Droughts and Floods

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May 18, 2024 A case study of women-led climate resilient farming by Swayam Shikshan Prayog
Building the resilience of women farmers (Image: ICRISAT, Flcikr Commons)
April 25, 2024 Understanding the impact of heat on our world
Rising temperatures, rising risks (Image: Kim Kestler, publicdomainpictures.net)
March 30, 2024 A recent study finds that climate change induced extreme weather events such as droughts can increase the vulnerability of women to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
Droughts affect women the most (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons)
January 22, 2024 This study finds that baseflows have a stronger triggering effect on river floods in Peninsular India as compared to rainfall and soil moisture.
River floods and groundwater, the connection. Image for representation purposes only. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
July 14, 2023 These states are at the forefront of flood early warning systems
Previously drought-prone areas are now facing floods (Image: Needpix)
July 7, 2023 WOTR study throws important new findings
The study by WOTR and Wageningen University researchers emphasizes the need to prioritize adaptive capacities alongside agricultural productivity (Image: WallpaperFlare)
Critical review of the impacts, challenges, prospects and conflict management for vitally needed inter-linking of rivers in India
Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment of 27th February 2012, directed union and concerned states governments, to implement ambitious interlinking of the rivers project (ILR) in a time bound manner and also asked Union Government to appoint a high-powered committee for planning and implementation of the project. Social tensions, political instability and street fights are already being experienced in India, on account of fast deteriorating situation of availability of qualitative water in adequate quantity.
This article presents a critical review of basic objectives, controversies, social & ecological impacts besides concrete suggestions to overcome the blockades in Inter-basin Transfer of Water (IBTW), now commonly known as Inter-linking of Rivers (ILR).
Posted on 23 Apr, 2012 12:17 PM

Guest post by : Er. Radhey Shyam Goel

1. Introduction

Appointment of young professionals as Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows - Some questions
There has been quite a bit of news and excitement about the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows recently appointed by selecting young professionals from top professionals institutions like IITs, IIMs, TISS and others. It is a welcome idea that large numbers of professionals have been attracted to be such Fellows. It is to be seen if they will deliver what is expected out of them, especially while working in the districts affected by left wing extremism. I wish them all success but the history of such ideas and experiments have failed globally and we should have deeper analysis of them, says Achyut Das of Agragamee, Orissa. Posted on 23 Apr, 2012 11:19 AM

The critics of the PMRDFS have already started asking questions as follows:

Interlinking of rivers project: A disquieting judgement - Ramaswamy Iyer's perspective in the EPW on the recent Supreme Court decision
The Supreme Court judgement of 27 February 2012 directed the executive government to implement the river inter-linking project through a special committee which will take precedence over all other administrative bodies. In this article, first published in the Economic and Political Weekly, Ramaswamy Iyer explains why this backing of a 'potentially disastrous' project is disturbing. The article then calls for a reconsideration of this judgement. Posted on 20 Apr, 2012 10:52 PM

 

1. Introduction
Two writ petitions were filed in 2002 on the subject of interlinking. The judgement finally passed in 2012 directs the implementation of this project. This judgement is disturbing for the following reasons:

Water supply and demand management of the Indus basin : Options for current and future sustainable water resources management
The Indus basin is one of the regions in the world that is faced with major challenges for its water sector, due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, environmental degradation, unregulated utilization of the resources, inefficient water use and poverty, all aggravated by climate change. The Indus Basin is shared by 4 countries – Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China. With a current population of 237 million people which is projected to increase to 319 million in 2025 and 383 million in 2050, already today water resources are abstracted almost entirely (more than 95% for irrigation). Climate change will result in increased water availability in the short term. Posted on 17 Apr, 2012 12:04 PM

Article Courtesy : Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS)

Authors : A.N. Laghari, D.Vanham, and W.Rauch

A student uses India Water Portal on Twitter (@indiawater) for research
Pranietha Mudliar, a student in the United States recently connected with India Water Portal on Twitter. Posted on 12 Apr, 2012 04:10 PM

She found Twitter to be a useful place to conduct her research on issues of governance and institutions in watershed management programs in India and the U.S., because it enabled her to pick the resources she found useful without having to go through lots of articles and research papers.

PPP models for irrigation projects – Why and why not?
Last month India’s Finance Minister announced that henceforth irrigation projects shall also be considered for the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme. VGF is provided by the Government of India in form of grants (one-time or deferred) for infrastructure projects which are commercially unviable and where the private sector is encouraged to participate. Governments support in the form of VGF is expected to bring action in this area, which has see lackluster response in the past where states have tried to initiate some sort of PPP projects and which have largely been considered unfeasible by the private sector. Posted on 10 Apr, 2012 11:17 AM

Author : Rasika Gokhale Athawale

The return of the earthworm: Association for India's Development's (AID-JHU) practicing organic farming in the Sunderbans
All the farmers and gardeners who have been part of AID and its partners Mukti & BTS’ agricultural work in the Sunderbans are practicing organic agriculture of both paddy and vegetables on a part of their land while some are doing it fully. A buzz has been created in the area about it. Many of these farmers have been trained by Saathi Revathy and many more have been trained by the trainer-farmers of the area. Posted on 08 Apr, 2012 10:51 PM

Article and Video Courtesy : Association for India's Development - Johns Hopkins University

Author : Nishikant

Critical analysis of the overarching issues in Indian agriculture - State of Indian agriculture report (2011-2012)
The report on the State of Indian Agriculture placed by the Government to the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, calls for wide-ranging reforms in agriculture sector to enable it to meet the growing demands and meet the challenges posed by various human and environmental factors. The first issue of State of Indian Agriculture series had been published by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) in 2009. Posted on 06 Apr, 2012 06:57 PM

maize with redgram

Restructuring in 2012 of District Rural Development Agency set up by Ministry of Rural Development
The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had in 2011 constituted a Committee on Restructuring of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) under the chairmanship of Shri V Ramchandran, Chairmen-Emeritus, Centre for Management Development, Thiruvananthapuram with the objective of strengthening and professionalizing DRDA to meet the challenge of rural development in the present context. The committee has now submitted its report which has been put in the MoRD website for comments before a final view is taken.
Posted on 05 Apr, 2012 09:25 PM

The MoRD constituted the present Committee with a mandate to study the structure of the DRDA and suggest measures to strengthen their professional character so that they could be useful to the Zila Parishads and the district administration in planning for removal of rural poverty.

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