'

River Yamuna - Dying by default or by design: A public lecture on river Yamuna
This presentation by Peace Institute Charitable Trust is part of a lecture organised by Toxics Link as part of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan and held at the India International centre in September 2007. Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 05:24 PM

It aims to inform, enlighten and suggest solutions to bring back the river Yamuna to a healthy and resilient state. 

slide showing factories on the banks of the Yamuna

India, Pakistan and water - Lecture by Ramaswamy Iyer at MIDS
This lecture by Ramaswamy Iyer delivered at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) highlights the conflicts over water sharing in India and Pakistan. Posted on 12 Jan, 2012 10:57 PM

It traces the roots of the conflicts to the strained relations between India and Pakistan following the partition and the framing of the Indus Water Treaty in 1960.

Wetlands for water quality management – The science and technology: A paper from Current Issues in Water Management
This paper examines the use of constructed wetlands for water purification. Posted on 10 Jan, 2012 10:24 PM

The introduction begins witha brief overview of wetlands: their nature and services offered. These wetlands are ecosystems with water that is static or flowing and characerized by emergent , floating and submerged aquatic vegetation. Some of the services provided by wetlands are fish and fiber, water supply, water purification, flood regulation, recreational opportunities and tourism. It then details the importance of wetlands for water purification.Toxins enter the wetlands through farms, factories and runoff. These toxins are broken down or otherwise buried using a variety of bacteria. 

Location map of Keoladeo National park

Location map of Keoladeo National Park

Changing currents: Plumbing the rights: A film highlighting water as a common good
Changing currents: Plumbing the rights ia a film that highlights water as a common good. Posted on 10 Jan, 2012 08:55 PM

Source: Culture Unplugged

Shades of blue: A symposium on emerging conflicts and challenges around water - Seminar magazine
Seminar magazine focused on a pertinent topic in October 2011, the issue titled 'Shades of blue' dealt with water conflicts and challenges in India. Posted on 10 Jan, 2012 07:53 PM

The problem

(as posed by Sunjoy Joshi, Director and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)

Democratisation of water management - The experience of Tamil Nadu with governance reforms
The authors argue that the solutions to the global water crisis do not lie in investing more and more money into the water sector or in the introduction of better technology. Posted on 09 Jan, 2012 12:18 PM

Nor is the introduction of the private sector and the reduction in the role of the government going to help. Rather, the time has come to introduce changes at the basic or the fundamental level in the way in which the water sector functions.

There is an urgent need to bring about reforms in governance by moving towards decentralisation and democratisation, leading to  involvement of people from all the sections of the society, who know and understand that they are responsible for the system and its functioning, as well as by introducing principles of equity and social justice. The papers demonstrate the successful implementation of this approach by describing the experience of Tamil Nadu at democratising water management through introduction of reforms at the level of governance, through involvement of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).

Koodam – Breaking hierarchy, building democracy - Paper published in Integral Leadership Review
This paper discusses the Tamil concept of 'koodam' as a possible tool to transform bureaucratic structures into more non hierarchical and people friendly structures. Posted on 08 Jan, 2012 03:59 PM

The paper published in the Integral Leadership Review argues that hierarchy and bureaucracy are two of the most common features of governance systems that play a determining role in shaping the organisational culture, systemic re

Environment Statistics – A compendium by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2011)
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has come up with a Compendium of Environment Statistics 2011, the twelfth edition of the series, which started in 1997. Posted on 07 Jan, 2012 04:25 PM

It broadly covers five core parameters, viz., biodiversity, atmosphere, land/soil, water and human settlements suggested by the Framework for Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) published by United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in 1984.