Research Papers

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.

The tank cascade systems of Madurai

Arid and semi-arid regions of Southern-Indian peninsula are known to experience frequent droughts and the watersheds in these regions are characterised by hot climate, scanty water availability and erratic rainfall.

Extensive evidence of elevated arsenic in the food chain, mainly rice, wheat and vegetables exists.

Groundwater reserves are depleting at rapid rates in India, which is one of the world’s largest consumer of groundwater with it  providing 60 percent of the irrigation needs of the country.

Traditional groundwater storage structures such as cisterns, stepwells, tanks, and wells in India are well known and had cultural, religious, social, and utilitarian significance in olden times.

Proliferation of hydropower development in the Himalayas is leading to extensive land use changes in the river valleys and threatening the diverse and fragile Himalayan ecosystems leading to deforestation, fragmentation, soil erosion and loss of forest biodiversity. These are a cause for serious concern for local communities, whose lives and livelihoods depend on these forests.

An ‘Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani’ made landfall during morning hours on May 3, 2019, near Puri in Odisha. The landfall location was forecast accurately much in advance by India Meteorological Department. In anticipation of the strike, the state government carried out an extensive evacuation involving more than 1.5 million people.

What are wetlands

Wetland is a place where water covers the soil or is near the soil surface for varying periods of time during the year. Wetlands include a wide variety of habitats ranging from lakes, marshes, swamps, estuaries, tidal flats, river flood plains, mangroves and even rice fields.

Agricultural stagnation and inefficient irrigation systems

Agriculture continues to be an important sector for the Indian economy and for food security with more than half of the workforce being employed in agricultural activities. Greater use of improved crop varieties, irrigation and fertilisers have contributed to major improvements in crop yields in India.

Water in India continues to be extremely polluted and unsafe.