The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Biological diversity is an asset of vital significance to human beings, as it provides food, medicine and industrial raw materials along with an immense potential for accruing many unknown benefits to future generations. The areas rich in biodiversity are also an abode of diverse ethnic groups possessing a valuable reservoir …
India is endowed with annual average rainfall of nearly 1,200 mm but a very small proportion of it is managed effectively. The various estimates on potential for rainwater harvesting suggest vast opportunities for mitigating the shortages. However, the socio-administrative measures in vogue do not encourage participation by the beneficiaries. There …
India has a rich history of water harvesting. The type of water harvesting structure in a region depends on its geography and rainfall distribution. These include surface water systems such as lakes, talabs, nadis and groundwater extracting systems such as wells, kundis and johads. These practices have often saved drought-affected …
This article examines the traditional water resources in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, which is blessed with varied and bountiful natural water resources such as khads, nalas, baudis, nawns, chhrudus, khatris, wells etc. However a recent study has revealed that 20% of the traditional water resources are in disuse, …
It really makes you believe that old is gold when a Mumbai building adopts the water harvesting system that was used by the Harappan settlement in Dholavira in Gujarat some 5,000 years ago. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly Prince of Wales Museum, became the first heritage structure in …
With water crisis always reminding us of the need to conserve resources, traditional rainwater harvesting system is becoming dearer by the day. Jigisha Doshi explores different models of the system A rainwater harvesting system was installed four years ago by the Chavada family in Bimanagar area of the city. Bimanagar …
The last five years have been tough on 55-year old Saraswati Devi. Her two sons have left their village to work as construction workers in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (mp). The family's one hectare patch in Ragauli Bhatpura gram panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's (up) Banda district has been mortgaged. The money …
Call it is one of the unknown Indian ironies. Over many years, the Indian state, through its public irrigation agencies, has systematically taken over the management of surface water systems. It has taken over the job of building irrigation systems - dams, reservoirs and canals - then maintaining these and …
Since India's independence, government policies in at least four crucial areas have had damaging effects: - common grazing lands - water management - agriculture, and - animal breeding. Common grazing lands: the disappearing act "Politics is short-term religion. Religion is long-term politics,' said the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. This …
INDIANS have always stored rain water, sometimes enough for several years in anticipation of droughts. In most parts, it rains only for three months -- during the monsoon. The country is full of indigenous water harvesting structures, known variously as eries, kulams, kuntas, cheruvus and johads. They show enormous diversity …
