India

Earthen dams are a very common and cost-effective watershed intervention. This multimedia course gives an understanding of the principles of earthen dams, the types of earthen dams and the parameters to be considered in their construction. It goes into the detail of the steps to be followed in constructing these dams.

This course is part of a multimedia course series developed by Arghyam for the India Water Portal in collaboration with IT and domain experts.

This section from www.rainwaterharvesting.org deals with traditional water harvesting systems. Water has been harvested in India since antiquity, with our ancestors perfecting the art of water management. Many water harvesting structures and water conveyance systems specific to the eco-regions and culture has been developed.

• They harvested the rain drop directly. From rooftops, they collected water and stored it in tanks built in their courtyards. From open community lands, they collected the rain and stored it in artificial wells.
• They harvested monsoon runoff by capturing water from swollen streams during the monsoon season and stored it various forms of water bodies. 
• They harvested water from flooded rivers

The Sustainet project of the German Council for Sustainable Development produced the book "Sustainable Agriculture: A pathway out of poverty for India's rural poor" with examples of sustainable agricultural approaches. This book attempts to bring back sustainable agriculture into the development agenda.

Image and Content Courtesy: NABARD

NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas.

In discharging its role as a facilitator for rural prosperity NABARD invites all individuals, NGOs, community based organisations, SHGs, farmer's club, panchayati raj institutions and corporates who have the expertise and willingness to implement innovative ideas for improving the quality of life in rural areas.

Guiding Principles for the project to be supported under RIF , Innovation 1. Should benefit a large number of rural poor. 2. Should be Replicable / Scalable. 3. Funding support generally not exceeding Rs. 30 lakh. 4. To be grounded in less than 3 years. How to apply? Approach the District Development Manager (DDM) of NABARD in the district or the Regional Office of NABARD at State Capitals. For details of address of the Regional Offices, please Click here.

System of rice intensification (SRI) is a improved method of rice cultivation that was developed in 1983 in Madagascar and has now spread to many parts of the world. There is a notion that what has been done in research plots and by scientists is modern and desirable.

Training module at block level

Dilemma facing NGO action

Watershed development is not merely a matter of harvesting rainwater. Its success crucially entails:

• working out collective protocols of equitable and sustainable use of surface and ground water

This study is a part of water and democracy programme initiated by the Centre for World Solidarity (CWS) as a joint initiative with Church Development Service (EED) in 2007 involving more than 50 partner organisations in South Asia.

CEPT University has received a major grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to research urban water and sanitation issues. The aim of this programme is to develop better information on water and sanitation performance at the local level. This in turn will be used by the state and local governments for extending services to the poor, strive for financial viability, and improve reliability and quality of services.

The research will focus on the use of performance indicators and benchmarks to facilitate consistent reporting, monitoring, planning, budgeting, and investing in water and sanitation services in all urban areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra states. Lessons from the project will be disseminated to other states and at the national level.

CEPT University with its partners will work with state and local governments to develop a reliable and sustainable Performance Assessment System (PAS) for urban water and sanitation services. The PAS envisaged in this project includes: Performance Measurement, Performance Monitoring, and Performance Improvement.