Success Stories and Case Studies

This paper by Priya Sangameswaram in the Economic and Political Weekly deals with equity in watershed development in Hivre Bazar in Western Maharashtra.

The article deals with AVSWAT- A spatial decision support system for land and water management and its application for watershed management in Bankura district of West Bengal. Decision Support Systems (DSS) are defined as computer-based information systems designed to support decision makers interactively in thinking and making decisions about relatively unstructured problems. Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), which are the integration of DSS and GIS was initiated by Densham and Goodchild ( 1988) are emerging as efficient tools for managing natural resources like land and water.

This article deals with cadastral level resources information system for Kundapallam (Kd1) and Neeralipallam (kb3) watersheds in the Nilgiris district using remote sensing, GPS and GIS. The main objectives of the study are as follows -

• Creation of cadastral level resources information system for sustainable watershed development
• To identify the improper land-use practice areas with the combination of slope and soil type
• To evolve and arrive at local-specific cadastral boundary level development action paln considering land and forest resources for optimal utilization and to address the remedial developmental measures for Kundapallam (kd1) and Neeralipallam (kb3) microwatersheds on a sustainable basis.

This case study presents a erosion response model for watershed prioritisation in Bajaj sagar sub catchment of Mahi basin. The natural hydrologic processes like erosion of soil, movement of soil and its deposition in various parts of reservoir are very crucial phenomena occurring in any watershed. Erosion of soil is a very complex process which is affected by many factors and the loss caused is irreversible.

Best practices on urban water management from across the world

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This case study by All India Institute of Local Self Government deals with the transformation of Surat, from a city infested with plague to second cleanest city in India.  This transformation was largely due to improved municipal management, which was brought about by a strong leadership.

This study by the National Institute of Hydrology deals with the geomorphologic & land use planning for Danda watershed in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttar Pradesh.

The management arrangements and governance of the city have to be viewed at three levels by Mangalore city corporation (MCC).  

• Firstly, the responsibility of providing urban services within the boundary of city (both obligatory and discretory in nature).  This is normal with other cities.
• Secondly, the responsibility to meet the demands generated out of economic activities beyond city limits.  For example, incoming and outgoing trucks transporting logs, granite stone and groceries generate employment for locals.  The city has to respond to provide minimum facilities in such a situation.
• Thirdly, involvement in to the infrastructure development activities initiated by the state government.  The expansion of economic activities beyond city limits can be due to the regional development plan of the state government or the idea of regional development is based on the expansion of economic activities of the area.  These externalities are interlinked.

Micro-watershed level planning requires a host of inter-related information to be generated and studied in relation to each other. Remotely sensed data provides valuable and up-to-date spatial information on natural resources and physical terrain parameters.

The paper is based on the initiatives taken by the Sangli-Miraj Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMK-MC) in the state of Maharashtra.