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Category: Uncategorized

Water Budgeting in Telangana,Experiences & Insights from the campaign

This the second blogpost  of the series on Water Budgeting in Telangana carried out in  7 Gram Panchayats (GP) of Rangareddy and Nagaurkurnool districts and their neighbouring hamlets. The  water budgets of these villages revealed some startling facts. This region has received low rainfall since the past three years, inspite of that, farmers took water intensive crops and livestock production during irrigation. However, the very high water deficit figures that emerged from the calculation shocked all participants.

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31/03/2018

I the Culprit, I the Victim

Working with WOTR for a considerable amount of time now, I’ve got exposed to the issues surrounding water crisis. I’ve learnt about the impact it has on the day-to-day life of people and the economy of the rural India. Alongside this, I also got acquainted with the collective efforts taken by the rural communities to counter this issue in the support of WOTR team. It has been an overwhelming experience to understand the perception of the rural population towards such problems, while simultaneously witnessing the positively changing ecosystem and economy.  By taking all these experiences back to an urban space, where I reside, I have subconsciously become more vigilant towards the use of water. Also, it was shocking to read and discover the data on urban mismanagement, misuse of water and its contribution to depleting water resources and the projected crises of the future. This article is an attempt to put forth my personal experiences and also, appeal to the community around me to contribute and try to halt the fast-rising issue of water crisis.

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28/03/2018

Water Scenario for Rural Jalna in 2030: For Domestic and Livelihood Needs- 2

In this report, we provide an overview of the proceedings of the first Transformative Scenario Planning (TSP) workshop titled ‘Water Situation in Rural Jalna in 2030: For Domestic and Livelihood Needs’ convened by Watershed Organisation Trust, on 18th and 19th September 2017 at Krushi Vidnyan Kendra, Jalna. The workshop was conducted in the local language (Marathi).

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01/03/2018

A watery slope

Natural forces such as drought do not discriminate between marginal communities and the urban population. As a result you see the unprecedented scenes of Cape Town facing a severe water crisis and on the brink of a catastrophic Day Zero scenario. The problem with the changing climate is that humanity, as a whole, is going to face situations which we have no prior experience in confronting. With such an unpredictable future in front of us, the most vulnerable communities need to be equipped first and foremost to prevent a domino effect leading to systemic failure. In the drought-stricken Marathawada region of Maharashtra, where the water dynamics are extremely complicated, WOTR has taken up the mantle to create resilient communities who are able to deal with the widespread problems of water scarcity. Through its flagship Water Stewardship program, it aims to bring a strong sense of ownership among the stakeholders about the extent of the problem and promote collective action over individualistic approaches. It puts the onus of solving the problem on the community itself thereby reducing the dependence on unsustainable practices.

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06/02/2018

Power of the Collective

Among the key challenges of the 21st century are poverty, climate change and resource scarcity.  This is especially dire in a country like India which relies heavily on agricultural production – a sector which employs about 70 % of the poor in the country, which is very vulnerable to changes in weather variations and faces a crisis with the lack of a widespread, sustainable source of water.

To this acute water crisis, the solution proposed by WOTR in  the dryland areas of the country was watershed development.  Very early in its operations, it was apparent the problem was not just one of landscape re-engineering, but a complex web of economic, social and environmental dimensions.  Communities were at the centre of this web and had issues like a deeply engrained caste and class distinction, gender biases and a lack of responsibility for the commons.

It was here that WOTR developed the Wasundhara approach.  This was a strategy for inclusive development based on regeneration of the resource base, transparency, equitable distribution of benefits, and gender equality. 

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29/01/2018

Field musings on the rise of farm ponds and its impact on the common pool groundwater resource.

Farm ponds are being set up to provide protective irrigation so as to secure a second crop and provide water during lean summer months. In Maharashtra, the government has announced schemes to drought proof their land and encourage farmers to construct farm ponds. But is the rise of these structures  in the semi-arid regions of Maharashtra creating inequity in the share of groundwater among farm groups? The following blog post , written by our researcher for the Adaptation in Scale in Semi Arid Regions (ASSAR)  blog highlights the urgent need to rethink on the collective  use of the invisible common pool resource for preventing drought in the long run.

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09/09/2017

THE BOUNDARIES OF HAPPINESS

The elixir of happiness or satisfaction has kept human kind guessing from times unknown. From the realms of philosophy, the question has transcended social fields and moved into the boundaries of science. Each discipline has tried looking at the concept with ideas and expertise of its own—exploring different angles to the same Delphic topic.

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10/08/2017

A New Beginning

– Sachin Hirve, Ajinkya Upasani & Mohan Dhuldhar Today is the World Day to combat Drought and Desertification! We are very happy to share that

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17/06/2017