Gujarat

There is a myriad of government schemes and programmes working towards improving water access across the country. Tracking all these initiatives can be cumbersome. The priority that the centre and the states accord to various sectors through the budgetary allocations gives an idea about where the government’s priorities really lie.

Ramsar has designated two more wetlands in India, bringing the total to 49

There are over 705 ethnic groups, which are recognized as Scheduled Tribes in India (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2020). These groups have their own unique Gods, beliefs, rituals, practices, and social systems.

Over the last five decades, rapid increase in urbanisation has led to the deterioration of ecosystem health.

The earliest known civilizations settled around rivers as they provided access to the water needed for cultivating crops. Over time, humans learnt to control the flow of water by the construction of barriers across the direction of the river flow.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire globe and unfolded the most challenging health risks and economic burdens on communities, women, men and children, who were already on the margins.

On May 17, 2021 Cyclone Tauktae, the first extremely severe cyclone from the Arabian Sea in over two decades, barrelled up the country’s western coast, making its landfall in Gujarat.

In recent times, India has been routinely experiencing abnormally hot days during the summer months of April and May. These deadly heatwaves marked by excessively hot weather along with high humidity are on the rise and are causing a record number of deaths of humans and livestock.  

Article by: Sakshi Saini and Paresh B Shirsath

Groundwater levels across India have been falling rapidly, affecting the livelihood and wellbeing of village communities. Top-down approaches to groundwater management have not worked.