Research - Watershed Development
Reviving dying springs: A paper documenting the Sikkim experience of groundwater recharge using geo-hydrology
With mountain communities dependent of springs for both domestic uses and for irrigation, conservation of these springs is crucial. However several factors, of which climate change is one, are leading to a drying up of springs. This paper reports on Sikkim's experience with using geo-hydrological knowledge to plan recharge structures. It concludes that this increases the efficiency of recharge measures.
Read MoreWater scarcity and security in India - A presentation by Narayan Hegde, BAIF at the Indian Science Congress 2012
Water is life because plants and animals cannot live without water. Water is needed to ensure food security, feed livestock, take up industrial production and to conserve the biodiversity and environment. Although, India is not a water poor country, due to growing human population, severe neglect and over-exploitation of this resource, water is becoming a scarce commodity. While this is a growing concern all over the world, India is most vulnerable because of the growing demand and in-disciplined lifestyle. This calls for immediate attention by the stakeholders to make sustainable use of the available water resources to ensure better quality of lives.
Social exclusion in watershed development: Evidence from the Indo-German watershed development project in Maharashtra - A LEAD paper
Marginalized communities are excluded from a say in the creation of policies. This paper examines social exclusion of resource-poor groups in developmental programmes targeted at them through the lens of watershed programmes.
Water conservation, sustainable agriculture, challenges for rural development in Maharashtra and possible solutions - Talk by Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch, Hivre-Bazar
The four video films below include a talk by Shri Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar (Ahmednagar), Maharashtra and an inspiring promoter of the 'Ideal Villages Movement' on "Integrated Agriculture and Rural Development for Tomorrow's Maharashtra" on the occasion of the inauguration of Observer Research Foundation's Maharashtra@50 Study Centre on 24th June 2010.
Read MoreLivelihood augmentation in rainfed areas – A strategy handbook for practitioners by Development Support Centre
This strategy handbook for practitioners authored by Astad Pastakia and Sachin Oza and published by Development Support Centre deals with livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas. It is a compilation of ongoing, successful strategies piloted and upscaled by a range of development agencies in different parts of the country. The handbook is presented in four volumes under a common framework and focus on initiatives related to: participatory natural resource management; rural entrepreneurship development; use of information communication technology and institution development.
About 400 million rural poor reside in about 200 poorest districts of the country that constitute rainfed areas. Scientific research has revealed a vast untapped potential in rainfed agriculture where crop yields are lower than their potential by two to five fold. A large number of innovative projects and ideas have been tried to address this issue, although documentation has been uneven and fragmented. Drawing upon such experiences, the handbook points towards new vistas and untapped opportunities in meeting the challenge of enhancing food security with limited water resources and improving the carrying capacities of rainfed areas to match the rapidly increasing populations in these regions and elsewhere.
Read MoreThe economic impact of forest hydrological services on local communities - A case study from the western ghats of India - A working paper by SANDEE
This working paper published by the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) describes the findings of a study that builds upon a larger research project at four sites in the Western Ghats of peninsular India and examines the link between stream flow, agricultural water use and economic returns to agriculture.
Read MoreInterlinking of water harvesting structures through link water channels - A viable alternative at micro-level by Ambuja Cement Foundation
This report of Sir Ratan Tata Trust offers an account of the project by the Ambuja Cement Foundation, which has developed interlinking of water harvesting structures through link water channels as a viable option of water management at micro-level. The coastal areas of Gujarat especially the villages lying within 20-25 km from the seashore are suffering from the problem of salinity ingress. Most of the rivulets that drain this region like Goma and Somat are seasonal at best and their water does not last beyond monsoons. The other aquifers like ponds, which get water from these rivers, also dry up as early as October.
A perspective of watershed development in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand – A paper by Himmotthan Pariyojana
This paper by Malavika Chauhan of Himmotthan Pariyojana in the International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences discusses the evolution of watershed development projects and their implementation in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. It traces the historical growth of thinking on watershed in the region, and highlights issues and influences. Impacts and benefits are discussed in relation to sustainability. The review shows that success in these projects is usually isolated, mostly seen in small micro-watersheds with naturally good water harvesting conditions.
Read MoreSoil respiration under different forest species in the riparian buffer of the semi-arid region of northwest India – A paper in Current Science
This paper in Current Science deals with soil respiration under different forest species in the riparian buffer of the semi-arid region of North West India. Soil respiration is a major process affecting the global carbon cycle and nutrient flux in the terrestrial ecosystem. It is the major pathway for exchange of gases from soil to atmosphere, influencing atmospheric temperature and ultimately contributing to global warming. Soil carbon is returned from the soil to the atmosphere through soil respiration, which represents one of the largest fluxes in the terrestrial C cycle1–3. The main sources of terrestrial flux of CO2 are decomposing soil organic matter, respiration from heterotrophic soil organisms and autotrophic live root respiration.
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