Political

This working paper by the World Bank presents the findings of a study that was conducted as a collaborative initiative by the World Bank and the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairyin

Description:
Swiss Re, one of the world's leading reinsurer, launched the “ReSource Award 2013" on 30 January 2012. Swiss Re established the International ReSource Award in 2002 to actively support the planning, evaluation and implementation of water-related projects with the aim of promoting awareness and encouraging the efficient use of this precious resource. The award is an annual competition for innovative watershed management projects with a total value of USD 150 000. It will be granted to one or several projects selected by an international jury. The prize money is to be used exclusively for project implementation.

Description:
ADaRSH (Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats) in association with MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India) and TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) is organizing the 3rd National Conference on Green Design for deliberations on issues pertaining to sustainable development.

Organizer: Department of Civil Engineering, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar

Venue: Department of Civil, Engineering, Annamalai University

Description:
Water is a vital natural resource essential for life and a precious national asset. It is a scarce resource which has to be planned, developed, conserved and managed on an integrated and environmentally sound basis; keeping in view the socio-economic aspects and needs of mankind. It is one of the most challenging tasks to ensure adequate water and food to our present and future generations. The availability of water in our country is highly variable both in space and time. Climate change, failure of monsoons, population explosion, urbanization, rising demands and anthropogenic factors lead to significant water stress. Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy and an assured irrigation water supply is of utmost importance for food security. Hence water resources are to be managed judiciously to guarantee adequate supplies of dependable quantity and quality, which is of major concern today.

Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council's (WSSCC) vision is of a world where everybody has sustained water supply, sanitation and hygiene. WSSCC's vision is centered upon a belief that sanitation, hygiene and water supply coverage is a universal human right; that people and communities are catalysts of change and can be the focus of transformative action; and that the impact of sound sanitation and hygiene will positively benefit people’s health, dignity, security, livelihoods, as well economic status.

Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD) Society, a not-for-profit organisation working in the field of decentralised basic need services across India.

The Patel School of Global Sustainability (PSGS) fosters sustainable urban communities and environments through collaborative research, education and community involvement. Its research generates innovations and new knowledge that will help cities around the world, including those in developing countries, to reduce their ecological footprint, while improving their form and function to make them healthier, more livable and resilient. Through its research, PSGS influences global practice and policy and has become the hub of a global network of sustainability experts.

River stories from Maharashtra: Many morals to learn 

Parineeta Dandekar’s presentation began with an account of some statistics related to Maharashtra, the third largest state in India. Regarding the state of water resources in Maharashtra, she noted that of the five river basin systems, 55 percent of the dependable yield is available in the four river basins (Krishna, Godavari, Tapi and Narmada) east of the Western Ghats. These four river basins comprise 92 percent of the cultivable land and more than 60 percent of the population in rural areas. 45 percent of the state's water resources are from west flowing rivers which are mainly monsoon specific rivers emanating from the Western Ghats and draining into the Arabian Sea.

With 1821 large dams and more in the offing, Maharashtra has the maximum dams in the country (35.7%). However, the proportion of gross irrigated area vis a vis the gross cropped area at 17.8 percent is much lower than the national average of 44.6 percent. The contradictions from the state, which is home to the highest number of dams, were discussed. In nearly 70 percent of the state’s villages (around 27,600 villages), water is either not available within 500 metres distance, or within 15 metres below ground level or when available is not potable (World Bank, Promoting Agricultural Growth in Maharashtra, Volume 1, 2003).

Dandekar discussed the World Bank funded Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project (MWSIP) initiated in 2005 whose main components were establishment, operationalisation and capacity building of Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA); establishment of river basin agencies in Maharashtra; and restructuring and capacity building of the Water Resources Department. The MWRRA Act (2005) has been amended, taking out the clause for equitable water distribution, and granting the Cabinet the rights to have the last say about water entitlements. This has led to a diversion of water for irrigation from the vulnerable, suicide-prone Vidarbha region to thermal power plants. According to Prayas, “entitlements of more than 1500 MCM have been changed from agriculture to industries and cities”.

This presentation by Arghyam includes the results of doctoral study done by G Sridevi under the guidance of Prof.