Forests

Worldwide, the demand for energy has risen significantly and quickly, leading to serious impacts on environmental sustainability and hindering global efforts to mitigate climate change. Hydropower, a leading renewable option has the additional benefits of water storage for agriculture and other uses.

Floods are an annual phenomenon in Assam. They are as integral to the state as the Brahmaputra River is, and each monsoon, we are reminded that Assam exists (or is drowning). As I write this piece, Assam is slowly recovering from the first wave of flood this monsoon.

Straddling land and sea and swarming with life, mangroves are key to healthy coastal ecosystems. They are recognised for their role as storm barriers, protecting coastal areas from flooding and erosion by dissipating the energy of huge waves. They act as nurseries for fish, help filter river water of pollutants and trap excess sediment before it reaches the ocean. Increasingly, mangrove protection and restoration is being acknowledged as a viable option for mitigating the effects of growing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Powerhouses for carbon storage

Government rolls out plan to revive springs across the country

The Jal Shakti Ministry has proposed a pilot project for spring inventory and rejuvenation in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, and has suggested that similar projects of springs management be taken up in rest of the country with the active involvement of several other ministries.

P Sainath has been documenting stories from rural India for over three decades now. He is the founder-editor of People's Archive of Rural India (PARI), a digital archive dedicated to people whose voices and stories don't always find space in mainstream media. Sainath previously covered the rural beat at The Hindu, and his on ground reportage has drawn significant attention to the country’s farmers and the challenges they face.

Lok Sabha passes Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019  

The Lok Sabha has passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to amend the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act of 1956.

Cabinet approves Dibang hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Rs. 1,600 crore pre-investment and clearance expenditure for the 2,880 megawatts Dibang hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh. The project, which is worth Rs 28,080 crores in total, is a storage based hydroelectric project with flood moderation as the key objective.

Large dams, back in the game?

Recent years are seeing the re-emergence of large dams as sources of hydropower generation in global development policy. Large dams are being propagated as clean, green, climate-mitigating and a major source of renewable energy in emerging markets in the Global South.

Government cuts budget for Jal Shakti Ministry by 9.4 percent; increases funds for rural drinking water mission