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This is cross posted from my blog (link). I wanted to introduce the idea of common pool resources, on which there is a whole new body of work coming up lately. This had won Elinor Ostrom the 2009 Nobel Prize. For water sector, I believe this theory can definitely yield some new insights. And it all starts with a question "Who owns the water?'
This is a contribution to the blogathon held by Tulika Books in support of the amazing work that they are doing in popularization of science and...
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Photo from International Rivers
Nature Conservancy a decade ago estimated the value of earth’s ecosystem services to be at least $33trillion a year. At the time of estimation it was close to gross world product. Something about that figure wasn’t quite clear and I always wondered how they managed to come up with the number.
A recent article on the controversial Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam to be built Xingu River in Amazon rainforest reminded of that estimate again. The plans to...
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Ever since the tide of COP 15 related news swelled across the media and press releases in various parts of the world, I have been wondering if climate issues are different from that of water. Perhaps water doesn't count as a valid climatic element or may be it doesn't make the argument any stronger than what carbon emissions and global warming can do!
If climate change negotiations remain oblivious of water issues, then I wonder what good can come out of this grand jamboree at...
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The special track on Sanitation today was the best part of the whole series of sessions. Insightful and sometimes funny, like this one. Here is a story about the "WC" as meant by a british woman intending to travel to india, and as understood by her probable indian host.
This story is from Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak's (of Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement) presentation. He had a large set of slides to show, and I would highly suggest you to download it from here . It is the story of...
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Ashok Jaitly, Water Resources Department, TERIPolicy issues in water conservationHabil Attarwala, Furaat Earth Ltd., Gujarat
R S Sinha, SWaRAPolicy initiatives for rain water harvesting in UP –Challenges and GapsPresentation download (pdf, 1mb)Ravindra Kumar, SWaRAGroundwater recharge and water table simulation in an irrigation commandPresentation download (pdf, 1.13mb)Suresh Khandale, GSDA, PuneInnovative unconventional water harvesting techniques and its implementation in strengthening...
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Attending today's technology sessions, I couldn't help thinking about what Carl Sagan once remarked about science and technology. He noted,
“We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology.”
And rightly so! Most of our present day problems warrant an understanding of the science and developing appropriate solution to address it. This was reflected well in P.S Datta's presentation on the study of groundwater using isotope fingerprinting....
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Observing water harvesting from many different geographies, demographies and cultural setups, we have different approaches emerging to address the situation! The following are the cases presented by the speakers from their regions of work, who have come to understand and identify what works in RWH.
Jyoti Sharma shared her organisation's work in Urban Community Rain Water Harvesting indicating that Four Way Partnership holds the key. She shares the developments and successful...
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One of the most grippping and intensly scientific presentation at WHSC has been this one, by Prof. P.S. Datta of the Nuclear Research Laboratory, IARI. Groundwater can be studied in its entirety by profiling the isotopes of water. His talk on Isotope fingerprinting of Ganga Basin groundwater to protect it from vulnerability to depletion and pollution had gripping scientific findings, which could advance our understanding of the diverse phenomena of hydrological cycle. Prof. P.S. DattaThe...
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On technology and policy, on what works and what doesn't, on what should work and what can be scaled up... there have been numerous approaches and methodologies presented here at WHSC. That too, with a good number of case studies, substatiating the effectiveness of the chosen approach. Planning at micro and macro levels too, have been deliberated upon. But what seems to be the real limitation of any of these absolutely amazing projects to deliver change, is, decision making.There could be a...
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How is it possible to discuss water harvesting and conservation and not talk about the traditional water management systems that have existed over centuries, in India. If there were case studies yesterday, it was success stories today!Rajendra Singh of Tarun Bharat Sangh and Farhad Contractor of Sambhaav Trust, had some interesting cases to share, which were mostly a combination of visual delight and astonishingly simple traditional techniques of water management. Rajendra Singh (Credit: www....
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The activity levels around the posters display area, exhibition and the venue appears to be riding high today! With only half a day through... here is what we see. The photos are contributed by Tushar Gupta, volunteer with India Water Portal. P.S.Dutta, Nuclear Research Laboratory, IARI Rajendra Singh, Tarun Bharat Sangh A section of audience Bioremidiation Workshop panel Asit Neema, Foundation for Greentech Environmental Systems, New Delhi Durjoy Chakraborty, CGWB Bioremediation Workshop ...
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Rajendra Singh, Tarun Bharat Sangh, Rajasthan
Community-driven decentralized water management is a solution for equitable distribution of water
Presentation download (pdf, 1.7mb)
Asit Nema, Foundation for Greentech Environmental Systems, New Delhi
Water quality considerations in artificial ground water recharge and the option of scaled-up systems
Presentation download (pdf, 2.05mb)
Biksham Gujja, WWF-International
Water conflicts...
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The issues related to planning and implementation were largely concerned with water quality, budgeting and equity.
