The simultaneous attainment of financial, environmental and social sustainability of urban services is an important requirement of development. Given the huge investments that are being made in the improvement of urban infrastructure and services in India, it is of the utmost importance that these investments are made in a manner that brings about the greatest good of the greatest number in a sustainable manner. Within urban infrastructure the supply of water and its disposal after use in cities has become one of the most problematic aspects of planning and management.
This article discusses the introduction of green revolution in India and how this high-yield technology was environmentally harmful and bypassed small and marginal farmers
The Chambal River and the surrounding landscape comprise a unique ecosystem. Although known largely for its notoriety, the region is incredibly rich in biodiversity. The single largest population of the Gharial, a critically endangered crocodile is found here. Sadly, the Chambal ecosystem and its inhabitants face numerous threats.
More than 100 participants hacked on for over 2 days in Pune to develop projects to address challenges facing the sanitation sector as part of the 'Sanitation Hackathon' that was held simultaneously in 13 cities across the world. The hackathon was hosted by Infosys between the 30th of November and the 2nd of December
The Habitat Agenda, adopted by consensus of 171 States at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, declares that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing, housing, water and sanitation. And the irony surrounding this issue is perhaps never more evident than it is in India. We have a mobile phone penetration rate of 74% but more than half the households don’t have basic sanitation and toilet facilities.
Besides being a professor of International and Environmental law, Philippe Cullet is the Convenor of the International Environmental Law Research Centre (IELRC), a non-profit research organisation that seeks to establish frameworks that foster sustainable conservation and use of natural resources in an equitable international context. In a conversation with The Alternative, he sheds light on the sanitation situation in India
Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia motivates students-the inheritors of this carbon-wounded Earth- at TEDxASB organised at the American School of Bombay in April 2012. His message is simple- conservation is necessary for our survival; the children of today need to remind decision makers that it is tomorrow's planet that they are ruining.
A consultation meeting was held by the India Water Partnership on “Climate change adaptation in water management for food security: Recent developments in India”.
m.paani is an innovative concept that capitalises on the fact that otherwise under-served communities still possess mobile phones. Using a loyalty program, m.paani seeks to secure water and sanitation services for these communities. In this TEDx talk, Akanksha Hazari explains the concept.
The APWELL project sought to improve agricultural production through controlled groundwater exploitation by the means of nearly 3,500 wells and irrigation systems. The project acknowledged the risk of over-exploitation of groundwater.Part of the solution was to only permit wells in areas that were not already over-exploited. Recharge of groundwater and increasing irrigation efficiency were also implemented.
The newsroundup this week informs of reducing water level in the Cauvery basin, pollution of rivers in Odisha, Punjab and Kerala, green signal given by the cabinet to the land aquisition bill and the decision made by the Karnataka government for the need to seek permission from the water board for drilling borewells or dugwells in Bangalore city
