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 …
SHILLONG, Nov 4: Revival of the good old roof-top harvesting of rain water using tin-channels along the roof edges and bamboo channels from innumerable rain-fed springs to canalize water into storage tanks will be the only solution to solve the acute water crisis in rain-fed Meghalaya.
Ubeshwar Vikas Mandal (UVM), an organisation of Bhil adivasis, has over the past two decades undertaken awareness raising, community organisation and protection and regeneration initiatives for pasturelands, forest areas and water bodies. The UVM-Svaraj project for small-height construction is the latest addition to these activities.
In February 2007 an agreement was signed between the World Bank, the Central Government, and Tamil Nadu state government for a mega project titled Irrigated Agriculture Modernization & Water-bodies Restoration & Management (IAMWARM). The project cost of US $556 million (Rs 2,547 Cr) was met through a loan from the …
The complexities associated with interactions of various components of environment have not been examined in historical narratives of pre-colonial India. An important consideration for any agrarian society has been the availability of water for irrigation, and in arid and semi-arid regions
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 …
Visitors to Vrindavan and the fabled land of Lord Krishna, called Braj Bhoomi, are often taken aback by its ramshackle, dirty condition. It has dried up ancient water bodies or kunds, denuded forests and lots of garbage. It also has a dreaded mining mafia running around with dynamite, digging holes …
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 …
Most climate change models predict that this global phenomenon will have severe impacts on small farmers, particularly in developing countries. Increasing temperatures, droughts, heavy precipitation and other extreme climatic events could reduce yields by up to 50 percent in some regions, especially in drylands. Understanding the agroecological features and coping/adaptation …
Rajasthan's Karauli district has been reeling under droughts for the last four years. To tackle this, people of this region are reviving pokhar -- a 200-year-old traditional water harvesting system. Which is why, Prakashi Devi's village has water this year. Prakashi Devi is happy her village pond still has some …
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 …