The group deemed it necessary that the following are addressed on a greater priority:
Centralized vs. decentralized rainwater harvesting
Water quality aspects in rainwater harvesting system
Water quality management through rainwater harvesting
Community participation in rainwater harvesting
Water budgeting
GIS for neighborhood-level analysis of rainwater catchment
Wastewater...
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The Working Group on Technological Issues drew up its list of issues as:
Rainwater harvesting techniques for different geo-hydro thermo regions
Risk management in rainwater harvesting
Capacity assessment for rainwater harvesting
Innovative water storage techniques
Groundwater recharge
Conventional water-borne sanitation system
Water Storages and Wetlands
Recommendations:
Basin/sub basin should be treated as unit of water resources planning.
Critical irrigation to crop during...
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Working Group Meetings formed by a panel of experts in the respective field, formed a significant aspect of WHSC Conference. The conference is geared towards effecting a change in the way water resources are governed and managed. Towards this, the working group meeting's recommendations were valuable, and awaited.
The group on Policy Issues identified the main issues in Water Harvesting as:
Regulatory requirements for rainwater harvesting
Policy initiatives for rainwater harvesting in...
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All these decades from early twentieth century, storm water and artificial recharge of aquifers have seldom been an area of consideration for planners and policy makers. The country appeared to be oblivious to the fact that these too are integral part of the resources that we need to take care of before it starts hitting back at us in our daily lives! But then, such has been the case with every other resource base in India, which starts with "abundance" , runs into "shortage" and then graduates...
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Bharat Sharma (Photo:Praveena Sridhar) Bharat Sharma of IWMI presented his case for a larger perspective on the water crisis and for a Nationwide Water Harvesting Initiative. Harvesting rainwater now, is an imperative for a groundwater dependent and once groundwater abundant India.And what makes him arrive at this? His institute's findings on public expenditure on water infrastructure like irrigation canals and incentives in the form of subsidies to select regions/states. I share some slides...
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Inaugural Session of the conference Bharat Sharma speaking on managing risk and low productivity of rain fed agriculture Pre conference proceedings released by D.K. Chadha and Sanjay Dhande Participants at WHSC A section of audience Prof. Ramaswamy Iyer Exhibition and PostersWWF India's For a Living Ganga booth Sulabh International's booth Kids from VSEC, Kidwai Nagar presenting their model to visitors Posters put up in the premises Posters in the premises
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M.Gopalakrishnan speaking on Policy Issues (Photo: Praveena Sridhar)M. Gopalkrishnan speaks on policy support issues in basin management. He believes, small is beautiful... big is beautiful too! Both have their own relevance. He goes on to compare small scale water harvesting sytems with large dams , citing how each one of them stand as an answer in different situations.If large scale, long distance water transfer can enhance regional benefits , then how do we re-examine this proposition...
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Sometome back, in one of the interviews discussing large dams (with ADB) Ramaswamy Iyer said,
If we say "No" to big dams, we should be prepared to say "No" to those other things as well. But this requires a rethinking of what we see as "development," and at the moment, it is difficult to imagine such a radical exercise taking place.
Ramaswamy Iyer delivering the keynote address at WHSC 2009 (Photo: Praveena Sridhar)
In today's keynote, he emphasized on similar issues, and remarked...
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Credit: Binay, Business Standard
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment of NASA has yielded a set of very insightful and alarming data on the ground water resources status in India. Ministry of Water Resources of India had been observing the hydrological balance since long and had indicated that the withdrawl rates are far too high than the natural replenishment, but the regional data was not available.
A NASA team analyzed six years of monthly GRACE gravity data for northern India to...
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The speaker line up for the opening day of the conference has some of the most respected names in the water sector, in India. I have put together resource pages for each of the speaker's profiles and the subject of their talk.
Ramaswamy IyerHonorary Professor and Former Secretary,Ministry of Water ResourcesGovernment of India
Keynote Address
His book Water: perspectives, issues, concerns be read on google books here
M GopalakrishnanSecretary GeneralInternational...
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During conflicts and wars, many die as a consequence of bombings and battles. To the death toll, many more zeroes get added in the days and months to follow! Poor hygiene and sanitation takes several hundred lives in the refugee settlements. Internally displaced and in many cases from across the border, the refugees keep coming in, expecting safety and security and overlooking the general conditions of life in such camps. Refugee camp in Sri Lanka (Photo Credit: http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/images/...
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In an earlier post on IUWM and interventions based on hydrological considerations, I had discussed the typologies which could define the way we intervene and address the inconsistencies in the water utility services as well as the net water availability of the region.From our project area, in Mulbagal town 100 km from Bangalore, we have this "state of affairs" report by Vishwanath S. (of zenrainman channel). This is a typical case of partially functional water utility services, with people...
