Political

This handbook for Gram Panchayats has been prepared by the Water and Sanitation Program (World Bank) for the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

The Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) launched the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) in April, 2009. The NRDWP builds on experiences gained through past efforts by many stakeholders and brings all existing rural drinking water initiatives under a single program. The focus of the NRDWP is to ensure drinking water security for all rural citizens in India. Drinking water security means providing every rural person with enough safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs at all times and in all situations, including periods of drought and flood and for livestock.

Guest post by Manjunath Prasad

Recent scientific studies show that global warming is already causing environmental changes that will have significant global economic and social impacts. As the world's 4th largest emitter of greenhouse gases, India has to juggle the imperative demand for economic development with pressures for greater efficiency in the use of energy.

Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause. Climate change reflects a change in the energy balance of the climate system, i.e. changes the relative balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation from Earth. The threat emanates from accumulated green house gas emissions in the atmosphere, generated through long term and intensive industrial growth and high consumption life styles of developed countries.

Third Sector Partners, a leading CxO and board search firm in the Not for Profit sector, has been retained by Mercy Corps to hire its Executive Director, India.

Mercy Corps is seeking a bold, action-oriented, and creative leader with a passion for social entrepreneurship to be its Executive Director (ED) for Mercy Corps India (MCI).  MCI is a member of the global Mercy Corps family, but is registered as an independent Section 25 company with a separate Board of Directors.  The ED must therefore be a shrewd navigator, able to steer our country presence along a truly “local to global” axis as an independent entity, while at the same time maintaining close links to the ethos and administrative structures of the parent company, Mercy Corps.

Organizer: Action for Food Production

Venue: AFPRO Training Centre, 25/1A, Institutional Area, Pankha Road, Janakpuri, D-Block, New Delhi

Description:

The course attempts to understand climate change risks and vulnerabilities; introduce concepts and approaches to climate change adaptation; and, thereby provide the participants with a framework for Climate Risk Screening. This in essence will enhance the capacities of the participants to integrate climate change risks and adaptation considerations into their project design and management leading to adaptive planning.

Organizer: Grassroots Institute

Venue: Kathgodam, Nainital, India

Description:

This Intensive Field Training (IFT) program will focus more on practice of planning and writing the proposal for getting financial support. The training is fit for NGO managers, government executives and all others who are involved in project management.

It produces a diagnosis of the broad nature of the poverty problem and its trends in India, focusing on both consumption poverty and human development outcomes.

It also includes attention in greater depth to three pathways important to inclusive growth and poverty reduction harnessing the potential of urban growth to stimulate rural-based poverty reduction, rural diversification away from agriculture, and tackling social exclusion.

This global study attempts systematically to understand and thus help practitioners manage the political economy of pro-poor sani­tation investments and service provision.

It aims to provide practical advice to multi-lateral agencies and sanitation practitioners to help them better manage stakehol­der relations and effectively maneuver within the complex institutional relationships of the sanitation sector in order to enhance the design, implementation, and effectiveness of operations that provide pro-poor sanitation investments and services. The ultimate goal is to improve health and hygiene outcomes.

This study follows current approaches to political economy - interdisciplinary inquiry drawing upon social and political theory and economic principles - to understand how poli­tical actors, institutions, and economic processes influence each other. This study’s conceptual framework combines a diagnostic component with a typology of actions to help translate analytical findings into more effective support to operations and investments.

This Comprehensive Management Action Plan by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) deals with the various conservation and management interventions that can be taken up for long-term sustainability of Ousteri lake, the largest lake in Puducherry.

Wetlands in urban areas have always been exploited for several purposes due to anthropogenic activities. However, such activities may lead to alteration of wetland characteristics and thus cause changes in species composition and density. The Ousteri Lake (Oussudu Eri in Tamil) is rich in flora and fauna and is known to provide several ecological services including recharging underground aquifers and providing several livelihood options for the local community.

This document by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation deals with the guidelines of the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). India’s first nationwide programme of rural sanitation, the CRSP was launched in 1986, while TSC was launched in 1999 with the aim of ending open defecation.