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Traditional water management systems - An overview of Ahar-Pyne system in the South Bihar plains in India and the need for its revival - Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge
This paper published in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge provides a brief overview of the the Ahar-Pyne system, a traditional water harvesting system still practised in the south Bihar plains of India and argues that these traditional water harvesting systems that have existed in India since a very long time are relevant or perhaps even more relevant in today's times and that there is an urgent need to revive these systems taking into consideration India's vulnerability to climatic changes and disasters and the increasing need for having sustainable water management systems in the future.
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Amateur weather monitoring in Kausani, Almora, Uttarakhand: A summary of David Hopkins' observations over the last two decades
David Hopkins has been monitoring weather data in a village in the mountains of Uttarakhand for the past twenty-five years. Today, this amateur weather station has an unbroken and reliable record of temperature and rainfall data for the area. Considering the difficulties involved in a sustained effort of this nature, this is a remarkable achievement.
In the article that follows, Hopkins talks about the weather station and presents a summary of the data collected for the decades 1990-99 and 2000-09.
Guest post by: David Hopkins
Illustration 1: David Hopkins at his weather monitoring station (Photo courtesy: Basant Pandey)
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Soil health management under hill agroecosystem of North East India - Applied and Environmental Soil Science
This paper published in the journal Applied and Environmental Soil Science describes the impacts of environmental degradation on soil quality and health in the North East of India and discusses the need for a viable option for ecorestoration and maintenance of soil resources to sustain long-term soil productivity and improve food security for the region.
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Integrated hydrological data book (non-classified river basins) by Central Water Commission, Ministry of Water Resources
This data book published by Central Water Commission (CWC) is a compendium of important hydrological information on major basins in India. It provides updated site wise data for 12 non-classified basins that covers aspects such as location, drainage area, population, temperature, average runoff, seasonal water flow, historical water levels, average sediment load, water quality parameters and land use statistics. The statistics of year 2006-07 to 2009-10 are used as the base for the data mentioned in the book.
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Water resources of Andhra Pradesh - An atlas by VIStA, IWMI and GoAP
This atlas on water resources in Andhra Pradesh by International Water Management Institute (IWMI), IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program (ITP), Visual Information Systems for Action (VIStA) and Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) is an attempt to analyse the existing data from the public domain of several government organisations and present the data through visually appealing maps and other visually attractive forms to show the spatial and temporal distribution of the water available and the way it is used, to act as a quick guide and a decision-support system.
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Long range forecast for 2012 south-west monsoon season rainfall - Press release by India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences
This document released by India Meteorological Department (IMD) every year sheds light on the operational forecast for the south-west monsoon. Through an in-house research the operational forecast are issued in two stages:
- Long range forecast for all India rainfall issued in April.
- Forecast update issued in June.
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Water science in India: Hydrological obscurantism - A paper in Economic and Political Weekly
This article by Jayanta Bandyopadhyay in the Economic and Political Weekly deals with the Government of India’s proposal for addressing the twin problems of floods and water scarcity by interlinking rivers. The author is of the view that the proposal is based on an outdated and dangerous idea of surplus river basins from which water can be drawn at will.
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Resuscitating a failed idea: Notes from Bihar – A paper in Economic and Political Weekly
This article by Dinesh Kumar Mishra, Convenor of the Barh Mukti Abhiyan (movement for freedom from floods), Bihar in the Economic and Political Weekly states that the idea of a national interlinking of rivers needs to base itself on the past six decades’ experience of river and flood control measures. The contribution from Bihar shows that not only is the state’s “surplus water” tag a bit incorrect, the very structures – dams, canals and embankments – which are proposed to implement the river interlinking project have been a big failure. The article then questions the enthusiasm for this failed idea.
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Teesta, Tipaimukh and riverlinking: Danger to Bangladesh-India relations – A paper in Economic and Political Weekly
This paper in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) by Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, University of Dhaka deals with the Supreme Court’s verdict directing the Government of India to implement the interlinking of rivers. The article opines that the judgement seems to have overlooked the regional and international implications of what the Indian Court strangely considers “the rivers of the country”.
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The state and fate of Himalayan Glaciers - Science
This paper published in the magazine Science highlights the importance of the Himalayan glaciers, the current uncertainties in relation to the status of glaciers, their implications for water resources in the region and the prevailing public and scientific debate around them. Current evidence indicates that most Himalayan glaciers are losing mass at rates similar to glaciers elsewhere, except for emerging indications of stability or mass gain in the Karakoram.
The paper argues that there is a poor understanding of the processes affecting the Himalayan glaciers in the context of the diversity of climatic conditions and the extremes of topographical relief within the region, making projections speculative, which can have a significant impact on the future of water resources in the area. It is thus important to have more information on the status of the glaciers in the Himalayan region.
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