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Over the past couple of years, the world’s water crisis has led to an unprecedented amount of conversations and discussions on various issues of policy, planning and management of water resources! Academicians, students, scientists … and many more people who are either affected by it or are working in the field are trawling the web, trying to know more about it!I have very often been in that group of people, sometimes preparing for my presentations, at times seeking more information to work on...
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Policy – Technology – Planning – Implementation has seldom been one straight highway in developmental issues like infrastructure, poverty, education or water! An all-encompassing approach to address these issues requires effective conversations. In case of water, the world hasn’t seen any coherent and well aligned approach to address this deepening crisis, in virtually every part of the world! The 2009 Water – Harvesting, Storage and Conservation Conference (WHSC) at the Indian Institute of...
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Famous quote on Ganges:"The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga...
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The complete title reads as “The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come”. I see the version two of this epic work by John Bunyan being written in our times, for the journey which the modern world has undertaken to achieve “development” at all costs. It won’t be an allegory this time. It would be a factual story of how we plundered the planet of its resources, to realize a life which could no longer be sustained within the replenishing levels of the natural processes....
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Jain Irrigation recently became the first company in India to measure its environmental and sustainability benefits and identify ways to reduce its water consumption. This, they plan to do it with IFC, a member of World Bank Group. It will be the first company to measure its water footprint. This news seemed interesting for the fact that not many of us in the corporate world or as individuals have spared a thought about the consumption equation of the products and services that we consume...
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In an earlier post Microfinance for Water - How would it Work? I had put up a picture of a woman drawing water out from a pit.Here is a small clip showing the place, the people and a little more. This was recorded in Dhanuskodi. Water and sanitation facilities are non existent there, but still these people in the fishing settlements manage to live and make a living!
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In less than a month’s time India would meet several other nations… rich, poor and broke, in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference. Never before has India and China’s participation mattered to the industrialized nations as now. The frequency of the google news alerts I receive for the string “climate change + India” has almost tripled since the last month. Discussions, debates, predictions and speculations are flying all over making noises muck like the polluting and noisy Indian...
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Lately there have been some conversations about water sector and microfinance, about bringing in microfinance to address water issues like access to clean drinking water, household water distribution and supply, associated problems of sanitation like underground drainage, and utilities.
Woman Drawing Drinking Water in Dhanuskodi
The Pit Dug In Sand
It could be worthwhile to explore this thought, as India, today has grown a very robust microfinance base. If the...
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“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”
What kind of a walk must have Ralph Waldo Emerson had, to pen down these lines?
I tried getting as near as I could, to attain those “qualifications” but only a purposeful participation in a relatively long walk of nearly 200 kilometers over a period of 10 days could make me understand and live the sense...
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Let me describe a scenario which has become typical of my life in the development sector. "They never finish what they start", is the answer that I hear for most of my questions about public water supply projects (also for many other infrastructure projects), in most parts of India. A little more exploration of the place would yield at least be one odd NGO working in that region with programs (that are implemented by them)largely aligned with the funding agency's priorities or at best would be...
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In the past year I have had the opportunity to travel extensively along with my partners Sachin Tiwari and Prateek Singh to document development programs and good practices by CSOs. Though most of our opinions were largely similar ( about the programs ) I wanted to ask Sachin to write about one case which he deemed as noteworthy. This post is written by him, with contributions from Prateek.Depending upon how you see it, in the geographical expanse of India a train journey could be anything...
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As I had been waking up to the leaky tap in my new house for quite some time; I thought it would be interesting to look at the different ways water gets wasted. In this post I attempt to do a photo blog from my past photo collections on this subject from different parts of the country.
This is an image of a leaking pipe from a tanker used by Municipality to provide water in areas with water shortage, in Mulbagal, Karnataka. I took this photo during a project visit to the town few weeks ago....
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Its been three weeks since I moved into my new rented apartment. It's a classic situation in which I am caught up in. I am a consultant working on "SUSTAINABLE WATER solutions", but I hardly have control on a leaky tap in my bath room. This leaky tap can fill up a bucket of water in a period of 2 hours. The capacity of my bucket will be around 30 liters. Therefore in a day I contribute to a waste around 360 liters of water. You can calculate how much in a year woud be!!It is very convenient for...
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I was looking for animation to create training material for the community to train them on the water condition of their town. This is for the Integrated Urban Water Management Project , a pilot project in Mulbagal.
One of my friends, Sachin, helped me with the following link. This is very interesting jingle on how one should use Ground Water.
Unfortunately, its an online material. Although I will not be able to use it for work, I thought it will be useful to share it with all.
The links are as...
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Conservation and Management of Urban LakesBrainstorming Session on Conservation & Management of Urban Lakes 26th Sept 09The speakers of the conference gave an insight into the current situation of the urban lakes, especially focusing on the perils of the Bangalore lakes. Based on the issues raised by the panel of speakers, the threats listed out by them and the contributing factors that have led to the depleted state of Bangalore’s lakes, I have constructed a color coded flow map. The...
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