India

Earth Hour is observed on the last Saturday of March each year in almost all countries to raise people’s awareness of natural disasters due

Water is a basic resource for food and fuelwood production. In general, people in rural areas of India consume carbohydrate-rich staples with small amounts of animal foods. They mostly depend upon fuelwood for cooking.

Every year, March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day. The theme for this year is ‘valuing water’. This indicates the higher level of thinking that is percolating agencies like the UN.

Threats to freshwater bodies in India are many and include pollution, flow modification, overexploitation and habitat degradation. Besides these, introduction of invasive alien species is a growing problem in India threatening freshwater biodiversity leading to a decline in native species and compromising the health of freshwater bodies.

What is an invasive species

Water, belongs to everyone, managed by no one

While watching a film on WOTR’s Water Stewardship efforts, “Paani Kaarbhari – Water  Stewards”, that won the Ministry of Jal Shakti's ‘Water Heroes: Share Your Stories’ contest¹, we came across the wise words of a village woman who says “Water does not belong to one person, it belongs to everyone”.

"Lakes in Indian cities have seen a pitfall in terms of quality.

The impact of climate change on people’s water supplies is threatening to put progress on bringing clean water to all back decades unless urgent action is taken to help the world’s poorest communities adjust to changing weather patterns. 

Article by: Sakshi Saini and Paresh B Shirsath

Manisha Shah, Arghyam, Bangalore highlights the issues related to water scarcity and quality in the tourist destinations in India and shares the work of the ForWater collaborative.