India

In this paper, the authors examine the current debates around India's water crisis and its implications for food security in the country. The paper takes a critical look at the recent official assessments of groundwater exploitation in India in the context of these debates.

The paper proposes that there is a need to make a qualitative assessment of the magnitude of food security and water management challenges facing the country. It argues that two important factors drive the agricultural growth and food production in India. These include access and availability of arable land and water resources, which need to be examined and analysed with particular reference to their regional variations, to get a true understanding of the situation.

Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) is an approach to the cultivation of sugarcane, that can reduce inputs - water, chemical fertilizers, seed material and farm space - while improving sugarcane production significantly. It also reduces crop duration and provides a longer period of the cane crushing season to the sugar industry.

This farm-based approach (as opposed to crop-based) also gives farmers options to grow intercrops, such as pulses to improve their income. Most importantly, SSI reduces the overall pressure on water resources and contributes to recovery of ecosystems. It conserves soil moisture, thereby allowing for growing of dryland crops in the same region.

SSI is inspired from the successful approach of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) paddy cultivation, which like SSI, originated from farmers and civil society to improve agricultural productivity while reducing pressure on natural resources.

Women ‘JALMITRA’ spanning awareness on O&M

Article by - Prabhakar Mishra, IEC Specialist, Jalswarajya Nagpur.

Inroduction

As per the Press Information Bureau's press release, the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Water Resources for enacting The Dam Safety Bill, on May 13 2010. The Bill is to be introduced in the Parliament.

The main objectives of the legislation are:-

• The new legislation will help the States in adopting uniform dam safety procedures which shall ensure safety of dams and safeguard benefits from such dams.

Prof Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Professor and Head, Centre for Development and Environment Policy, IIM Calcutta, speaks to Bappaditya Chatterjee of Business Economics , on the consequences of global warming and climate change on India's water resources, in the magazine's June 1-15 2010 issue.

This paper by A Jagadeesh of RMK Engineering College, describes the design and testing of a portable, low-cost, and low maintenance solar disinfection unit, that can provide potable water. This system was tested with bore water, well as well as with waste water. In 5 hours, the unit eradicated 99.99% of the bacteria contained in the water samples.

This unit can provide about 6 liters of pure drinking water and larger units can be fabricated for providing safe drinking water at a community level.

Organizer: Water and Food Equitable Distribution Organisation (WEDO)

Topics:

• Making more surface water available
• Sustainable and enduring solutions for water

Venue: Henry Maudslay Hall, Anna University, Chennai

Description:

WEDO ( Water and Food Equitable Distribution Organisation) is a unique Initiative of professionals and experts with hands-on experience, a Think-tank of the free enterprise with lateral thinking to design and evolve projects on a scientific and technological basis to provide acceptable engineering solutions to be proposed to the nation:  Models, designs and plans for  Production,  storage  and distribution of vital resources in India.

A special issue of the Livelihoods magazine (March 2010) brought out by the Akshara Network for Development Support Services, on Watersheds+.

Increasing productivity of dry lands is possible through soil and moisture conservation (SMC) efforts results in growth led by increases in the farm output. Separate efforts are required to include the land-less and the vulnerable in this growth, so that they also realize the benefits of improved food security, increased employment and diversification of livelihoods. Such activities are known as ‘Watershed Plus’ interventions, and ‘livelihoods’ explores these activities.

The National Water Mission (NWM), under the aegis of the Ministry of Water Resources, is one of the eight missions being constituted under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). The NAPCC was launched by the Prime Minister in 2009 as a nation-wide effort to tackle climate change.

IEC in Jalswarjya- A guiding light for WSSD, Govt. of Maharashtra 

- An article based on vibrant experience of Jalswarajya Project

Prabhakar S. Mishra

IEC specialist, Nagpur

Introduction

          Whenever we are working on development front we need to put communication at heart place. Worldwide  past experience suggest that modernization approach of development communication fail to sustain impact on stakeholders due to its vertical one way format based on prejudice which fix responsibility of being backward on under develop class. Till end of 20^th century mostly communication in development sector was argument and advocacy based. Also efforts initiated with expectation of switch effect behavioral change, that outcast trust from communication.